A peaceful quiet enveloped Albustone city. Birds chirped their melodies while warming themselves in the mid-morning sun. Families slept in and enjoyed breakfast together, finally getting a reprieve from work on their one-day weekend.
“Come on Mavence, hurry!” Talynn beckoned as he sprinted across the white stone floors of the castle, his energy unbound by the ambient calm.
“What’s the rush? Do we really have to postpone breakfast for this?” Mavence groaned.
“We can eat later. We came in real late last night, but since it’s morning now, Daecus is probably going to debrief the emperor after all that happened. This is our chance to finally find some answers about what’s going on!”
“Fine, fine,” Mavence sighed. Hungry and tired, he was not nearly enjoying the morning as much as Talynn, who was getting very into his secret agent routine as they snuck around the castle.
“Okay we’re close,” Talynn drew an inscription circle on the ground with this lux chalk and then placed a small stone in the center.
“What’s this?”
“Stand in the middle of this circle with me. It’s a silence spell. It uses wind magic to dampen the sounds we make. Once the spell is cast, as long as I supply lumi to this wind mutostone, the spell will be sustained.”
Talynn placed his hand on the outer ring of the inscription circle and activated the spell. Instantly the sounds around them became muted. They continued down the hall and found a long staircase. After climbing it, they reached the floor just above the emperor’s throne room. After finding a food storage room a short distance from one of the many kitchens in the castle, they climbed the shelves of supplies and entered one of the many ventilation shafts use to cool the castle and circulate fresh air.
“Are you sure this is where we’re supposed to go? I can hardly move in this thing,” Mavence whispered loudly.
“Yep, this is the way Versutana told me to go. She and I can both fit in here just fine.”
“Well you both are a lot smaller than I am,” Mavence grumbled.
After making their way through the narrow shafts, they found themselves at one of the vents at the very top of the emperor’s throne room. Far below, Daecus was in the middle of her report to the emperor. Talynn reduced the lumi flow to the mutostone so they could hear better.
“Did you get a good look at this thief?”
“No. He had quite a powerful arsenal of magic weapons, and he escaped with the weapon before we could capture him. From the intel we gathered, the culprit was likely a human or an imp.”
“So either Grisean or Furvusian. Both kingdoms are thorns in the side of our empire. Grisea would have us conquered and enslaved, Furvusa would have civil war. Curse them both,” Prosephius gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. “We must keep these weapon out of their hands at all costs.”
“I agree. If either kingdom is able to mass-produce these weapons, it would doubtlessly lead to war. We must find some way to keep that final component out of our enemy’s hands,” Daecus responded.
“Indeed. Unfortunately, the pieces needed to complete the weapons are produced by the Sorudae, a kingdom not under our control. As an independent kingdom, we cannot monitor or control their trade relations with kingdoms outside of our empire.”
“Is there no way we can send in a military force?”
“Just entering their country is extremely difficult, getting a military force into it would be nigh impossible,” Prosephius shook his head.
“The only alternative seems to be setting up a wide perimeter around their borders in an attempt to intercept the thief. Unfortunately there’s a chance they will detect us surrounding them and interpret it as an act of war,” said Daecus.
“The Sorudae already detest humans. Further straining our relations with them is a risk I would rather not take. We should discuss this with the rest of the council later. For now, send for the archmage. I will see if he has any other insights.”
“Yes, your highness,” Daecus bowed and then departed.
Unable to turn their bodies around in the narrow space, Talynn and Mavence painstakingly crawled through the maze of vents in reverse, a surprisingly arduous process. As they climbed out and exited the storeroom, Mavence whispered in a low voice to Talynn.
“Who are the ‘Sorudae’ they were talking about?”
“Not sure. Some independent kingdom apparently,” Talynn shrugged.
“Wow, there’s something that you don’t know for once?”
“There’s a lot of things I don’t know. And when I don’t know something, I go to the best place in the world; the library!”
“Oh god, please don’t make me go into a library.”
Mavence begrudgingly followed as Talynn eagerly lead them to the Albustone library near the castle. Stained glass windows, ornate stonework, and tall aged wooden doors welcomed them into the massive six-story library. The place was quietly abuzz with scholars, mages, students, and scribes engrossed in their work.
