Chapter Ten - Armon Drael

The Age of Power – Year 518 of the First Age

The halls of the master alchemists in the forges of Armon Drael gleamed in the brilliant sunlight of the afternoon. Pillars of whitest marble lined with gold circlets at their bases and up at their highest points stood commandingly at twenty feet in height and ten feet apart. They lined the hall on either side of a thick black rug that stretched out the length of the room. Hundreds of windowpanes comprised the walls of glass stretched from floor to ceiling between each pillar allowing sunlight to beam throughout the room, showing off the majestic snowy mountain ranges of the land of Soceria.

King Wystan made his way down the rug with respectful haste, not too quickly, but not wasting any time. This day was the day he longed for. This day was the day of the kings. As he reached the end of the hall, he was greeted by two guards dressed in formal wear and carrying long spears. As he approached, they snapped their legs together, tightening their stance in attentive salute to King Wystan. Wystan walked through the arched doorway they guarded uncontested. They were expecting him. Wystan walked through the archway and turned left into a chamber containing a long rectangular table encircled with heavy padded chairs, the king’s dining chamber. He was the last to arrive.

At the head of the table was King Amos of Soceria. On Amos’ left was King Seevus of Rhodhinia wearing his usual battle armor, plates of polished steel on top of finely woven shoulder mounted chain mail. A headpiece of chainmail was reserved for battle. His white hair he kept cropped short, and on his fingers rested many fine bands of gold. To Amos’ right was King Osa of Lorlea. Osa, old and feeble, was nevertheless honest, kind, and pure of heart. Wystan considered him a friend. He sat in his seat, stoic, unmoved, somber as ever. He wore a black leather tunic with a gray cape, boots of black leather, and a large silver necklace studded with sparkling onyx. Wystan approached the gathering and chose the chair beside Seevus. When he sat, a group of armed guards shut the doors and barred them in. A gathering of such royalty was heavily guarded. Wystan nodded to each of the other three kings at the table. All three acknowledged him; Amos and Osa did so warmly, Seevus merely returned his nod curtly.

“May I first suggest we dispense with the formalities of our titles. We are equals here, and we are alone. Gentlemen?” Amos offered.

“Gentlemen,” Wystan and Osa affirmed. Seevus contented himself to a curt nod, yet again. Amos, seeing this as a step in the right direction, decided to move on.

“You all know why you have been summoned, it is, obviously, no secret. You know why you’re here.”

“Let’s just get on with it,” Seevus interjected.

“I’m getting there, Seevus,” Amos said, and then he pulled from beneath the table three sleek wooden cases, all identical. Wystan noticed a stark difference in reaction between Seevus and Osa. Osa sat, unmoved by the presentation of the packages. Seevus’ eyes glinted with envy and impatience. Amos, however, had eyes only for Wystan. He found it interesting how Wystan was paying attention to the other kings rather than the package he had come to collect.

“Of course, we have all known of the apparent power that lies within these rare gems. My alchemists have studied them at great length and discovered that they can be refined in such a way that would allow them to focus certain energies like a sort of lens, allowing the wielder to influence the elements. Gentlemen, the decision we have made to construct these staffs is one we made together. It was done to maintain balance of power among us. Let us not waste this collaboration. For too long we have had discord among us.” Wystan noticed Amos’ eyes linger a little longer on Seevus, who remained unmoved. “Let us move forward together. This effort has shown that we can work together peacefully. With our resources combined we can build a prosperous and beautiful world together.”

“I did not come here for talks of peaceful relations. The fact that I am here peacefully speaks for itself,” Seevus said, rupturing the warm environment immediately.

“I think it’s a shame we can’t work more closely together,” Wystan said.

“To what end?” Seevus replied.

“For peace,” Osa rasped slowly, his tired old voice sounding lazy and worn. Seevus merely scoffed.

“Alldel wouldn’t have peace. They don’t even forgive old debts.”

“I would remind you that the kingdom of Rhodhinia is the one that accepted the debt from Alldel,” Amos chided. “Without it, Rhodhinia would be in ruin.”

“Alldel knows we can barely afford the interest alone. If they had any compassion, they would not be profiting from such a restrictive agreement.”

“Alldel offered you a way out of that debt, Seevus,” Wystan reminded him.

“If you think I’m going to hand over our gems of power to Alldel, then you’re seriously misguided in your beliefs. What of balance of power?”

“Alldel does not seek military conflict with anyone,” Wystan said defiantly.

“No, of course not, you simply choke out your inferiors with taxing financial burdens.”

“I have never, nor will I ever consider one of my neighboring nations an inferior. Alldel recognizes Rhodhinia as a powerful and sovereign nation. I also do not seek to choke you out. I say again, Rhodhinia agreed to the terms of the deal when it was brokered.”

“That was decades ago by kings who aren’t even living any longer.”

