“Magic is an amazing thing. With it you can control the elements, make things grow, heal wounds, and so much more.” He paused. “You see, magic is like a muscle. You can train it and make it stronger, but like a muscle it can become worn out. You can cast a spell and feel no tiring effect on your body, but if that spell is too strong for you, then energy is pulled from your body.”
“So can you die from a spell then?” Legon asked.
Arkin looked relieved to hear the question. “No, you can’t. You can pass out but you can’t die. Once your mind loses consciousness it can’t sustain the spell. However, it can take some time to recover. Once again, think of this as a muscle. Now, there are what are called ‘classes’ to Venefica, Sara, do you know them?”
“Yes, my owner is Iumenta and a Venefica, so I learned a lot just being around him. There are eight classes. A class refers to the amount of power a Venefica has, regardless of skill.”
“Meaning what?” Keither asked.
“Meaning your class has nothing to do with your ability. You can be a class five and not know what magic is,” continued Sara. “Classes one and two humans can attain, usually just one. Next, Iumenta and Elves can reach up to class five, and I know dragons are higher, but that’s it.”
Arkin looked pleased. “Very good. To ‘Ascend’ is to become a dragon. Only a class five can do this, and even then only a rare few. When someone ‘Ascends’ they will be classes six through eight. Now, the difference in each class is large. There is a gap between them as far as power goes; meaning that if you are a strong class two you are still relatively weak to a class three. The same is more so for Ascending. The difference between classes five and six is like comparing a mountain lion to a kitten. Class sevens are extremely strong and class sixes are closer to them, relatively speaking, but class eight…” Arkin shook his head.
“What?” Kovos said.
“It’s like there should be a class or two in between seven and eight, but there are no eights left from my understanding,” Arkin answered.
“Why not?” Sara asked.
“That is another lesson,” Arkin answered with a warm smile. This was starting to get on Legon’s nerves. There was one secret after another. What possible threat could he be? Hadn’t they proved that they were no friend of the empire? Also, what was going on with this new ability to sense emotions?
“What class are you?” he asked.
“I’m a class two.” He was a two? Well, maybe if Legon was a three or four he could overpower Arkin if need be. He was out-classed in skill so he still might lose, but still this was a small comfort.
“Ok, so what all can magic do?” Legon asked.
“A lot of things, and there is still more and more being learned about it. Basically, magic is the lynch pin in the war between the queen and the free lands.”
“You mean the resistance?” Keither asked.
“They’re hardly that.”
“What do you mean? They fight the Queen, don’t they?” asked Keither.
Arkin responded. “Just because they fight the Queen doesn’t mean that they are a group of rebels. In fact, they’re the opposite. The Elves are their own nation, and for that matter the humans are too. You see, when the Queen took over she just took control of an existing nation.”
“Yeah, but there was a war with the Elves and free humans, right?” Keither asked.
“Yes, the Elves defended their territory and the humans fought for independence, and that’s what they got, for the most part. The war has never really ended,” Arkin responded.
“Ok, but what about magic?” Legon said, not wanting them to go off on a tangent.
“Sorry. Yes, magic. Well, like I said, it works much like a muscle, but it can do things that your muscles never could. For example, you can use magic to alter the physical attributes of those around you.”
“Like how?” Legon asked.
“Here, I will show you. Kovos, will you be so kind as to show us the progress you’ve made teaching Sasha to fight?”
Kovos looked confused. “I thought you were going to show us how magic affected stuff?”
“I am.”
Now Sasha looked confused but, to his surprise, she stood and walked to her tent for her stave.
“No, not with the sticks. You will use real swords tonight. Sasha, you will use mine,” Arkin instructed.
They both paused and Sasha began to fidget with her hands. Legon knew what she was thinking. Sasha was learning how to fight, but it wasn’t her thing. She could shoot a bow, but she was having issues with the blade. She walked to Arkin, who stood and presented his blade out of the sheath. He placed a guard on it. Kovos pulled his blade out and they stood apart from each other. Sara had an amused look on her face. What did she think was funny? She and Sasha were friends. Did she want to see her lose?
Kovos nodded his head at Sasha. ”Remember what I’ve taught you.”
With that he lunged forward, swinging at her side. Sasha barely parried the blow as she stepped back. As she blocked hit after hit, Legon noticed that with every blow her blade moved closer to her body; she didn’t have the strength to stop it. In fact, the only thing keeping her from getting hit with her own weapon was that Kovos was not hitting full force. She tried a thrust, but Kovos flicked the blade away almost lazily. Arkin started to talk.
“You see how this is going? It’s not just that Kovos knows what he’s doing, but that he is faster and stronger then Sasha. Now let’s see what can happen with magic.”
Kovos again slashed at her side, and to everyone’s surprise Sasha’s blade flashed up to block his in the blink of an eye. Kovos’ sword stopped dead on hers and both looked open-mouthed at the point where they touched.
“Woo! Yeah, Sasha! Kick his butt!” Sara yelled with a wide, knowing smile.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Kovos said. He brought his sword above his head and down. This time Sasha side-stepped in a flash and swung. There was a loud clang of metal on metal as Kovos blocked her blow. He stumbled back a bit.
