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| Arcane by Sara. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Arcane-Wallpaper-95450208 |
Chapter 3
Gilarean looked over to the stairs where he had heard the lower door slam, and the sounds of stamping feet were coming up. They were being followed by a quieter faster step, and he was suddenly intrigued. Who would Nicairius bring to the tower? And why the hell would he bring them to his room?
“Nic?” Gilarean started up from his chair. “Is that you?” he inquired, with a polite disarming tone.
“…and who the hell else would get through that bloody door without blowing half the tower up?” came the stern reply.
It was Nicairius.
He rounded the top rail post of the spiral staircase and walked towards Gil.
“Fair point… and who’ve you got with you?” Gil was genuinely puzzled.
“This… is Juno. Apprentice of the 3rd Circle, a promising student with, unfortunately, horse shit where his brains should be…” Nicairius found Gilarean’s discarded wine glass, and sat in the chair he had just that minute vacated.
“Aren’t they all though?” Gil had little contact with most of the apprentices. He found them all a bit too needy.
“This is a special case…” Nic was breathing so heavily he was practically snorting, and Gil knew that he needed to be asked what was wrong, or he would possibly combust.
Juno now stood at the top of the stairs, drip white and shaking almost uncontrollably. The knowledge that Barrilo was currently clearing out his room didn’t give him high hopes for the future.
“Go on then… What’s he done?” Gil poured himself another glass of wine not taking his eyes off the quivering apprentice.
Whatever the perceived circumstances, he took no chances with strangers in his personal chambers, and would have played merry hell with Nicairius for bringing him had the young man not been standing eight feet away. As he had been walking round for the past minute or so, subtle gestures had silently activated no less than seven magical wards intended to render any attack from the young mage ineffective, and also possibly render the young mage…
Nicairius told Gilarean exactly what had happened in the Guild Hall, and Gil tried not to smile. He knew the position Nic had been placed in, that he had to be seen to deal most severely with the matter, but also thought to himself that he would have been the one in Juno’s position had this been thirty years earlier. When Nic finished, Gil turned and cocked his head to one side; “so… what do you want to do with him?”
Juno was close to passing out from the fear; “Please… Masters… don’t kill me; I only wanted to help in the fight against the enemy… I wanted to prove that I was right, and that it could be done. I know I can do it if you just give me a chance…”
Nicairius stood up and walked toward Juno, Gilarean looked at him; “Is he actually any good Nic?” Gil asked
“Apparently so… his tutors notes say that he has aptitude and intuition that is well above average, and his bare faced arrogance almost matches yours…” he turned, and smiled and saw the look on Gil’s face, “Alright, it’s nowhere near yours, but its high for normal folk…
Gil smiled and looked across at Juno, he weighed up some possibilities and potential outcomes in his mind and looked at Nic; “The third?” he asked.
“That’s why I brought him up here. Do you think he would do?” Nic replied.
“Does it matter?” Gil was afraid that he sounded heartless, but was ready for his chair and book back. He suddenly turned and stared straight at Juno, his eyes boring deep into the young mage; “You! Boy! Do you have any idea what a necromantic bind entails? How you have to rip the power from your own soul to even try such a thing?”
“I… I know that to overcome the dark powers we have to accept that they are real, and that they are used against us!” Juno was near to tears.
Gilarean turned back to Nicairius, his face now relaxed and almost smiling; “The third it is!”
Nicairius moved over to the south wall and pulled back one of the rich velvet drapes that hung around the entire room. A huge mirror was attached to the wall behind it; “Apathakra Labass Rockar Tuarna Ampar” he said, and the mirror began to glow.
Juno knew that he had just heard Nicairius cast a spell of the 5th Circle, all spells began with a prefix or “circle” rune, this denoted which circle of power the spell belonged in, and symbolised the highest circle of rune used within the body of the spell.
All first circle spells began with Ap, second with Apa, third with Apatha; fourth began with Apathak and the most powerful 5th Circle spells began with Apathakra. Most people who knew this fact were inclined to find the nearest large structure, or deep hole and do their best to hide, if they ever heard a mage utter the word “Apathak” let alone “Apathakra” and the fact that Juno stood stock still was a measure of the outright fear he was experiencing at that moment!