“Over here,” Talynn lead them to the history and geography section. He tilted his head sideways and began scanning the titles of the books on the shelves. “Let me see… ah, here we go! ‘A Historical Analysis of Biology and Culture in the Vastusan Continent’. They have a chapter on the Sorudae.”
“Let’s read it real fast and get out of here. It’s embarrassing for a knight to be caught in a library.”
“Okay, let’s see what the highlights are,” Talynn cleared his throat and scanned the pages. “‘The Sorudae are a reclusive race with a strong physiological connection to lumi. Masters of arcane knowledge, their society places a heavy emphasis on their spiritual bond with lumi. For centuries they have been most technologically advanced civilization in terms of magic tools and weaponry, and they are the originators of the term “mage”. Distinguishing physical features include glowing blue eyes, pale blue skin, tall stature, and thin physique with a relatively weak muscular structure. To make up for their lack of physical strength, Sorudaic people often keep Simiamu as servants/companions for performing physical tasks.’”
“Yeah, yeah, get to the important part. I’m getting bored.”
“Okay. ‘Simiamu are primarily used in the mining of luxite ore used in the crafting of magic stones. The Sorudae have long held a monopoly on the exports of magic stones such as luxstones, mutostones, runestones, and sealstones.’ Hm. Now that I think about it, I’ve heard of sealstones, but I’ve never actually seen one. I don’t even know how they work.”
“Which means?”
“It means we find another book!”
“Ugh,” Mavence groaned just a bit too loudly. A nearby librarian harshly shushed him. Mavence mouthed a ‘sorry’.
“Come on, over here,” Talynn beckoned and quickly disappeared between the shelves of books once more. “I need to find a book on magic tools. Let’s see… here! Okay, seals… here it is. Mavence, I think this is it! I think this is the missing piece of your sword.”
“The thing that goes in that slot on the hilt?”
“Yep! It’s a sealstone!”
“Right. Cool. Actually, I forgot what all these stones do so I’m not sure what that means.”
“Okay, so a luxstone is just a stone with a bunch of lumi in it. You can use it as a power boost or a lumi supply when you’re low. A mutostone takes normal lumi and transmutes it into an element, but the user still has to be able to form the inscription to cast the spell on their own. That lightning spell that assassin used against us in the mines was using a mutostone in his gauntlet. A runestone combines a luxstone and a mutostone and etches an inscription over it, which creates a single-use super powerful spell. That’s what the assassin froze you to the wall with. With me so far?”
“Right,” nodded Mavence.
“According to this, a seals contains an inscription and a mutostone. Unlike a runestone, seals are reusable. If they embedded a seal into the hilt of a sword that conducts lumi, you’d theoretically be able to give your ordinary weapon a magic attribute,” Talynn explained.
“So I’d be able to wield magic?”
“Sort of. If it works like I think it would, it would draw lumi from your body and use it in a simple repeatable spell. So, for example, if you had a fire seal, you could cover your sword in flames and use it to melt ice. Or, if you used a lightning seal, you could point your sword and shoot a bolt of lightning from it.”
“Lightning sword? Please, please, please, make me a lightning sword.”
“I see now why Daecus said this could start a war. Normally, if one side doesn’t have mages in a battle, it’s almost certain that they will lose. A regular soldier usually can’t deal with most magic attacks, but with a weapon like this, they finally could. People other than mages would actually be able to use magic. If you had an army wielding that kind of weaponry, they could conquer an entire continent. Uh oh,” Talynn said as something dawned on him.
“What?”
“This is extra bad news considering who stole that weapon from the dwarves.”
“You saw who it was?”
“Not exactly, but when that assassin was about to stab me, I got a look at his eyes. They were red.”
“He’s an imp? Yeah, that is bad. Imps really have it out for the empire. I’d hate to imagine a bunch of them running around with those,” said Mavence.
“You heard what the emperor said about the Furvusians too. They already want to start a civil war. And wars don’t bode well with our plans to explore and go on adventures.”
“This is true,” Mavence nodded.
Talynn placed the book back and went to lean over the railing overlooking the lower floors, pondering their next move. After a couple minutes, someone caught his eye.
