S01E05 - Preparations

I argued with Indred late into the night against travelling to Kaliana. My daughter and her friends were here and under my guardianship. I would be away for several days, maybe a week, and should be training to release the enhanced strength and agility of my transmogrified body. I didn't have the equipment necessary. Each excuse was expertly parried. Equipment would be provided by the Crown. Martial training could be undertaken at Kaliana. I would be wasting time here when I should be building magical defences. My daughter was in the safest place in the entire kingdom and I was being over-protective.

One thing that Indred was curious about was my channeling capacity. Since I didn't have an internal meter to tell me when I was approaching my limit, he set me to casting a long-form cleaning spell which was known to be rather intensive because it called directly on the Spirit and not its Aspect. Tracing silvery glyphs in the air with my finger, I cast the spell.

"Mistress of the Hearth, Munna, I adjure thee to hear my request and grace this supplicant with thine presence. Cast out that filth which is offensive to thy sweet nature and organise that which is in chaos. I invoke thee: Spirit Maid!

With the first Invocation, a sweet scented breeze reminiscent of a spring meadow blew gently around the room. Dust and dirt was swept into a pile where it vanished in an invisible vortex, clothes were cleaned, pillows fluffed, books and papers organised, wood polished to a glossy shine. After four more castings I was feverish.

"That's enough." Indred said, stopping me from casting the spell a sixth time. "I can see your face is flushed and you are feeling the strain of channeling. By my reckoning you have more than twice my own ability, which annoys me more than you can know. There's no need for you to continue."

I was glad he stopped me, because I would have pushed to see exactly what my limits were despite the danger of overheating. I'm certain he has something to revive an overeager apprentice, right?

A flickering of the mage-lights set on the walls signalled that it was time to recast them. Not wanting to be a burdensome guest, I took that as a signal to take my leave and retire back to my suite. After a cool bath, I collapsed exhausted into the soft bed.

The next morning, I explained the conversation I had with Indred and the need to travel to Kaliana. The girls didn't seem upset at all over my announcement and told me to be careful and bring back souvenirs. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear they wanted to get rid of me.

After a light breakfast, I accompanied the girls to the training grounds to see them outfitted and make sure they weren't given chain mail bikinis to wear. It was a bittersweet relief to see them equipped with padded leather armour, which was scuffed and cracked with use. It was a visual reminder of the danger that they would soon be facing.

Much complaining was made about the smell of stale man-sweat that permeated the leathers and I couldn't resist showing off a bit of magic. Evoking the Aspect of Munna, her broom Mapleflower, was faster and easier than channeling the spirit, although I was quite warm after doing it four times. I wondered how much rest my body required to recover from channeling long form.

"Why can't I do that?" Paige whinged after repeating the charm to no effect.

"Because it contains five runes with a total of thirty-two strokes. You have to envision the entire charm mentally and understand the idea behind each rune and stroke before anything will happen. It also helps to be in a fantasy world with magic." I grinned. "You're going to have to study hard or stick with using enchantments."

She threatened me with the heavy wooden sword that was going to be part of their training. "When you get back I'll be able to slice you to ribbons. Everyone knows that mages suck at close quarters combat."

"In that case, I'll practice hard to be a very sneaky mage." I laughed, thumping her on the hard leather helmet protecting her head.

Tracy and Yvonne were already play-fighting with their wooden blades when the trainer appeared.

"TOE THE LINE!" he bellowed, causing the girls to jump and huddle together. Pointing at a faded yellow line on the floor he bellowed again. "THERE'S THE LINE! TOES ON THE LINE!"

The girls hustled to fall in and get their toes on the line while I watched in bemusement.

Turning his attention to me, he growled "What do you think you're doing?"

I looked the man over. He was 200 centimetres of solid muscle with thickly corded arms wrapped in the forest green uniform of Cerise. He looked every bit the part of a hard-ass sergeant, complete with facial scar above his left eyebrow. "I thought I'd watch the girls train for a bit before I poked around the palace library." I said.

"Are you a hero?" he asked, voice suddenly syrupy sweet.

"Unwilling." I said, staring into his eyes. "And I have a problem with authority."

