Natural mages And no need for stabilizers. Cool, said Milian thoughtfully. Ah, why cant we humans be like that?
We cant do a lot of things, Bala smiled. Just look at us, compared to animals: no fur, no claws; blunt teeth, poor eyes, poor sense of smell My master says that the lack of something always gets compensated with another thing: a weak person can compensate for their weakness with intelligence or cunning, for example. This is exactly what we as a species do. If we could naturally stabilize magic, we may not have developed civilization, we would have been just animals.
Youre quoting the enemy now, Orion made a sly remark.
True, nodded Milian. This goes back to Helga before she became Vlada the Warrior. But, to be fair, the book where I saw that quote had been written a very long time before Erhaben.
I always thought that its not wise to hate a creation only because you hate its creator, agreed Bala. Helga spoke the truth
Youre treading on a very thin ice here! shouted Irin. He had been trying to keep quiet but his patience had finally run out. Have you forgotten everything that the Order has taught you? You, he pointed at Orion, the one who is so proud of his ancestor, a bloody pirate! Maybe youre proud of your name as well?
I am, was Jovibs calm reply.
Its the name of the worldholders minion! Irion growled.
For a Lifekeeper, youre too fast to judge, Irin, Orion shook his head. He remained unruffled under the younger boys angry gaze; there was even a tone of pity in his voice. The world is not black and white, its not even grey. Theres always a No Mans Land between good and evil where any anomaly can happen.
Go back to sleep. Everyone. That was Juels voice. Low, cold, commanding voice. Ill set a lookout so we all can feel safe. Irin, you will take the first watch. Orion will change you in two hours. Then Lainuver. And kill the light lest it blinds the lookouts to the dark.
The team followed Juels orders. Despite all the fears, the rest of the night was calm, calm and boring.
Chapter 4. Transvolo from Firaska
Teach me
Lots of all sorts!
Teach me
New facts, new thoughts!
I dreamt,
I questioned,
But I was taught by Fates contempt -
Taught my lesson.
I didnt know Id see
the days end
When malice and night on me
descend.
But the thrawn mind
learns night-lore too;
A new teacher Ill find
When Im new.
Milian Raven, from the Thorn poem
Aven Jay Zarbot heard two young voices crying out her name. Again. And just when she was finally going to have her lunch! Those students! Those stupid, stupid kids Aven took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Im a Crimson Guardian on duty, an experienced mage, and a responsible adult, she repeated her daily mantra in her mind. Im going to be super patient with those kids even though all I want is to strangle them both. Lets consider it a punishment for me being a stupid kid myself once
Master Zarbooot! the young mages cried again.
Aven stifled a curse.
What! she roared, the soothing mantra instantly forgotten.
Take a look at the road! There are visitors. What do we do with them?
Aven sadly glanced at a sweet diadem bun she had been hoping to eat in peace and put it into her pocket, with much regret.
What do we do with them! Hah! Oh, why cant these youngsters just work it out for themselves for a while? I cant babysit them all day! she grumbled as she was making her way upstairs to the lookout tower. Once there, she grabbed a spare pair of binoculars and took a look at the visiting party.
Great! More stupid kids!
The visitors in question were ten young Lifekeepers. The youngest of them must have been six or seven. The oldest looked like a pureblood Faizul. And all of them looked like trouble. Aven had seen enough during her service to know how much trouble even one ambasiath can be and there were ten.
Follow the standard welcoming procedure, boys, said Avenge with a sniff, then she fished the bun out of her pocket and took a bite. She bit through the white dough into the soft jam core at the first try. The diadem stuffing was honey-sweet and bloody-red.
The young Lifekeepers carried no forbidden items and seemed just a bunch of ordinary neophytes on a quest. With the Temple of Life being so close to Firaska, their kind visited the city often. The leader of the group a young Faizul was the only unusual thing. Aven decided to ask him a couple of questions, just to be sure he was who she thought he was. There was no harm in asking and the young mages under her supervision could use the opportunity to learn a thing or two.