“Hey look, it’s the archmage!” Talynn pointed to the bottom floor. The archmage had been leisurely thumbing through records when one of the emperor’s attendants whispered something into his ear. The archmage gave a nod and began to head for the exit. “Looks like he’s going to meet with the emperor now. Come on, let’s go back to that hiding spot.”
The pair sprinted ahead of the archmage to the castle. After casting the silence spell, the pair made their way through the ventilation shafts once more and made their way to the top corner of the throne room. The archmage entered the room a moment later, an air of arrogance about him.
“Archmage Selvus. Thank you for coming.”
“Your highness,” the archmage gave a slight bow. As he approached the throne, he paused for a moment as if a strange scent tickled his nose, but then vanished.
“I have received news that one of the luxsteel weapons has been stolen. We have yet to come up with a way to retrieve it.”
“I knew the dwarves were useless,” Selvus shook his head in disgust. “We should have stationed our own guards there.”
“A wise idea in retrospect, but that was not the terms of our agreement with the Parvosans.”
“Sounds like you should have given an order instead of making a deal.”
Prosephius tapped his fingernails on the armrests of his throne, debating whether or not to put the archmage in his place. He decided to let it go.
“Either way, we must discuss the matter of the sealstones once more. Are you still absolutely sure this is something we cannot create without the Sorudae?”
“I hate to say it, but those pompous windbags are the only ones who have the knowledge and resources to create sealstones. Even if I were to obtain one, I wouldn’t have the tools to replicate it. That’s how the Sorudae leverage their independence. They keep a tight lid on their trade secrets.”
“As I am well aware. Unfortunately this poses a significant threat to the empire. If the thief unites the sealstone with the luxsteel weapon, they will be one step closer to mass-producing weapons that could topple an empire.”
Up in the ventilation shaft, Talynn moved to reposition himself when he smacked his head on the stones above him and let out a small yelp of pain. The emperor and archmage looked about as the faint noise echoed throughout the throne room, seemingly from every direction. Talynn instinctively poured more lumi into the mutostone to strengthen the sound-dampening effect of the silence spell. This was a mistake.
The release of lumi was enough to allow the archmage to instantly pinpoint their location. He stretched out his hand upwards towards the opening of the ventilation shaft and spoke several commands in an ancient language.
“Sor Ventus Traherē!”
A stone on one of Selvus’ necklaces began to glow a bright green. Talynn and Mavence were violently yanked through the opening of the ventilation shaft by a huge suction force. After their exit, the pair screamed as they plummeted down through the six-story high throne room towards the stone floor.
Retrieving his staff, the archmage formed a three-layered inscription circle at an impossibly fast speed and cast another wind spell. Just before reaching the ground, Talynn and Mavence hit a cushion of air that felt like landing in a pile of feathers. They laid on the floor, breathing heavily as the adrenaline hit their bodies.
“What are you two doing here? Espionage and trespassing on the emperor’s throne room are capital offenses! To the dungeon with you!” The Archmage shouted furiously.
“Calm yourself, Selvus. That’s not your order to give. They’re guests of the emperor, and just children at that.”
“Are not these matters we are discussing confidential, your highness?”
“These children were there when that thief stole the weapon, they saw and even did battle with him. There’s hardly a point in trying to hide matters of this from them now.”
Talynn shot a smug grin at the archmage.
“But that doesn’t mean you two are off the hook, young men,” the emperor gave a stern look at them. “How did you get up there? Did my mischievous daughter tell you how?”
“Um, maybe? Yeah… Yeah she did,” Talynn winced and scratched the back of his head.
“And pray tell, what were you doing there?”
“We were actually coming to talk to you, but someone else was already there, so we just kind of… yeah. But! I was doing some research on the Sorudae, and I think I have a way to get us into their kingdom.”
“As if a child’s insight will be useful. Go along now, don’t waste the emperor’s time,” the archmage attempted to shoo them away.
“There’s no harm in hearing them out. I know Talynn here to be a bright young man. Let’s see what his thoughts are. So,” Prosephius turned his full attention to Talynn. “You do know that the Sorudae have very strict policies governing foreign relations, correct? Due to their strict neutrality, even under special circumstances military personnel of other kingdoms are not allowed within their borders.”
“Right, so what if you disguised a few people and sent them in as spies?” Talynn suggested.
Selvus gave a derisive snort.
