The Sixth School Book Ii Ch 012

Author's note.

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

Taking a 2 week break. I've hit a wall in my writing and need to take a break to rest and rejuvenate. No chapters for next week and the one after that. Next one will be on the 26th. Sorry to spring this on you guys.

1). Remember, your help in pointing out errors will help keep me from having to take long periods off to edit. Your help in this is much appreciated.

2). Feedback from my readers is my fuel to keep writing. If you enjoy my work, please take the time to let me know in the comments. It does wonders for my motivation to write.

3). If you read the chapter, please take the time to rate it. It's just a few clicks of the screen.

***

All Characters in the story are 18 years of age and above...

***

Chapter Twelve: One doesn't fight a worm...

"Are you certain of this?"

"Long as I live, I'll never forget that smile. She's the one!"

***

If someone had ever told Calyn that simply ogling a boy could threaten the very existence of the Sydrak clan, she would have thought them mad. From the way things were playing out, however, it's almost like someone behind the scenes had intricately weaved the sequence of events that led her here. First, a young man catches her eye. Something that had happened countless times before. Something that should have only held momentary significance before it was completely forgotten. Only at the time, she had been next to her then fiancé. Jealous hypocrite that he is, Deriel got angry that another man caught her eye. As a consequence, he sent his guard after the young man. Calyn sent her guard after Deriel's guard. Her guard wasn't instructed to either help or hurt the boy. She just wanted to know what kind of person her fiancé was. Unfortunately, the young man's bodyguard proved to be far more formidable than they could have anticipated. So much so, that her guard barely made it out of the altercation with her life. Luckily for her guard, she had a time capsule scroll, allowing her to get back to her just in time to receive the healing she'd need to go on living. That should have been the end of that little episode.

As Calyn stood on the staircase awaiting the arrival of the young man, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had killed her guard. Her cousin Nerissa had somehow found out what had happened with the guard and threatened the information out of her. In the Sydrak clan, however, loyalty even to death is expected of all servants. That her guard had revealed her secrets was something that deserved death according to family rules, something that her father had made a point of teaching her. Calyn, however, had never liked killing anyone just because it was the politically expedient thing to do. She was neither naïve nor kind enough to believe that she would never need to kill. But if and when she took a life, it would be because she wanted to do so, not because it's what was expected of her. Rather than killing her guard, Calyn had taken her sword from her and demoted her to the role of a maid. For the next hundred cycles, she was forbidden from picking up a sword to fight in any way except in a case where it was necessary to protect Calyn's life. To Calyn, such a punishment would have been nothing short of torture. The woman, however, had cried tears of gratitude as her son wouldn't be forced to grow up without her mother. Again, this is where the story should have ended!

Mages were power-hungry fools willing to do almost anything to gain power. Seventh-tier mages were forces of nature that one would be wise to steer clear of. That, however, isn't what happened when Mage Hira and Grenad arrived in Ethavel. Rather than get as far away from the duo as they possibly could, every powerful mage and faction within the city was drawn to them like moths to the flame. Deals were made, favors called in and debts undertaken all for a chance to get close to the two high-tier mages. Event after event was set up for every frivolous reason under the sun. All so that the ones in attendance could gain an audience and perhaps the favor of either one of the two high-tier mages. Calyn herself had been showered with gifts from all the factions that had been hoping that she could somehow put in a good word for them with the seventh-tier mages, farfetched as that hope had been. All that had changed with the descent of a deity. There were many things that mages were willing to brave just for the chance of power. The wrath of a deity, however, was among the few things that could send them all scattering like a group of spooked birds. Ever since the descent of Seraphia, forget throwing parties, all the powerful factions within the city had found one reason or the other to leave the city! The same was also true of them. The first thing her aunt had instructed them after the adept's body had finally crumbled to ash, was for them to pack their things, they would be leaving at the first light of dawn! It went without saying, but again, this is where the story should have ended!