“That is why Alldel is willing to forgive the monetary debt in exchange for…”

“Oh, don’t even pretend like you’re helping Rhodhinia with that offer. Alldel would double its magical influence and drain Rhodhinia of magic completely with that offer; an insult!”

“It was never intended to be an insult of any kind…”

“You would see us defenseless if not broken!” Seevus shouted, rising from his seat.

“Rhodhinia is broken, Seevus!” Wystan, finally losing his temper, rose to meet him.

“Then you admit it!”

“I admit nothing!” Seevus and Wystan were now almost nose-to-nose with one another. Wystan could feel Seevus’ breath on his face. “Rhodhinia’s plight is of its own making! Poor leadership, poor economic decisions, too lazy to…”

“Admit it, you want us as defenseless as we are broken!”

“Gentlemen! please,” Osa’s old voice wheezed above the two of theirs. “Please,” he said again more quietly. And then gestured for the two of them to sit back down. “Now is not the time for this old argument.” They looked at one another for a silent moment. Finally, Wystan straightened his cloak.

“Yes, quite right,” Wystan said, mastering himself. Seevus simply sat back down.

“I can see we have a long way to go before we can find true peace among the four of our nations,” Amos went on. “Nevertheless, we are here together in peace,” he paused for a moment to see if anyone would contest him. “As you all know,” Amos went on, picking up where he had left off, “These incredible weapons we have forged together can be wielded by anyone. They were, however, forged from a piece of each of you. By the laws of alchemy, this means they will never answer to anyone better than to you. The exception among us being that of Lorlea, who has decided to allow their military commander to wield their staff.” Osa nodded in confirmation.

Amos passed Osa one of the three boxes. Osa opened it and pulled out a long black staff, standing about five feet in height. It bore a black onyx stone in the top. Silver threads could be seen woven intricately around the shaft of the staff in a helical pattern.

“The threads you see are a silver alloy forged through an alchemical process that allows the wielder to interact with the stone. They are vital to the staff’s operation,” Amos said. Osa took the staff from the box and held it in his hands.

“Shadowsong?” He asked. Wystan, looked at Amos, confused.

“Yes, the alchemists noticed that too.”

“They noticed what?” Wystan asked.

“You’ll see,” Amos said mysteriously, and then passed another box to Seevus. Inside was a staff of similar making to Shadowsong. It was twilight blue in color with a sapphire perched at the top. As with Shadowsong, finest threads of silver, barely noticeable, crisscrossed from the base of the shaft to the top. Seevus took it from the case and immediately his eyes widened.

“Heartsbane?” He asked, looking humbled for the first time since they had convened.

“I recommend great caution,” Amos said.

“What does that mean?” Seevus snapped.

“Only you can answer that,” Amos answered, and then passed the last box to a thoroughly confused Wystan. Wystan took the case. With trembling fingers, he opened it gingerly to find the scarlet staff of Alldel resting inside the soft lining of the case. It resembled the other two save only for its color and the small ruby mounted to the top of the staff. He pulled it from its case and grasped it firmly in his hands. And then he understood. It was like a soft wind passing through his head, echoing repeatedly several times until it faded into undetectable nothingness,

Dawnwood, Dawnwood, Dawnwood, Dawnwood…

“Dawnwood,” Wystan repeated with understanding. Amos smiled, and nodded. Seevus, who was unmoved by the somberness of the moment, erupted rudely,

“Well, now we see why he wanted the stones of Rhodhinia. There is almost nothing of the stone of Alldel!” He shouted and pointed to the ruby at the top of Dawnwood.

“Let not your mind’s eye see only what your physical eyes can behold, Seevus,” Amos advised. Seevus acted as though he had not heard him.

“Forget I said it,” Seevus said, uncharacteristically. “If we’re finished here, I’ll be off,” Seevus did not wait for an answer, but turned to leave.

“King of Rhodhinia!” Amos called, sharply. Seevus stopped. “Dine with us,” he offered. Seevus did not hesitate in his response.

“Amos, I have no quarrel with you or with Osa of Lorlea, but I will not dine with the King of Alldel while my people starve because of his enforcement of a contract that was signed decades ago. Good day to you,” he said with a bow, and then turned to leave, the case tucked safely under his arm. Amos sighed heavily as the doors shut behind him.

“I fear it’s a hopeless argument,” Amos said of Rhodhinia’s debt to Alldel.

“Wystan is right to uphold the contract,” Osa wheezed.

“Indeed,” Amos acknowledged. “Will you stay and dine?” Amos asked.

“Certainly, Lorlea is always grateful for your hospitality.”

“I will stay, we have more to discuss,” Wystan said.

“Indeed,” Amos smiled, and then he stood and pulled a long rope hanging near the table. Wystan could hear a faint gong outside the dining chamber.