“How on earth…?”
Sasha smiled. “I’m winning, Legon. Do you see this? I’m winning.”
Kovos gave a loud laugh. “Oh, heck no!”
No one took sides but everyone cheered them on as the fight progressed. Sasha was still a sloppy fighter, but she was moving so fast and with so much power that Kovos was having a hard time getting to her. Even though she was going to walk away with more than a few welts, she was still doing great. Arkin looked pleased, and Legon noticed a bead of sweat forming at his brow.
“Are you all right?”
“Ok, that will do,” Arkin said.
Kovos and Sasha separated and both sat back down around the fire. Sara put her arm around Sasha. “I knew you could do it.”
“Yeah but how did she do that? I’ve never had anyone fight like that.” Kovos asked
“That is because I used magic to make Sasha faster and stronger. This is one of the many applications for magic in combat.”
After that, Arkin spent the next few hours talking about how magic could be used to make things better. It was late by the time they were ready for bed.
“Sash, what tent is ours again?” Legon asked.
“Oh, it’s the one over there, but I was going to stay with Sara if that’s ok?”
“Sure, you’re fine, so long as you feel ok.”
She looked at him for a moment. “You know what? I think I will be.” She hugged him and followed Sara.
Legon turned to Arkin. “Well, looks like you get to sleep with me, Arkin. How do you feel about that?”
“Ha! Don’t get your hopes up. That’s going to take more than ginger tea.” Arkin walked to the tent, leaving Legon alone.
“What was that supposed to mean?”
* * * * *
Sasha closed the flaps to their tent and began to get ready for bed. It had been a long day, but she wasn’t feeling all that tired. It was so good to have Sara with them. She lo
oked like she’d been through a lot. She had lost a lot of weight since they had last spoken back home, but she was happy now that she was free. As they both lay down, Sasha looked at the flickering firelight coming through a small crack in the tent flaps.
“I know you have questions, Sash. Are you going to ask them?”
“I want to, but at the same time you seem so happy. I don’t want to bring you down.”
“You always did put others ahead of yourself. I’m glad to be with you and Legon again.”
“We’re happy that you’re here too. Can I ask about today?”
Sara chuckled. “Yes.”
“What happened?”
Sara took a deep breath. “Legon took my pain.”
“He what?”
“When he touched my arm and got rid of my mark, he also pulled my pain and suffering into himself. I actually felt the pain leave me, and it was replaced by his caring.”
“So does he still have it then?” she said with a little concern. “The pain?”
“No, it came back as soon as he let go, but I remember what he did, and that’s why I’m so happy.”
“I guess I don’t understand.”
“Sorry.” Sara rolled onto her side and Sasha could see the energy in her eyes. “Have you ever felt someone’s emotions before?”
“No, how could I?”
“That’s my point. To feel that someone cares for you, to actually feel what they feel and then to feel your pain and memories leave you for a short time, that is the greatest gift of all.”
“Because that person truly understands what you’re dealing with?” Sasha asked.
“Yes, and knowing that there is someone who cares and understands you makes the pain so much easier to take. For once I’m not alone.”
Sasha looked up, letting this new information roll around in her head. She had felt someone’s emotions before, now that she thought about it. Quite often, in fact, but it had always been on a smaller level than what Sara had experienced. She changed the subject and after a bit they fell asleep.
The next morning Sara helped her with making breakfast, and Keither was finally able to help them take down camp. Sasha would start working with him today, but as she started to get on Murray, Arkin stopped her.
“Legon, come here.”
“What’s up?” Legon asked.
“I want you two to ride together today.”
“Um, why? We have the horses . . .”
“It’s for training, you’ll see. Now let’s go.”
Legon mounted Phantom and then helped Sasha on behind him. What was Arkin up to? Why did they need to be on the same horse?
“Legon, last night you wanted to hurt me, right?” Arkin asked. Sasha felt her brother tense just a bit.
“Yeah, sorry for the loss of control,” Legon replied.
“Don’t be. I was hoping you would be upset.”
“You wanted me to be upset? Why?”
“Why didn’t you do anything?” Arkin continued.
Come to think of it, why had he stopped? Sasha was sure that he was going to try and hurt Arkin, but as soon as she had touched him, he…
“I stopped him,” Sasha blurted out.
Legon smiled. “Sash no offense, but….”
Arkin nodded his head. “She did stop you. You felt her restraint, didn’t you?”
Legon was silent for a moment. His eyes widened. “How on earth…?”
“Magic users can communicate with their minds. Lay people can do this too, but it’s very hard to learn. The key is making the first connection. After that it will get easier.”
“So are you saying I can read minds, like Elves and Iumenta?” Legon asked.
“Yes. And Venefica can nudge people’s thoughts and emotions to an extent as well, but more on that later. You and Sasha are extremely close, so you already have this connection. Sasha’s episodes have always been better when you are around. This is an example of that.”
“You know what? That does seem right. Think about it Sash. When I’m with you they’re not as bad. You don’t get as hurt, and you’ve said before that you can feel me there.”