Only as she was packing, one of her maids approached her. The same maid that had once been her guard. The same guard whose life she'd spared. The same guard that she had sent after Deriel's guard. The same one who'd been forced to fight that young man's guard! Calyn had stood frozen like a statue when her former guard told her that the one Seraphia had called a pretender, was the same one that she had barely escaped from after attacking her with the aid of Deriel's guard. The young man that she had once ogled, might very well turn out to be the same individual that Mage Hira and Grenad were after. That same young man's guard had effortlessly infiltrated the ranks of her servants and had access to her for who knows how long! That same guard could somehow speak in the same tongue as a deity and was apparently in the service of another deity, who was somehow linked to the young man the high-tier mages were chasing.

When power comes through the door, reason escapes through the window!

This was a common refrain recognizing that if one is powerful enough, one can be as unreasonable as one wishes. If you have a problem with that, then grow powerful enough to oppose them, otherwise, you have very little recourse. When she had sent her guard after Deriel's guard, Calyn had wished to have her follow and observe. It had never been Calyn's intention to have her fight anyone. Be that as it may, a fight had taken place, and the one her guard fought turned out to have been the servant of a deity. If that deity took offense to this, then no amount of reasonable arguments from her would stop her and perhaps her whole clan along with her from being decimated. All this, over ogling a boy! Fate had to be playing some cruel joke on her.

Naturally, Calyn went to her aunt with the information. There was a small part of her that told her that she was blowing this out of proportion and panicking over nothing. The risk to herself and her clan if she was wrong, however, was such that she couldn't justify remaining silent. Besides, of all the ways the 'pretender' could have infiltrated the Governor's castle, she had chosen to infiltrate as one of her maids! What was that if not a message? A silent threat that a blade had been placed at her throat without her knowing. It was only because of the young man and whoever else was behind him, stayed their hand that she was still drawing breath. No, she couldn't have stayed silent. She might have hated the game of politics, but that didn't mean that she hated the members of her clan. If called to do so, Calyn would be ready to fight, and perhaps even die for her clan if that is what it took to save it. If the clan had to give her up to appease the wrath of a deity, then that's just what would happen. She wasn't suicidal, Calyn didn't want to die. But if her actions were truly the cause of this, she also wouldn't be a coward. She'd hold her head high and face whatever was coming her way.

When her aunt learned of everything, a profound look of sadness entered her eyes as she regarded her. That, more than anything, had made the reality of the situation sink in. Her aunt had been grieving her even while she yet drew breath! The look came and was gone in an instant, Calyn, however, had already known then that if it came to it, the clan wouldn't be fighting for her. Niece to the clan head she might be, but when all was said and done, the clan came before any single member. Pulling out an emergency long-distance crystal, her aunt had contacted the clan head. Using her authority as a clan elder and a few secret phrases given to every elder for when there was a serious threat to the clan, she had the clan head convene an emergency meeting with the other elders. Her aunt didn't worry about any of those phrases being overheard by someone who wasn't part of the clan as they could only be used once. Using the same phrase twice to call an emergency meeting was actually a signal to the clan that you were under duress and not acting of your own volition. Nothing you said would be believed.

Once the elders of the clan were convened, both Calyn and her guard had to repeat everything that had happened from start to end leaving no detail out. When she was done there was a long silence before the clan head's words rang out. "You cannot come back."

"Father! I did nothing!" Calyn wasn't even sure when Nerissa had come to their aunt's room or how much she'd heard. She, however, seemed to recognize the fact that the order had been given to the whole delegation and not just Calyn. "Aunt Lina and I have nothing to do with..."

"You will not come back!" The words were spoken so coldly that you'd have thought the one speaking was a stranger to Nerissa. Calyn could understand the weight of the situation and why her father would remain silent. He had to be an Elder to the clan before he was a father. She, however, would be lying if she said it didn't sting to not hear him rise to her defense. Like her aunt, her father's silence felt to her like he too was mourning her while she yet drew breath.

