Born of Magic (Channeler Series) Read online

  We walked through the scorched fields and prepared to begin restoring the various crops on the advisor’s list.

  “I hope that the slaughtering of their first wave should serve as a good message. If they hesitate long enough, their attack will have been nothing more than a warning for us. By the time they arrive, we’ll hopefully already have amassed an army that will make theirs pale in comparison.”

  For the next week we spent every day tending to the lost crops, re-growing as much as we could. The days were long and tiring, and the back of my neck grew redder every day from the sun's constant beating down on it. Though the work was exhausting, we enjoyed relative peace. Helendra checked in every day to inform us that there had been no further attacks witnessed throughout any portion of the North that she had contact with.

  “I think we’re in the clear for now, Jasminis. Enjoy the peace while it lasts,” Helendra said to me.

  “I have been.”

  The peace was nice, but I had no idea how to actually enjoy it, there was too much to think about.

  ....

  With a week straight of peace, everyone had grown a little more relaxed. No other Southerners had been seen by the scouts, and no more messages or attacks had taken place. The men they had lost in their first attack had served as a good deterrent to them it seemed.

  “The General says his army is assembled and has begun construction of defensive garrisons throughout the Southern border of Ordana,” Tevon informed me after his meeting with the General.

  “When are the other mages supposed to arrive?” I had grown impatient waiting for them. It was very exciting to think that we would have some more mages from the academy here. I hoped that it might help with my feelings of loneliness.

  “They should be here today. Their trip has taken a little longer than planned; they had to wait for a few last minute additions to the group,” Tevon said, and it seemed as though he was trying to hide something from me. I knew it would be a frivolous effort to try and get him to say what it was.

  “The General has announced that in honor of the crops being fully restored and the mages arriving to assist in the war preparations, he is going to hold a celebration tomorrow.” Tevon said with a small amount of excitement showing in his eyes. “We’re to be honorary guests.”

  I found the news that we were going to be considered honorary guests a little contradicting to the treatment we had been receiving from the General every day since we had been here. Even as we worked to replace the crops for his people he never bothered to thank us, or personally show us any sign of gratitude. This was the first gesture he had made that expressed his own gratitude.

  We sat in the advisor's office as Tevon explained this to me. The advisor, Calmius, had given us the use of his office while we were here, where we would often meet to coordinate our work. He was very knowledgeable of the workings of the kingdom and the current state of affairs. The General had many advisors for the different aspects of the kingdom, and they were all well experienced and knowledgeable in their area of expertise.

  Every other day the General would have a meeting with his advisors, ensuring he and they were up to date. From these meetings, Calmius would learn much about everything that was taking place in the kingdom, as well as the military affairs.

  I had learnt that Dhamlaic regularly attended these meetings as well, though he never spoke at them. Dhamlaic had yet to speak to me again since that night I had run into him while wondering around the castle. However, when he did see me, he always managed to shoot me a playful smile without anyone else noticing.

  “We should go meet the mages,” Calmius said. “The guards say they’re almost to the castle.”

  When Calmius announced this, Tevon and I almost jumped from our chairs. We rushed out of his office and made our way to the great hall where they would be entering the castle. Helendra had not bothered to inform us of which mages would be coming, though I figured I wouldn’t know them as she said they were to be the more experienced mages, of whom I knew very few.

  As we walked down the long red walkway to the castle’s front doors, they began to swing open. Light came pouring in, blinding me. It caused me to raise my hand and shade my eyes as they adjusted to it. From the entrance, a group of figures began to enter, but I couldn’t see them very well at first. As my eyes did regain their sight, they came into view.

  My heart leapt when I recognized one of them, it was Denarah. Alongside her stood Maaryn. They were standing close to one another with their heads tilted upwards, looking at the great hall in awe. Together they recognized me and broke off from the group and ran over to me. Tevon left my side and met with the other mages.

  “What are you two doing here?” I asked them both, almost jumping around with excitement.

  “I convinced them I would be invaluable for preparing weapons with my ability.” Denarah said. I remembered her usefulness in Caspere’s factory where they prepared countless powerful swords.

  “And I refused to let them go without me,” Maaryn added. I then realized she was the reason they had taken longer to get here, she was the one who had joined the group late. Helendra probably allowed this for my sake, and because there had been peace for so long now.

  I smiled and hugged them both. Tevon began to debrief the other mages while we talked. Denarah’s expression changed when she saw Yurios enter the room from one of the back hallways. She ran off to hug him while Maaryn stayed with me.

  “I’ll meet up with you later,” Denarah called back to us from halfway across the great hall.

  We caught up on everything that had taken place while I was gone. The most eventful of her stories entailed her and Denarah’s training they had done together. They had spent much of their free time training for combat to ensure they would be able to come to Ordana and see me and Yurios.

  “We didn’t have long to train, but we managed to improve rather quickly,” Maaryn explained, a confident look on her face as she did.