The mirror was now gone, and in its place was a glowing tunnel of energy, swirling and spiraling off into some unknown plane of existence. Juno was terrified. “Is this my fate?” he asked, “Are you going to cast me into the weave?”
“What?” It was Gil who replied. “Nic, I thought you said he was good?” he turned to Juno. “That spell was a summoning… wait a moment and you’ll see the foul beast that Grand Master Nicairius has called to deal with you. It dwells in darkness, it has no soul, and it devours the life from those around it. It is hideously ugly, with a face that could sour wine and crack marble. It is…”
“…standing right behind you listening to your libelous remarks. Wondering why I let you talk me into working with this idiots’ orphanage, that is remarkable only for the fact that it fails wholeheartedly to provide anyone with enough of a brain that I might make use of…” the voice was flat, and had no emotion in it.
Gil and Juno turned; Nicairius was walking toward them, and at his side walked an elf. The face was sharp and its skin was pale enough to make Juno believe that it was one of the Elgelloae, the deep elves. But its eyes were black and not the pink that was the giveaway for a Deep Elf. The elf wore the robes of a Master, and also bore a silvered rapier at his side.
“Faethran!!! How are you, you happy bastard!!!” Gil made to shake the elf’s hand but he ignored the gesture and shrugged past him to look at Juno.
“You, boy… what would I get if I mixed orc blood with ground harpy bones and boiled it in a solution of nettle juice?”
Juno was taken aback… “err… with a certain minor enchantment, that would create a flask that if broken would give off a gas, that would… errr… induce instant rigor mortis in anything dead. It would probably not work against a vampire, you would need something stronger than orc blood, but it would definitely stop zombies in their tracks… It would effectively paralyse them…”
“Good!” Faethran said and turned to face Nicairius, ignoring Gilarean completely.
Nicairius looked at Faethran, seemed to consider something for a moment, then he nodded.
“Come with me. I have a use for you.” Faethran turned to Juno, “You will leave this useless academy of dullards…” Gilarean started to object, but Nicairius hushed him “… and join me in my research”
“Which is?” Juno was confused now, but thought he saw what was happening.
Nicairius stepped forward and spoke; “You were quite correct Juno, we DO need to study those weapons that are employed against us if we are to defeat them. We choose to keep this quiet from the Order, as we base our teachings on the laws of the City and the Common Church, who both forbid the practice of Necromancy. Faethran is not a member of the guild, but he is still a Grand Master. He needs… assistance.”
Juno was astounded, “Then he is…” he turned to the elf; “you are…a…”
Faethran’s face displayed no emotion; “A Necromancer? Yes… I am.”
Juno was stuttering with joy, at the knowledge that he was not only not going to die, but that he was about to begin studying the most secret magic of them all… “Then I am to…”
Gilarean interrupted; “You are to calm down and gather your composure. You may have noticed that our dear friend here isn’t the emotive type, and never… ever… try to give him a hug!”
Faethran stepped towards the portal within the mirror’s frame; “Hurry up boy, I don’t like to be kept waiting.” And with that he moved through the mirror and disappeared. Juno looked at Nic, and then Gil who ushered him towards the mirror.
Juno turned one last time before stepping through, “Thank you!” he said.
And then he was gone. The mirror returned to normal, Nicairius returned the drape to its proper position, and they both sat down and Gil poured the wine.
“Well! That’s that sorted out then.” Gil sat down and took a drink.
“Shame really.” Nic said, staring into the fire, he was absent mindedly making sparks dance in a figure eight around the burning log.
“Well, he wanted to help… and Faethran will certainly put him to work.” Gil had finished his goblet already and reached to pour another. “But I agree. It is a shame that he won’t work with anyone who is alive.”
“It’s a trust thing I suspect. He doesn’t like humans and says they work better when he’s scooped their brains out and reanimated them” Nic shrugged, “But it was nice the way you made him think he was going to become an apprentice. At least he died happy.” He thought for a moment; “I wonder what he does with the brains, he always likes them to be clever?”
They looked at each other, and both decided that it was best not to ask…
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