"Should this 'pretender' turn out to be telling the truth about who she serves, Elder Lina, you will negotiate on behalf of the clan. Make it known that clan Sydrak bears no enmity with the young man or the deity he serves. Make it also known that the clan is willing to pay any restitution the young man might deem necessary to clear this misunderstanding! After every statement, the clan head would stop, just in case there was any objection from any of the elders. There was, however, only silence after each statement as the other elders of the clan silently agreed with the clan head. "Bring this information to Mage Hira and Mage Grenad. Should they learn that we had information pertinent to the upcoming meeting and chose to keep it to ourselves, we might incur their ire. We are already in a precarious enough situation. We don't need any more enemies!" There was a slight scathing undertone to the clan head's voice, but he kept it largely controlled. "Elder Lina, you will check in with us once a day and keep us upraised of your situation," the clan head concluded.

"I hear and understand," came the firm reply from Aunt Lina before she cut off the transmission. On her face was the firm resolve of a soldier ready to face death if that's what it came to. Due to their silence, one might be tempted to think that there hadn't been any need to call the other elders to the meeting. Calyn, however, knew that the real meeting began after the transmission was cut. They were probably setting up defenses and contingencies for anything that might happen as a result. Be it gathering any compensation that might be asked of them, to sending away a few of the clan's most promising scions, just in case the worst happened and the clan was eliminated. Those seedlings would survive them, and perhaps one day, the name Sydrak would be heard once again on the continent of Farendel.

Putting the crystal away, Aunt Lina first addressed Nerissa. "Return to your room and await further instruction," she'd ordered, her tone relaying that she wasn't going to countenance any objection. Throwing a nasty look Calyn's way, her cousin had wisely complied. Once she was gone, Aunt Lina turned to her and her guard. "Come with me," Was all she said before turning and moving toward the door.

For a second time, she along with her guard were forced to tell everything that had led up to this moment. This was probably the longest that she had been in the presence of the two powerhouses and the pressure had been immense. Unlike those of his clan who were only interested in the larger danger aimed at the clan, the two mages picked apart every last detail of their story. They wanted to know what the boy looked like. Who he was with? What tier was he? Were there any clues or indications as to where he was going? Did he have any clothing, markings, or ornaments that might tell them what faction he belonged to? Any detail they could press out of her, they tried to. The questioning didn't stop at the verbal. Mage Aran, a mind mage of the sixth tier was called in to review their memories and help come up with an image of the young man, and anyone that might have been with him.

Even Deriel was summoned when they learned that he too might have caught sight of the one they were after. This time, the Governor's ire was not in any way faked when he learned that his son might have made an enemy of a literal deity over the fact that he'd looked at his woman for a few seconds. Even though the man was an illusionist, Calyn was certain his ire was genuine mainly because of the two seventh-tier mages. To begin with, she doubted that the Governor was bold enough to try and deceive them. If he tried and they took offense, then his head rolling off his shoulders wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility. It just wasn't worth the risk. Secondly and even more compelling a reason was the fact that Mage Grenad had to physically stop the Governor from attacking his son. This wasn't done out of any concern or pity for Deriel. Instead, the Dwarf had coldly stated. "You can kill him after we've gotten our answers!"

When all was said and done, they only had two portraits before them. At the time that Calyn had ogled the boy, he'd been seated with another young man with flame-colored hair. A clear sign that he was an elemental mage wielding fire. At the time, the young man didn't have anyone else with him. The only other time she caught sight of him was when they were alighting the airship. Calyn, however, only saw his back that time as he and his group had been walking away from the airship. Deriel was even less help than she was. He'd only been focused on the young man Calyn had ogled and no one else. He considered them to be beneath his notice. From the dark looks he earned from the two high-tier mages, he very clearly wasn't winning any favor with them. By this time, the Governor had cooled off enough not to immediately attack his son. From the dark look he was sending the young man's way, however, it was clear that the boy would still be made to answer for his actions.