"What kind of hero can't protect women?" He challenged. "You going to hide behind these girls until they defeat the Demon King?"

"No, I'm going to gather information for my trip to Kaliana and then pack for my trip in the morning."

"No," He countered. "You're going to grab a sword and shield and start training so you can protect these women."

I ended up dressed in heavy padded leathers and carrying the heaviest wooden sword and shield he could find. I found out later his name was Sergeant Miles Lawson, and I spent the rest of the day cursing it in the most inventive ways possible.

* * * * *

Simon, the gangly and meek apprentice of Indred, woke me before dawn the next morning. I groaned, muscles sore from the exertions of the previous day. Combat training wasn't a part of the tortures Sergeant Lawson inflicted upon us, but we ran, climbed, and crawled for hours building endurance and stamina. I'm sure I'd thank him for it one day, but today wasn't that day.

Simon handed me a worn leather backpack stuffed with whatever Magus Indred had seen fit to provide for my trip to Kaliana. Two burly guards in battle uniform accompanied us as we walked across the pre-dawn grounds towards a thick copse located behind Alevan's temple. They carried a pair of torches and we passed occasional patrols along the way.

The guards Brice and Colin, didn't have surnames and neither did Simon to my surprise. It seemed that most commoners didn't. I quickly discovered that the lack of a surname opened the path for having many names. Simon was Simon the apprentice of Magus Indred. He was also Simon, son of Matthew, or Simon of Trent village, son of Matthew the fletcher. Surnames were apparently for the upper class and only important if you needed to know who was taxing you.

The paved path turned into a dirt trail that led through the woods and opened onto a clearing where a ring of eleven monoliths were set in a circle. It reminded me of a miniature stonehenge.

A short, willowy woman with a thin sword at her hip exited from a door set in a nearby hillock and waited patiently for us. Brice slapped a hand over his heart and greeted her. "Alefin Ryllae, his majesty the king has commanded me to request use of your Way."

"This is the hero?" she asked, her accent was foreign, musical, reminding me of French.

"It is." Brice said. "Doctor Samuel Andrew Carter. He is to be taken to Kaliana to meet the council of mages."

She looked me over and I returned the interest. Her face was porcelain perfection, pale as moonlight and beautiful. She was thin, maybe 167cm tall, with dirty blonde hair that ran straight to her shoulders and pulled back over her right ear. I noticed a distinct point on that ear.

"Is it impolite to ask if you're an elf?" I asked.

"It is," she said. "Is the truth not apparent?"

"I've never met an elf before," I responded. "Although I know much about them from the tales of heroes that returned from other worlds. I would be interested in learning more about you and your people."

"We are a private people." She responded. "Although I am interested in the other elves." Handing a pack to Brice, she turned and walked towards the henge. "Come."

"That's more than she's spoken to me in the last three years," Colin muttered, gesturing for us to follow her.

We stood in the centre of the henge for fifteen minutes in the chill autumn air while the grey sky slowly saturated with the bright orange of dawn. As the light increased I could make out deep carvings on the stones which mimicked the dawn in shades of tea rose and carrot.

When some moment had passed that only she could fathom, Ryllae commanded us to be quite and remain still. She then approached each stone and traced certain runes upon it speaking softly. I could detect no pattern as she moved from one to another, touching them seemingly at random.

The air around us grew dense and the birdsong of dawn muted, then fell silent.

"Pass through swiftly." She said, pointing to a dirt path that led between two stones that framed the rising sun.

Colin grabbed my arm and hustled me forward, familiar with the ritual. As we crossed the threshold, the scenery changed abruptly to a wasteland. Towers of broken rock were stacked randomly, some a few metres tall while others soared like apocalyptic skyscrapers, creating a chaotic maze bathed in the dawn light.

I looked back to see Ryllae appear from thin air. Behind her was another henge, mirroring the one we had just left. Runes carved on the outside of the rocks flared with orange light and vanished as if they had never existed.

Looking pointedly at me and Simon, she said "I am your guide through the Alefin Ways. Do not stray from my path or you will become lost and prey for the beasts that roam this land." Addressing Brice and Colin she said "Protect them."