I greet the great warrior! May his blade be praised by the Moon! she recited the only Faizulish phrase she knew. The young mans reaction surprised her. His wide shoulders drooped, his cheeks blushed as if he was ashamed.
Im sorry, but I cant give you a proper answer, he said in her own language, without even a trace of foreign accent. I barely remember the language of my people. I grew up in the charted Omnis, my lady.
He seemed like a genuinely good boy. The way he responded to her simple test it was not play-acting, the Faizul did feel ashamed for failing to return the greeting. Immediately, Aven felt bad for hurting him so. She did not remark on the incident and proceeded with the usual questions instead.
What is the purpose of your visit to Firaska? she asked.
We want to buy a Transvolo here, said the young Faizul.
Where to? And what for? Aven continued.
To Torgor, to fulfil our mission, was the Lifekeepers answer, as truthful as it was vague.
He wasnt stupid, that one, even though he looked like a simple savage, Zarbot thought. The boy didnt even try to deceive her, the head of the Firaskian Crimson Guard, but he wasnt going to be open with her either. Aven had a hunch about the boy and his followers; something in them made her heart tingle with that subtle sense everyone serving on the edge of the No Mans Land has: the sense of hidden danger. But she had no evidence against them, no logical reason to send them away.
Aven let the Lifekeepers pass, of course, but made a note to herself to keep an eye on them. That tingling sense of hers had never let her down before. Those ten kids were trouble.
***
Most cities of the charted Omnis have peacefully spread beyond their armoured shells ages ago, for their inhabitants had nothing to fear from the outside world anymore. But Firaska was one of those who still needed all the protection it could get. It had thick walls, lofty watchtowers, and massive gates that it kept closed all night. Also: strict curfews and brightly lit streets patrolled by mage Sevens.
What was the city like within the walls? Crowded. Ancient. Noisy. A labyrinth of tall, sometimes dangerously overhanging buildings flooded with pedestrian traffic by day but empty by night when only the Crimson Guardians were allowed to stay outdoors.
To avoid losing each other in the crowd, Juel and his teammates had to walk in a single chain, holding hands. Milian was the last one in line, following Orion who was carrying Jarmin on his shoulders to keep the little boy away from the frenzied crowd.
Milian had not liked Orion in the beginning but things were different now.
Orions grasp on Milians hand was firm but careful; to him, young Raven was just another little kid that needed to be kept safe. That seemed both awkward and heartwarming to the twelve-year-old boy who couldnt help but wonder what it would be like to have a family and a father
Several sharp turns of the alley later, the Lifekeepers found themselves at the central square of Firaska, the only open space inside the city walls. In the centre of that luxury, shining like a precious gem, was the heart of the city: Helga-Vladas College of Battle Magic. Originally, the building was a fortress Firaska had grown around. It had narrow windows, a moat filled with water to the brim, and a drawbridge. But now it looked as peaceful as an old warrior who had retired to spend his remaining years playing with his grandkids. Students were throwing paper birdies and magical sparks from the fortresss windows; tangerine and diadem peels a whole fleet of them floated in the moats water; swift little fishes nibbled on them; colourful dragonflies soared above the moat.
Pai looked at the college with wide eyes full of awe. The young self-taught mage was seeing a proper magical establishment for the first time in his life; to him, it felt like beholding a lovely oasis in the middle of a desert.
Lets go? said Orion, a tinge of uncertainty in his voice.
What? All ten of us? laughed Oasis. Id say you dont need an army to storm this thing now, he added with a grin and a sharp nod in the direction of the old fortress.
Juel pondered that for a moment. They already had drawn too much attention to themselves at the gates, so he didnt want to make things worse. Both Sainar and Kangassk Abadar told him to keep quiet. There was another thing to consider: Juel Hak knew nothing about magic.
Pai, Juel addressed the boy. Youre our only mage. Go there, investigate the place, find someone who knows Transvolo.
I will! Needless to say, Pai practically shone when he said that. Will you go with me, Milian?
Raven nodded.