When it became clear that they wouldn't be getting any new information, the two high-tier mages sat back in silence regarding the three portraits before them. The first was of the young man at the center of this whole debacle, the one that had caught her eye back on the airship. Next to him was the flame-haired young man who had been sitting beside him while on the airship. The third and final portrait was of the 'pretender'. This one was unnecessary as everyone present had seen the woman when she had been conversing with Seraphia. The only reason it was on the table was because the two high-tier mages were being thorough. They needed to verify that the one her servant had fought was the same person that had been at the party. When they had said this, Calyn had found herself desperately hoping that it was someone different. That her servant had somehow gotten the wrong person. That all this was somehow a rather unfortunate misunderstanding. The more the image had taken form before them, however, the more that hope had died, until finally, it had all but died.

"So you are telling me that all this time we've been tracking down a brat at the second tier across three different continents," Mage Grenad's voice was gruff and clearly displeased.

"Worse, we've been chasing a second-tier brat who is somehow linked with a deity," Mage Hira answered, the glare she was sending the portrait of the young man sharp enough to cut through enchanted armor. "It now makes sense why the abyssal ooze wasn't killed. This boy is nowhere near powerful enough to kill it. With instruction from a deity, however, he was in the process of creating a formation far above his tier to contain it," she went on to say with the tone of one who was making connections that had been elusive to them before. "There never was a high-tier mage to begin with," she stated darkly. Calyn could feel the anger that had been bubbling just under the surface with the two seventh-tier mages at the time and wished to be anywhere but there right then. She, however, dared not move or do anything that would draw attention to herself. "We'll test him. Find someone expendable to see just how strong his connection to this mysterious deity is," the blood mage had declared. "Should he prove too dangerous to provoke, then fine, we'll compensate him. Should he fail to prove that he deserves to stand before us, however..." The words were left hanging in the air, the dark look in the blood mage's eyes finishing what her mouth didn't.

That's how Calyn found herself standing on the stairs with the fifth-tier necromancer a few steps below where they were standing. The man had been fished out of the Governor's magically reinforced dungeons. Looking at the cold cruelty in the man's eyes as he regarded them, Calyn got the sense that the man didn't regard them as living beings. To him, they were probably bags of meat waiting to serve him in death. Not that this surprised her. Given the amount of death necromancers had to interact with as they advanced through the tiers, only one in a thousand managed to maintain a cheerful outlook in life. Most ended up like this man, cold and inured to the fact of death. Some even began to prefer the dead over the living. She didn't know if the one currently blasting his aura around was one of those or not. What she did know was that she never wanted to be anywhere alone with the man.

From the look the necromancer sent the Governor when he was brought before him, Calyn got the sense that despite being a tier higher than the man, the Governor alone wouldn't have been enough to intimidate the man into anything. There was no fear or reverence in the man's eyes, just a cold calculation of how he would kill everyone and make them into his undead slaves. It wasn't until he noticed the two seventh-tier mages coldly regarding him that he realized that he wasn't the biggest predator in these waters. If he didn't exercise prudence, chances are that he wouldn't live to see another day. When he had been promised freedom if he managed to intimidate a brat who hadn't even crossed into the third tier, the man had been understandably skeptical. He was one of those prisoners that the Governor would have let rot away till he died of old age. To be let out so easily was nothing if not suspicious. With two seventh-tier mages glaring at him like they would have loved nothing more than an excuse to kill him, the man seemed to recognize that he was in no position to question, just comply.

When the carriage the boy was in came to a stop before the Governor's castle, Calyn could feel her heart start to hammer within her chest as she wondered whether she was about to face the wrath of a deity. Was this her last day among the living? She realized just how rigid she had become when she felt her aunt's hand land on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. She could feel herself calm down a bit and couldn't help but turn and offer a nod of gratitude to her aunt. At the same time, however, she couldn't help the guilt she felt at the thought that she might have implicated the woman in this debacle. If the deity was somehow willing to listen, she'd ask that his wrath be directed at her only as she was the one who had made the mistake. All these thoughts ran through Calyn's mind as she regarded the carriage. The young man, however, didn't come out immediately. If anything, he remained in the carriage long enough that the tension of the moment passed, and the question in everyone's mind shifted to, 'What's taking him so long?' Eventually, however, the door to the carriage was pushed open and the young man stepped out.