“Unfortunately that would not work, I doubt that they’d even make it across the border. You see, the trouble with the Sorudae is they can perceive when a person is lying to them. If they ask you questions and you give the wrong answer or tell them a lie, you will not be granted passage.”
“How do they tell when a person is lying to them?”
“The Sorudae have a far higher lumi sensitivity than even the sharpest of human sensory types,” Selvus replied. “They can detect a miniscule disruption in the lumi flow within one’s body when a person lies. No matter how skilled of a liar the person is, Sorudaic people can always tell with perfect precision whether or not they are telling the truth.”
“Well, what if you didn’t send military personnel then? What if you sent an aspiring young mage and his friend under recommendation from you personally, and sent just one really really good soldier? Then we could enter the country and do some investigation without raising suspicion.”
The archmage opened his mouth as if he were about to object, but he was unable to think of a better alternative.
“Not a bad idea, my boy! I’m sure a mage seeking knowledge and guidance wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for them. I suppose if I chose a retired veteran, we could get past the military personnel restriction as well. See Selvus, the mind of a child can be a wonderful thing.”
Talynn smiled brightly while Selvus’ nose twitched.
“I know you both returned from your journey to Monparvos just last night, but I would very much appreciate it if you prepared to depart as soon as possible. Time is of the essence. The thief could be on his way to Sorudaea as we speak.”
“Yes sir!” Talynn and Mavence said in unison.
“I will have my attendants pack supplies for your journey. Take whatever else you need. I will send for the veteran who will accompany you. He’s a valiant warrior and a good friend of mine,” the emperor said with a nostalgic twinkle in his eye. “His name is Evanen Drae.”
“How’s your tea, dear?”
“It’s fine. Haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure it tastes just like it did yesterday. And the day before that. And the last twenty years before that,” the man said as he sat down across from the elderly woman. A fresh breeze gently teased his graying hairs as it rolled through Albustone in the quiet suburban part of the city.
“Fine mood you seem to be in, Evanen,” the woman gave a sarcastic reply. Though her skin was wrinkled with age, she had a kind face and sassy eyes.
“Just looking at me used to put a smile on your face. I guess my good looks just don’t cut it for you anymore,” she said with a saucy wag of her head.
“Maybe twenty years ago they might have,” Evanen said and took a sip of his tea.
“You brat!” The woman kicked her husband’s leg from under the table.
“Ouch! You got tea all over me, Shila,” Evanen scowled at her while he took a hand towel and tried to clean up the hot tea that spilled onto him.
“You deserved it,” she said with an evil smirk.
“I was joking! You’re still beautiful, I swear. Prettiest wife I’ve ever had.”
“I’m the only wife you’ve ever had,” she rolled her eyes.
“You know what would make you even more beautiful in my eyes? Letting me chop down that god-forsaken tree.”
“Why do you want to cut down my manguu tree so badly? We’ve had it for over a decade!”
“And it looks horrid! It’s a pile of sticks most of the year, then it drops some pitiful fruit which then rots in the yard because you won’t throw it away. And I sure as heck won’t be picking up rotten fruit from the ground with my old bones,” Evanen made a show of rubbing his back.
“Oh, don’t you give me that. You may be seventy, but you have the looks and strength of someone twenty years younger. I look like a raisin next to a grape. You make me look like I’m your mother.”
“Oh no, don’t say that,” Evanen let out a hearty laugh.
“By all accounts, you should be the older-looking one. You fought as a knight for decades, yet you never aged as harshly as the others. Almost makes me think you never fought at all. You just stood on the sidelines, didn’t you? Let the real men do the fighting,” Shila said, trying to push his buttons.
“Don’t you start that again,” Evanen twitched, his wife’s ploy working. “You can ask the emperor yourself, I fought alongside him as his best knight. We were great and fearsome warriors.”
“Sure sure. Whatever you say, dear. Still doesn’t explain your youthful vigor. But I think I know what does. I know the secret,” Shila leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Is that so?” Evanen raised an eyebrow.
“It’s the stone, wasn’t it? The Lucidaros stone. The emperor used to wear it around his neck wherever he went, back in those days.”
“You really think a rock did this? Oh boy,” Evanen rolled his eyes.