  I went on to tell her about the other mages we found and the battle that took place, leaving out the detail about how I had managed to use Yurios’ power while he was unconscious to stop the fires. Yurios had made no mention of it either since he had left the hospital. I had determined the secret would be safe.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t visit you in your dreams,” Maaryn said. “I figured you would be very tired with everything that was happening here and didn’t want to disturb your sleep.” She was about to continue, but I interrupted her with a hand on her shoulder.

  “Next time don’t hesitate to interrupt, it’s always nice to hear from you,” I told her, thinking back at how nice it would have been if she had been around to talk to during the past week.

  We continued catching up for a while, and Denarah joined us again sometime later, after having visited with Yurios.

  “In honor of us and the other mages there’s going to be a festival tomorrow on the main street. We’re even invited to a special dinner afterwards.”

  “In our honor? Not too long ago mages were unwelcome here. You guys sure changed their minds quickly,” Denarah said in astonishment. It seemed she and Yurious didn’t discuss current affairs much.

  “We get to spend the celebration together, right?” Maaryn said. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

  “I don’t see why not.”

  Denarah glanced over at the other mages who were calling them over. “I think we need to go meet up with them for now.”

  They joined the other mages and were given their own private quarters in another section of the city, separate from Tevon, Yurios’, and mine. Though they were in another part of the castle, I had no difficulty sleeping that night, knowing they were there. That was the first time I had in well over a week.

  The following day, we all slept in, knowing that it would be a long night with all that had been planned. I was greeted that morning by the same woman who had been in my room the week before. This time she took me to the castle’s tailor where a special dre
ss was to be made for me, just for the dinner.

  When we arrived at the tailor I was astonished to find it had already been made and just needed to be fitted for me. The dress was a dark black one. I found the choice in color too perfect to be coincidence. It had no sleeves and was very simple, yet elegant, with a wide patch of material that went around the waist area and acted as a belt. On the right shoulder strap there was a brooch attached.

  I walked over to the dress and looked at it in awe.

  “That’s a custom made Medal of Valor,” the tailor explained, pointing at the brooch. “The first to ever be awarded to a woman,” She said with a bit of pride. “You’re quite the amazing little girl. I only hope this dress does you justice.”

  She was very quick with her fitting. She had me change into the dress, and then made several marks and had me change back out of it. She told me it would be ready in just a few hours. I could see from all the various cut up sheets of material that she was busy preparing several other outfits for the occasion tonight.

  Just before lunch I went back to meet with the tailor, who showed me my completed dress. The sight of it sent a feeling of pride through me as I imagined myself wearing it. “It’s gorgeous,” I said as she handed it to me.

  “I hope you enjoy it, dear.” She then returned to working away at all of the other outfits she still had left to prepare.

  A little after lunch time the festival began. The four of us met up and went to the main street that led through the center of the city, where it was now filled with an endless assortment of food stands, performers, art shows, and people giving speeches about the upcoming war. I was quick to ignore them as they shouted to everyone about the enemy we face—I wanted to avoid that topic for the night.

  I stuck close by Maaryn, and Denarah remained very close to Yurios for most of the night, never leaving his side. She wrapped both of her arms around him as they walked. Their arrangement appeared awkward but neither seemed bothered by it. We made our way from one side of the city to the other, taking a look at every sight there was to be seen. I tried to imagine what it would be like if the academy ever put on a festival like this one. With all of their combined abilities, I best it would be a site to be seen.

  We passed one group of performers who danced around together. Then they began jumping onto each other’s shoulders. Together they climbed up the formation they made together, forming into an upside-down pyramid. The audience that had built up around them clapped with much excitement as they dismounted in a quick burst of back flips. All of them landed on their feet in a perfect formation before they bowed together.

  It was overwhelming, watching all of the other amazing performers. All of them did their acts in regular intervals so that everyone had a chance to see them all. As the night progressed on, some of the more active performers showed signs of exhaustion from all of the times they had done their particular act. Near the end of the festival, many of the performers had stopped a little early to recover.

  The food stands filled the cool night air with a wide array of different scents. Some were sweet while others seemed just plain delicious and succulent. The one stand that caught our attention the most was serving a dark cubed substance they called chocolate.

  We went over and were each given a small cube to try. The woman handing it out told us to let it melt in our mouths rather than chew it. I did as she suggested and let it set on my tongue. I could feel the cube lose its shape and melt away on my tongue, coating it with a sweet creamy flavor that trickled down the back of my throat. I had never tasted anything like it before. When it had melted completely, I swallowed the chocolaty liquid that had built up in my mouth.

  “That’s amazing,” I said, my heart fluttering from the sensation. I thanked the woman who had given us a sample. She recognized me and gave me a small handful of the chocolate wrapped in a waxy paper.

  “If you ever want more, just come in. You’re always welcome here,” she said. She pointed at the sign that hung from the building behind her stand. It read ‘Sandy’s Candies’ in bold, yellow writing.

