“Easy Tyrion,” said Garlin, “or we’ll have to whip you again.”
“Let the wildling yap,” said the other. “If he feels brave enough to bark at me again, I’ll show him so much pain, he’ll wish he’d never been whelped.”
Daniel gave the warden his full attention, studying him with his magesight, his own body thrumming with pent up power, and his temper fired by adrenaline.
“Don’t do it, baratt,” cautioned Garlin. “Remember how he became a warden. You don’t want to pick a fight with Lavon.”
Lavon was staring back at Daniel now, his shield flickering with fresh aythar, and his pupils dilated. His posture practically begged Daniel to try something. A third warden approached, attracted by the tension in the air.
“What’s going on over here?” the new man asked.
Lavon’s attention wavered as he replied, “The boy here thinks he…”
Daniel struck instantly, his power slamming into Lavon’s shield like a hammer. The warden’s protection collapsed, and his head vanished while the air behind him was filled with a red cloud of blood and bits of brain and bone.
Garlin and the other warden paused, shocked at the sudden explosion of violence. The stranger recovered quickly, creating the red whip the wardens favored, but Daniel still had his shield up preventing the first strike from reaching him.
Garlin stepped back, and Daniel drew another small circle around himself, creating a much stronger shield. The two wardens struck together, using focused attacks rather than their whips, but the barrier held without any sign of stress.
“You don’t want to do this boy,” said Garlin, eyeing Daniel’s shield. The circle he had drawn was too small for the warden to teleport within.
Remembering the way his latest opponent had used the ground Daniel reached out, and delving downward, he gripped the earth with his mind, ripping it upward in a wave beneath the two wardens. Their shields protected them from being harmed, but completely failed to prevent them from being thrown by the surging earth.
Garlin and the other warden landed thirty feet away, stunned by the fall. On one side of Daniel’s shield was a semi-circular moat, ten feet deep that had been left when he sent the ground flying up and outward.
A slender line of power snaked out and wrapped itself around his circle shield. It was formed of intricate patterns and strange symbols, and Daniel knew immediately that it was a She’Har spellweaving. His magesight quickly revealed that Thillmarius was the source, but before he could react the tendril began to constrict, cutting into his shield.
It held for a moment, as Daniel poured more of his strength into the circle, but then the seemingly fragile line of power began to cut into it. A second longer and Daniel was forced to release the circle before it broke, fearing the backlash. Before he could do anything else, the spellweaving caught him, tightening around him and destroying his inner shield. Within seconds it had completely encased his body and the world began to grow dim.
Before losing consciousness, Daniel wondered if he would prefer living or dying. Neither seemed like a good option, but living was much more painful.
Chapter 25
The world slowly came into focus, and Daniel became aware that he was lying on a cold slab of some sort.
“You really know how to stir things up, don’t you wildling?” said Thillmarius, leaning over him. “The She’Har haven’t been this excited in centuries. Some are calling for you to be put down, and others want to negotiate stud fees.”
“Stud, what?”
“Well, we don’t use money, as your ancestors did, but we do have a system of tracking respect and prestige, and some from the other groves would dearly love to get their hands on your genetic material,” said the She’Har man.
Daniel detected another presence in the room, and while she was out of his eyesight his mind quickly identified Lyralliantha standing back at a distance.
“What would they do with it?”
“Use it to breed winners, of course,” said Thillmarius. “Not to worry, though, Lyralliantha continues to refuse to share. She won’t even let me use your previous samples.”
Daniel was confused. Until then it had seemed as though Thillmarius was the ultimate arbiter of his fate, but now it sounded as if Lyralliantha had the final say. Even as he thought about that bit of information, the two She’Har began to have an animated discussion.
Lyralliantha came over to the table, and her look was one of sympathy, or perhaps pity. Daniel couldn’t be certain. She placed her hand on his forehead, stroking the hair from his eyes and sending an intangible feeling into his mind. It had no words, but he could feel the meaning of it.
I’m sorry.
He couldn’t understand why she would apologize to him, but she turned and left before he could think of a way to ask her.
Thillmarius smiled and leaned over, “Good news, baratt. I was able to convince her to let me continue overseeing you.”
“What were you arguing about?” Daniel asked.
“She wanted to euthanize you,” said Thillmarius. “The Illeniel Grove has never kept humans. They took the position that it was immoral and created needless suffering. Lyralliantha made a mistake when she met and claimed you, because it went against her grove’s decision when the She’Har came to this world.”
“She seemed sad,” Daniel noted.
“She worries that you are being made to suffer, but she has no experience in keeping humans. I persuaded her to leave your care in my hands, as she has done up until now. After all, I understand your kind far better than she does,” explained Thillmarius.
“What happens to me now?” asked Daniel.
The black-skinned Prathion smiled at him, “First, punishment, and then we will continue your arena schedule. You continue to develop in surprising ways.”
Sweat broke out on his brow at the thought of the whips. Daniel’s stomach churned and he began to shake. Repeated experiences at the hands of the wardens had created a powerful fear response in him. “Please, no. I’m sorry, Thillmarius. I won’t do it again,” he begged.