“Oh, stop you. You’re trying to throw me off by looking at me like I’m crazy! But I know it’s true,” she wagged a finger at him. “I overheard some mages talking about it. How light magic can heal people. If the Lucidaros stone has light magic as strong as they say it does, it must have slowed down your aging.”
“That’s quite a stretch, my dear.”
“No, it fits perfectly, actually. You fought alongside the emperor for nearly twenty years. Day in and day out, you were by his side. Now, at the age of seventy, you look to be fifty. Twenty years difference. See?”
“You’re off your rocker, old woman.”
“Aha! I know that face! I’m right,” she said triumphantly.
“See, fighting in the war really wasn’t bad for my health after all. You were so sure I was going to die.”
“I sure wish you had for a while there. Then I could have remarried. But no, you stayed alive and left me and your firstborn son waiting for ten years,” Shila said in a tone that was almost teasing, yet very much not.
“Hey, after the war was over we had a new empire and a peaceful era to raise our children in. We even have grandchildren now. Only one of our three kids hates me, so I think we did pretty well.”
“And now I get to live out the rest of my years married to a grumpy old fart who never stops babbling on about the ‘good ol’ days’.”
“Well, since I’m not living in those glory days anymore, talking about them is the only thing I can do to feel young and alive again,” Evanen shrugged.
“Oh, and I don’t make you feel young and alive?” Shila gave Evanen a chance to correct himself. He didn’t.
“We sit here everyday drinking tea and looking at that ugly tree in our yard. The most exciting thing we ever do is take walks when your hip’s not hurting. How’s that supposed to make me feel young?”
“So what, you’d rather go fight in another war instead of spend time with me?”
“No, of course not! Maybe… Okay, maybe a little one. But then I’d come right back!”
“Why on earth would a man willingly go out into a battlefield? As if you haven’t seen enough war in your lifetime!”
“You wouldn’t understand, dear. I know you’ve tried, but you never really will. You see, most men experience war and hate it. They leave a battlefield traumatized, as if they’ve been torn in half on every level of their being. But some men, some men have a warrior’s blood. Some men don’t hate battle; they revel in it. Some men never truly feel alive until they’re fighting for their lives. And that,” Evanen held his finger up for emphasis. “That is the warrior’s curse. A true warrior will never truly feel at peace when there’s peace. Peace takes away that thing that gets our blood boiling. That thing that gives us something to fight for. That thing that makes men legends and stories that will be told for generations.”
“Here we go again. You raving about how wonderful war is and how eager you’d be to rush into a battle that would kill you. You’re a fool!” Shila began raising her voice.
“That sure beats dying in my sleep as a wrinkled old man! What kind of glory or honor comes from a pathetic death like that? That’s not how a warrior is supposed to die!” Evanen shouted back.
Across the street, one of their neighbors trimmed the shrubs lining his yard in silence. He was then joined by his next-door neighbor, who stepped out onto his lawn sipping a cup of tea.
“They at it again?”
“Yep. I really thought they were having a decent conversation, but it shortly turned into their afternoon teatime argument,” the man lowered his clippers and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.
“They’re nothing if not consistent,” the other neighbor nodded as they listened to the older couple continue to bicker. “You know, I think they would make great characters in the theater. They have this dynamic where you don’t know if they love or hate each other. Makes for great drama.”
“Oh oh oh, look,” the man tilted his head towards the two imperial knights marching down the stone road straight to the couple’s house. “Speaking of drama, this should be interesting.”
Once the knights came into view, Evanen and Shila finally stopped their bickering. A giddy grin instantly appeared on Evanen’s face.
“I’m about to get summoned,” he whispered excitedly to his wife. She shook her head in disapproval.
“Evanen Drae. His highness, the emperor has summoned you,” said one of the knights.
“Am I being summoned for a mission?”
“I am not at liberty to-”
“Yes! I’m going on a mission,” he said with a fist pump.
“Sorry, my love, but I must go immediately,” Evanen jumped up and gave her a swift peck on the cheek.
“Come on boys, chop chop,” Evanen clapped his hands at the knights. “The emperor needs me. Aedonia needs me!”
“Don’t you go dying on me yet, Evanen Drae,” Shila yelled as she watched him leave. “Or I’ll bury you right under that ugly manguu tree myself!”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0CAhR1KSL