  I nodded and we continued on.

  A few minutes later, an uproar of trumpets that came from the inner city wall around the castle, signaling the start of the honorary dinner. We hurried back to the castle, where our arrival was celebrated by all the guards, and we were granted access back in. We went to the great hall, where three rows of dining tables had been set up for the occasion, spanning from one end of the room to the other.

  At the end of the room there was one large table where the General and Tevon already sat. We parted ways as Yurios and I rushed over to the two open seats that were setup next to Tevon. We walked behind the pillars where the food was being setup for everyone to grab from when dinner began. Servants scurried around with different trays and pots of food, in preparation of the feast. The room was filled with military men, advisors and many other well dressed people I did not recognize.

  We reached the table and came out from behind the pillars and sat down next to Tevon. “Nice of you join us,” Tevon said, a joking smile on his face.

  Once we sat down, the General stood up. “People of Ordana, today we celebrate the fruits of our labors and the gifts of our new friends. In these troubling times, the academy of mages has opened their arms to those who had once turned a shoulder to them. We, the proud people of Ordana, have graciously accepted their offerings of help for we take on a great task ourselves.”

  “The enemy we face has been pushed back by the failure of their first attack, but they will not stop there. With Ordana acting as the gate to the rest of the North, they must come through us first.”

  “We have bravely taken on the task of fending these enemies off, assuring peace for the rest of the land. With the help of the mages you see here tonight at my side, we shall ensure that not one of these mages from the South makes it through our lands alive. We’ve never faced a foe like this before, but I can assure you, they’ve never faced a foe like that of Ordana!” As he spoke the room erupted in thunderous applause. “Their army will spill against our walls like water to stone.”

  He was about to continue when a crying hawk slipped in through the main doors as they were being closed. Its broad orange wings carried it across the hall as it glided over to us. The General stared at it with discontent as it interrupted his speech all too perfectly. The hawk landed on our table in front of me. Its eyes glowed purple as it stared into mine, showing me an image.

  I seemed to be looking through its eyes. From high up in the air the hawk flew, the rough rocky terrain floating below it like a river. It came upon a canyon, which it crossed with ease. When it reached the other side, it dove down, it’s perfect eyesight now my own. Below me were tents, thousands of them, tens of thousands, if not more. They were setup all across the desert land just on the other side of the canyon.

  My heart beat with a painful wallop of fear from the sight. My fists clenched as I saw them. The mages from the South gathered from their tents into formation. They stood together in countless rows of perfect lines. At the very front stood a woman dressed in dark black robes that made it seem as if it were night.

  She had long pure white hair that floated though there was no breeze; her eyes were dark red like her lips. The woman shouted to the massive army and they cheered at every word she said. As the hawk grew near, she looked up at it. Our eyes met and the vision faded.

  The hawk was grabbed by a guard and taken off. As my sight came back to me I saw that I was the center of attention of the entire room. Everyone started at me in silence.

  “What did you see?” Tevon asked.

  “They’re coming, thousands of them,” I answered.

  The General heard my response and shouted out to his people, “Let them come.”

  ....

  An entire month had passed since the banquet, and there hadn’t to be a single sign of the enemy’s army. I had spent every day since then working on my abilities. On most days, I would meet with seve
ral different mages and we would practice together. The elder mages all wanted to be familiar with the sensation of using so much magic. This seemed to make it easier for them.

  The sun was half set behind the canopy of singed trees to my right, but it was still warm here. From the edge of the farmland, South of the main castle, I could almost see the forest that lead to the canyon. The sight of that area sent a chill down my spine.

  Helendra walked up behind me and sat down on the small wooden bench that I was sitting on. The wood creaked slightly from her slender frame. We had yet to try using my magic with her, and I doubted we ever would. There didn’t seem to be any point to it—she could do everything she needed to with the magic that she naturally had from Etherea.

  “How do you feel, Jasminis?” Helendra said with a soft tone.

  “Warm.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “How do you feel about what lies ahead of you?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”

  She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed gently. “I do not think anyone ever truly is. All you can do is try your best.” She paused for a moment; looking down at the ground, then back up at me. “I’m proud of how fast you have grown. I do not know how ready I am, but I know that you are. More so than any of us.”

  “I haven’t really done anything that great yet,” I said, thinking back to all of the challenges and struggles I’ve experienced while training with the other mages.

  “Yes you have. You stopped the city of Ordana from falling, united the Mages Academy with the Kingdom of Ordana, and brought hope to everyone that we can overcome this challenge. You have accomplished much for your age.”

  “Then why don’t I feel like it?”

  “Because you know what is still left to be done, but you cannot look at it that way. You have to enjoy these moments of peace. Use them to focus your thoughts and grow. There will be many difficult days throughout your life, but there will also be good days. Days where you can sit down and watch the sunset in peace.”