“I’m sorry, baratt, but time has taught me the best methods to train your kind. Not to worry, though, I’ll handle this one personally. I can no longer trust the wardens to punish you. They want you very dead.” Vines began to snake across Daniel’s chest, and soon his entire body was covered, and an intense burning itch began to make itself felt.
The sensation escalated until Daniel thought he might lose his mind, but it wasn’t until he began screaming that Thillmarius felt he had reached the appropriate level. The next half hour was the worst Daniel could remember. Unlike the wardens, the She’Har made certain that the recipient of his ministrations didn’t faint from the pain.
***
After his punishment was finished, Thillmarius escorted him into a small chamber to have him washed and cleaned. The torture had caused him to soil himself involuntarily. Standing under a falling cascade of warm water, Daniel continued to shake. At the same time he was glad of the water; it was the first time he had felt even close to clean since he had arrived.
A few minutes later he emerged and found Thillmarius waiting for him. “I have a surprise for you, wildling.”
Daniel’s eyes widened, darting to the sides. Not more!
The She’Har laughed, “No, baratt, not more pain conditioning. I feel that, having been raised in the wild you lack a certain respect for your masters. Our humans are born and bred here; they learn proper respect as they grow. I thought I would show you something you will find educational.”
Daniel relaxed slightly. Anything that didn’t involve physical torture was an improvement. Thillmarius led him upward, and he was soon able to tell from the oddly shaped rooms and strange wooden staircases, that he must be in the large building located near the training arena in Ellentrea. They emerged onto the roof of the building, and Daniel was able to look out across the entire town. Not that there was much to see, a bland collection of small, and occasionally lar
ger, wooden structures rising from the earth.
His magesight noticed it first, an extremely large creature flying toward them from the south. It was far too large to be a bird, although its shape was very similar. As it got closer Daniel realized it was some sort of bizarre flying animal, but instead of true feathers, its wings bore strange feather-like leaves. It had no beak at all, or even a mouth for that matter, and when it landed, Daniel could see that its legs ended in strange root-like appendages instead of feet with talons.
“What…?”
“This will take us to the place I want to show you. Here, this is how you mount,” Thillmarius demonstrated foot placement as he climbed up, showing Daniel how to take a seat and directing him to a spot behind himself.
Once he had taken his place, the odd creature began to beat its wings, driving them skyward. Daniel felt a thrill akin to fear, but his recent torment had left him unable to summon true terror. Instead he was merely excited as the ground fell away, and they soared above Ellentrea and out over the god-trees. A transparent shield of spellwoven power surrounded the two of them, keeping the wind from battering them as the creature increased its speed.
As they flew higher the world expanded and Daniel was struck by a sensation of awe at the size of it. He had never imagined that it could be so large. Beyond Ellentrea the deep woods extended in every direction until they merged with the horizon. To the east he could see the rocky foothills rising, creating a region too stony for the great trees to grow.
They traveled to the west, following the river that originated in the hills toward its unknown destination. On every side the massive god trees dominated the land, until finally in the distance, a line of blue took command of the horizon.
“It’s so big,” said Daniel.
Thillmarius nodded, “This is a vast world, Tyrion, and it is almost completely filled.”
The She’Har spoke truly. As they journeyed, Daniel saw no open land, only forest and more forest, occasionally interrupted by a river or lake. A small line of mountains to the north hinted at another area free of the great trees. The blue to the west expanded, becoming what Daniel could only assume was a vast body of water.
“What is that?”
“The ‘ocean’, baratt, a great body of salty water; it covers more than half the surface of this world.”
Daniel had never heard the word ocean before, and as he saw it stretching out his mind went blank with incomprehension. Two unbelievable expanses, one blue and one green… The world had few places where humans could live freely.
“Are there many places where wild humans live?” he asked. Daniel preferred the term ‘free’, but he knew the She’Har would find ‘wild’ more acceptable.
“Not anymore,” said Thillmarius. “A few pockets, here and there, tucked away in mountainous areas or hilly regions where our roots don’t do well, but they have been slowly dwindling in numbers for a long time.”
“The trees go on forever,” said Daniel.
Thillmarius nodded, “Everywhere you can see and far beyond that. Our groves circle the world.” They began to descend as the coast drew nearer. An open area close to the ocean soon became apparent. The ground had an odd appearance there.
Daniel watched quietly as they dropped, soaring over something his mind had difficulty organizing into something manageable. Long grey stony projections soared above the ground, supported by weird trees that were perfectly smooth and straight, although some of them leaned. On closer examination he realized that they weren’t trees at all, but smooth, stone columns. His magesight was able to explore more fully as they landed atop a tall square platform.
Beneath his feet his senses showed him square rooms, filled with debris of various sorts. The building was as much unlike the She’Har’s wooden growths as they were different than the buildings of Colne. The framework seemed to be made of perfectly straight metal, connected in ways that confused him.