Meanwhile, Ill look around the city, if you dont mind, Oasis, the urban jungle specialist, chimed in. We may have to stay here for a while, so a cheap apartment can come in handy and
Go. Learn what you can. Just be careful, Juel stopped his cheerful chatter. Today, we will stay in that inn, he gestured toward a long narrow building at the edge of the square. Meet us there.
Sure! Ill be back before the curfew. See ya! said Oasis with a careless smile.
Before diving back into the crowd, he left his sword with Orion to keep. Right: when you are exploring an urban jungle, a long sword only slows you down. The boy didnt go unarmed, though, for he still had his knife with him.
Orion shook his head and smiled as his eyes followed Oasis rushing toward an adventure.
It may take us some time Pai hesitated under Juels heavy gaze, but but we will do our best!
Lets go! Milian pulled at his sleeve.
That was how the young Lifekeepers split for the first time.
As Pai and Milian made their way to the college doors, the students in grey cloaks lined with crimson noticed them. Some even followed the two young Lifekeepers to find out what they were up to but everyone kept their distance.
It rained briefly over the square as if some young mage were practising water magic. Their clothes dotted with water droplets, Milian and Pai reached the moat and stopped there, fascinated by a neat underwater ecosystem that kept the water crystal-clean.
Those beautiful violet sponges, cultivated by the worldholders themselves, according to the books, were filtering the filth away. Green and red algae provided oxygen and food for the fish. The fish cleaned the sponges of parasites, etc. There were many more other species, too small to see with a naked eye, involved in the maintenance of the systems balance but who ever remembers them when there are those huge violet sponges that look so alien and so cool
Lycopersicon abberata, Milian couldnt miss a chance to show off his biology knowledge, a true masterpiece of bioengineering.
Whats bioengineering? asked Pai.
Its a branch of science that messes up with life-things genetics. And genetics means everything we inherit from our parents and pass on to our children, explained Milian gladly. Water-cleaning systems are super new, I heard.
Must be, Pai made a wry face. I still remember that time when I visited Lumenik with my master. The moat was so filthy there and I fell in it
Ugh!
Ugh indeed!
Milian imagined that too vividly for his own good. Falling into the moat of the biggest industrial city in the world must have been quite a lifechanging experience. Near-death lifechanging experience, probably.
Maybe even Lumeniks moat and sewers are clean nowadays, said Pai with a hopeful smile on his lips. I like it that moats are just little city lakes now and no one expects wars and sieges anymore.
Same, muttered Milian. He was more concerned with the fact that his friend was standing too close to the water and leaning forward too much. In his daydreaming state, Pai could fall into this moat as well, so Milian carefully took him by the shoulder and led him away, toward the bridge.
The ancient blocks the college fortress was made of were cool to the touch and so infused with magic that even a non-mage could feel it (as a childish sense of wonder or a gloomy foreboding of impending doom it all depended on the persons character). If someone were to take even a small piece of that stone into the No Mans Land, it would certainly explode somewhere beyond the border.
The narrow windows didnt allow enough sunlight inside the building, so the mages compensated for that in their own manner: light spheres of all sizes and stages of perfection floated everywhere. Seeing so many active spells in one place was too much for poor Pai. He just froze there, his mouth agape, his eyes wide with wonder, and nothing Milian would say or do could make him snap out of it.
One of the battlemage magisters noticed the curious boy and stopped by.
This is a Liht spell, kid, he explained in a kindly manner.
I know, said Pai, his voice sad and yearning, Ive always wanted to cast one myself.
The magister raised his brow, surprised, and gave the boy a closer look. Judging by the handguardless sword and a simple cloak, it was a young Lifekeeper. Most of them were ambasiaths.
Did you ever try? the magister asked, very carefully.
Pai nodded.
Can you show me?
Pai nodded again.
It was the second time that Milian saw Pai cast his Fiat-lux. Just like the night before, he waved one hand above the other and quietly sang a wordless song over them. The spitting, hissing ball of light appeared above Pais palm; he made it float near one of the perfect corridor Lihts. But if the Liht was staying in place, Fiat-lux kept bobbing up and down like a cork on the waves: Pais levitation spell was different from the classic one as well.