“Yes, I can sometimes, but you haven’t been able to use magic so…”
“Yes, he has,” Arkin corrected her, “But he hasn’t had the need of it, so it hasn’t presented itself. Ok, enough talk. I want you two to try and open your minds to each other.”
It was worth a shot. She tried to remember last night and pushed with her mind, or at least she thought she was pushing. After several minutes finally she thought she felt something graze her thoughts. Frustration, and then alarm, and then it was gone.
“Did you feel that?” she asked.
“Yes, I did,” Legon replied. “Wow. Arkin we did it!”
Arkin nodded his head. “Good. Now do it again.”
* * * * *
Arkin turned back to the road, satisfied. They were getting it fast. It was going to take about three months to get to the border towns on the route the army’s movement was forcing them to take. He felt drained. They were searching and searching hard. How long could he keep them hidden? Legon wouldn’t be ready to learn how to mask their presence any time soon, but if he learned fast he could be a source of energy. Right now he needed to help their connection grow stronger. But it had worked. They were linked, and soon their minds would be working together, and years of half-training for both of them would come together in a few short weeks.
Chapter Fourteen
Reprieve
“The adversities in life are there to teach us, but it is the space between them where we grasp at the meanings of the lessons.”
-Tales of the Traveler
The last two and a half months had been some of the most intense and wonderful in Legon’s life. He was growing stronger with magic. Now he could heal small wounds, light fires without shooting flames everywhere, and do a myriad of other things. Also, the connection between him and Sasha was stronger. They could communicate with their minds fully and had access to each other’s knowledge. To their amazement and Keither’s disappointment, they were able to handle all of Arkin’s questions now. When they asked why they could suddenly handle all his questions, Arkin explained to them that he’d been training them their whole lives with only half the pieces, and now that they were able to combine their knowledge, the training was made complete. Arkin called it mental networking, explaining that it was how most parts of the Elven and Iumenta governments were run—by literally putting their heads together.
Arkin would talk to them now in their minds, so their learning was progressing faster and faster. It was amazing what you learned when you saw exactly what the teacher was trying to tell you. With their increasing knowledge of the Mahann and Jezeer, Legon was able to use the Jezeer to target and affect his and other’s muscles or other biological things. Sasha’s development was similar. Legon and Sasha had gotten to the point where their minds never truly left each other. They may not have been able to see exactly what the other was thinking, but they were always aware of the other. This came in handy with Sasha’s episodes.
Legon and Sasha also found that not only could magic enhance the people and animals around them, but hinder them as well. When Sasha would slip into an episode Legon was able to keep her body from hurting itself. The energy involved was great and he couldn’t stop all of her convulsions, but she no longer sustained injuries and didn’t need hours to recover after them. She still lost visible consciousness, but she was awake and active in his mind. That was, unfortunately, the bad part. Now Sasha was aware of each episode and, more important, the pain of them. Before she hadn’t been awake and had no recollection, but now she was keenly aware of her body fighting itself, and Legon felt all of it.
He dipped a rag in the stream next to their camp. The water was cool and refreshing as it ran over his fingers. They were still heading south in a meandering path. Summer was in full force and this part of the empire was hot and, to his distaste, humid. The
wet heat was oppressing, the air seemed to weigh down their lungs and they were always covered in sweat. The land was flat now, but they were in a dense forest and the scent of moss and earth became more apparent.
There weren’t a lot of major waterways in this area, so towns and villages were sparse. On occasion, there would be large clearings or they would approach a co-op farming community. The co-ops usually had no town center and the people in the area tried to support one another. They were seldom bothered by bands of robbers because the people really only had the food they grew and tried to sell. Because of their meager belongings, these people fought hard for their property. At any rate, many robbers at some point in time, usually when they hit bottom, had worked for one of these people. All in all, Legon liked most of the people in the co-ops. They were usually kind and they banded together.
It was also rare for people to go into the Queen’s care from these communities. The empire was in control of these areas, but just barely. The openness of everything gave people places to hide anything, like family members. In addition, the cost of harassing the people in remote places like this was too high, thus they were left alone for the most part.
Legon pulled the rag out and wiped down his face, neck, and upper body. He felt a week’s worth of trail debris and filth rub from him. They had been passing creeks for the last week, but none of them were clean so they weren’t able to bathe at all. This was one of the major discomforts of the road. Back home, working with his father as a butcher, and Sasha working with his mother as a healer, there had been strict laws about cleanliness. Breaking those laws was expensive, so every day they cleaned everything, from their workspaces to themselves. He normally did this at the end of the day as a means of washing off the death of his job, but still he washed his hands before work and after lunch. On the other hand, as healers, Sasha and Laura washed after every patient. Kovos also had grown into the habit of regular bathing, not due to any laws but rather the desire to not look like he was constantly rolling around in soot. Keither, on the other hand, hated it, and Arkin had to force him to do it. It was as if the boy thought that by getting rid of the grime from the road he was somehow more susceptible to the elements.
Keither slipped on some moss and landed on his side. Legon looked up at him.
“Are you ok?” he asked.