“What is this?”
“A museum of sorts,” said the She’Har. When Daniel still looked confused he explained further, “One of the last cities of the ancient humans. They poisoned the earth here, which is why you will see no plants of any kind, much less our trees. While most of their other works were destroyed and assimilated into the earth, this one was left untouched, except by time.”
“And those things?” Daniel said, pointing to one of the elevated stone projections.
“Roads. They went everywhere in machines, and they built roads to ease their way. Before we came, they stretched from one end of the continent to the other.”
The city itself was colossal in size, dwarfing Colne or Ellentrea many times over, to think that it had just been one of many…
“Why are you showing me this?” he wondered aloud.
“To teach you humility,” said Thillmarius. “I have come to suspect that your wild origin makes you feel superior. I brought you here to show you how much greater and more powerful your ancestors were. Beside their achievements, you are but a tiny speck, and yet they fell to the She’Har.”
Daniel’s magesight explored the complex structures that surrounded him, but he no longer focused on what it showed him. Instead, his mind’s eye constructed a vision of what the place might have looked like when it was alive and bustling, filled with men and women. His eyes watered as he felt the loss of something he had never known existed.
So much happiness destroyed. He wants to humble me by showing me this, but instead I have discovered that we can rise to greatness. This is a lesson, but not the lesson he thinks.
“Do you understand now, baratt?”
“Yes,” said Daniel. I understand that you are proud of what should be your greatest shame.
Chapter 26
Daniel spent the rest of the week experimenting with the dirt on the floor of his room, moving it about, digging holes with his power and refilling them. It had never occurred to him to use his abilities in such a way before, until he had nearly been killed by suffocation.
During his experimentation he also tried creating small whirlwinds of dust and dirt, like he had done during his last combat. He had never really thought about air as a solid ‘thing’ before, always considering it ephemeral or intangible, but he had become aware of it as something truly physical now.
He could tell he was stronger. Something had changed in him during his fight with the woman, or possibly during his fight with the wardens. His power flowed more easily and he felt stronger. Continual practice had paid off, and he was able to envision complex shapes and forms far more easily than in the past.
When the time came for his next fight in the arena it was only Garlin who came to escort him. He said nothing as they walked.
The fight proved to be a let-down. His opponent this week was a Prathion mage, but he wasn’t particularly strong. As soon as he vanished, Daniel created two circles, a small one around himself and a much larger one that encircled him at a distance of over fifty feet on all sides. The larger circle he covered with a tiny layer of diffuse aythar just below the surface, extending from its edge inward to his smaller circle.
He ignored the other mage’s attacks, small probing assaults that came from a distance. He became visible for a moment each time, but Daniel didn’t bother attempting to respond. His opponent would vanish and move immediately after each assault. Daniel waited.
Eventually the man drew closer, probably hoping to try a more focused close range assault on Daniel’s nigh impregnable shield. Due to his complete invisibility he failed to sense the aythar that was spread across the earth beneath his feet.
Once he felt the contact of bare feet within his outer circle Daniel swiftly changed tactics, abandoning the thin layer of aythar on the ground in favor of raising a giant shield, following the outlines of his larger circle. He had the other mage trapped now, between his small inner shield and the larger one.
He began to move the air in a circular fashion, creating a small cyclone centered on himself. Lifting dirt and gravel the area wa
s soon filled with a miniature sandstorm. The Prathion quickly dropped his invisibility and created a strong shield around himself, but it was far too late for that.
Daniel was merely experimenting. His room was too small to create anything large, and the soil of his floor only extended a short foot before it reached a wooden floor created by the root of the god tree. Here in the arena he had earth and air to play with and an opponent to focus on. The audience was just an added bonus.
He whipped the air and the dirt it carried into a blistering frenzy, scouring a wide circular depression into the ground. Eventually the force of it became so great that the other mage’s shield failed. He died terribly, for the man’s aythar still anchored him to the ground as the wind scoured the flesh from his bones. When he finally lost consciousness, his power failed completely and the air lifted him, to tumble around. By the time Daniel stopped the wind and lowered his shield, there was nothing left of the man. His body had disintegrated and been absorbed by the earth that had flown around the ring.
The She’Har roared with approval as he left the arena. Glancing at the crowd, he saw several with the distinctive silver hair of the Illeniel Grove, but his magesight did not find Lyralliantha’s aura among them.
He walked back to Garlin, feeling somewhat elated by his victory but without the adrenaline madness that had filled him the week before. “I’m glad it’s you today,” he told the warden.
“None of the others wanted the task,” said Garlin noncommittally.
“I lost my temper,” admitted Daniel. “It was Lavon who angered me though, not you.” He didn’t apologize. It would have been insincere, and besides, Garlin didn’t expect one, he had been raised in a different world.
“He was a bigger ass than most,” commented the warden.
“We’ve been ordered not to touch you in future. Most of the others want you dead,” Garlin informed him. “If you decide to do anything wild in the future, don’t worry about me. I’m not to interfere.”