Forgotten Mage (35 page)

Bren could see the tears in the young
Tower guards face as his head was placed against the block. Bren
was surprised to find that he looked no more than nineteen, giving
him pause. Taking a deep breath, Bren unsheathed his sword and
placed the blade against the man’s neck. The blade felt heavy as it
was lifted above his head, then it fell. With a sickening thud, the
guard’s head rolled free of his body, landing between Bren’s
feet.

“Fighting the urge to throw up, Bren
turned to, Crusher his face slightly pale. “Please remove the body
and bring the next one,” Bren said, his voice still firm, though
his strength began to wavier.

Bren was forced to repeat the rising of
his sword three more times before there was movement from the
Tower. Bren felt cold as he looked toward the host of mages moving
out from the Tower. He called for the next prisoner and looked on
as the mage in red was placed on the blood soaked block. Bren heard
someone yell for him to stop, but it didn’t reach his ears before
the man’s head was rolling freely on the ground.

“Halt!” Bren heard Sae-Thae’s voice, as
the mage rushed toward them.

Looking around, Bren noticed that the
entire council had arrived and now stood no more than fifty yards
away. “Have you come to contest these men’s crimes?” Bren asked,
his voice cold and hollow.

“You brat, I will have your head for
murder!” The elder mage, who had him thrown in the dungeon yelled.
His words were met with an unwelcomed glare as hundreds of people
turned toward him, many with swords in their hands, forcing the
mage to take a step back.

“Turneal, you will be quiet or I will
not try to help when this mob drags you to the block,” Sae-Thae
said harshly.

“Lord Farlane, it seems that there has
been some misunderstanding. We have received word from both Farlan
and Rane that you are indeed the inheritor of this land,” Sae-Thae
said, his words biting into him.

Bren could almost hear the mage’s
accusation that, had he contacted the two countries, this could
have been cleared with fewer problems. Looking at the mage, Bren
had to admit that his own pride in asking his mother for help had
made things much harder, but he still believed he was right in his
actions.

“Then you admit that these men who came
to my door this morning had no right to bring army into my kingdom
and try to arrest me on the council’s orders. If you did in fact
know that I inherited this land, and the Tower still ordered my
arrest, then it must be the council who replaces these men on the
headsman’s block,” Bren said strongly, though he prayed that
Sae-Thae had some way to appease both laws, as he didn’t think he
could bring himself to kill the elder mage, who was as close as any
family he had ever known.

“This has come about by accident and
misunderstanding. I hope that we can resolve this without further
bloodshed. If the lord would simply allow us to talk, I am sure we
can come to an agreement.”

“Very well, we shall meet in the
Katanaga fighter’s academy if that is alright with the Weapons
Master. Since it is the soil of an impartial country, I believe we
will all feel safer there.

“Hardly,” Bren heard Turneal mutter,
but chose to ignore it.

“I will gladly host talks, but if
anyone comes to harm on the grounds, they will be judged by King
Killian himself,” Jacob said, stepping out from the
crowd.

“Then it is settled, we will meet
within the hour and see this foolishness put to rest,” Sae-Thae
replied, bowing to Bren. Bren quickly returned the bow before
ordering his men to set the last of the Tower guards free from
their bonds.

CHAPTER XXIX

Bren and his guards were the first to
arrive at the academy and was surprised to find that all of the
trainees and masters were armed and guarding the perimeter of the
compound. “I will have to ask that your men wait outside, as well
as that you disarm before entering the academy,” Jacob said,
stepping in Bren’s path.

Unstrapping his sword, Bren handed it
to Cass and gave his friend a smile. “Looks like the rest is up to
me.”

“The staff too, Lord Farlane,” Jacob
said, eyeing the staff with a weary look.

Giving a soft smile, Bren handed the
staff to Cass.

If you need me, don’t be
afraid call for me. Fools think that just because I am not in your
hand that you are defenseless.

“If it helps put their mind at ease,
there is no harm in it. I just wish that my sword could come to me
as easily,” Bren replied to Thuraman.

Jacob followed beside Bren as they
headed into the main building of the academy. Once they were alone,
the Weapons Master turned to Bren and looked him over with
appraising eyes. “That was a hard thing you did today boy,” the
Weapons Master said, his eyes still probing Bren. “You handling it
ok?”

“As well as can be expected Weapons
Master,” Bren said as his body began to shake as the images of the
men’s head rolling to his feet flashed through his mind.

“I know the first time can be rough,
especially when is in such a manner and not in the heat of battle.
Hold yourself together for a bit longer though, if show weakness
during the negotiations, you will lose everything you fought for,”
Jacob said, patting Bren consolingly on the back.

Bren was lead to the dining room of the
academy. It had been rearranged so that there were ten chairs on
one side of a long table and one on the other with a final chair
placed at the head.

Bren took his place in the lone chair
as Jacob took his at the head. Bren had heard about such talk
before from his mother, but he had never know of her to attend one.
Ever since the relations between Farlan, Rane, and Abla had become
friendly, there had been no talk of war. It was peaceful, but it
left Bren feeling completely unprepared for what was to
come.

Hey didn’t have to wait long before the
council members arrived and took their seats, Sae-Thae giving Bren
a warm smile as he took his place cross from the young king. As
soon as everyone was situated, Jacob stood and cleared his throat.
“We are here today to see an end to the strife between the rightful
ruler of the land and the Tower of Mages. I will tolerate no
aggression while we are on Rane soil, and action will be met with
swift and harsh consequences, no matter the rank or title you
hold.”

“First off, we will hear the demands of
the ruler,” Jacob said, pointing to Bren and taking his
seat.

“I have no interest in the personal
affairs of the Tower. What happens within your walls will remain
your business, but your power ends there. You will no longer lay
taxes or laws upon the people of Torin,” Bren said
calmly.

“Torin?” Sae-Thae asked with a
bewildered smile.

“It is the name of my land. My father
neglected to give it a proper name, so I saw it fit to name it
after him,” Bren replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“How are we supposed to fix the Tower
if we do not collect taxes?” Turneal asked, his voice carrying a
sharp edge to it.

“You may request funds from me or other
countries. I know of no school or academy, which is outside of the
control of a country that is given the rights to tax the
people.”

“You expect us to come beg for every
gold that we need?” Turneal asked, his voice raising as he started
to rise from his chair, but he quickly reconsidered as Jacob
matched his movements with his hand firmly on the hilt of his
sword.

“I don’t expect you to beg, but I do
expect you to ask. You are lucky that I am not demanding the funds
that you stole from the people be returned. If it will soothe your
wounded ego, once I have a full accounting of the income produced
within the country, I will allot the Tower a yearly stipend to be
used as you see fit, but it will be subject to change for better or
worse, depending on the funds available.”

“I believe that is fair,” Sae-Thae
replied.

“Fair…Fair!” Turneal squealed. “This
brat thinks, just because of who his father is, that he can demand
this of us.”

“Turneal, I am getting tired of your
idiocy,” Carnear said, looking at the older mage with a look of
disgust. “All kings and queens inherit their power. It is the way
of the world, and unless you want the combined forces of not only
Rane and Farlan, but Abla as well, seeing as Queen Eloen would not
take kindly to your threats against Thad’s son lightly, to come
knocking on our doorstep, then I would suggest you keep your mouth
shut. Our peace and place here was long fought and hard earned, but
we must still follow the rules of the country we live in. Do not
get so full of yourself that you think you can simply do as you
please because you can use magic, because if you haven’t noticed,
you are not alone in that skill.”

“Do as you please,” Turneal said
angrily, as he slumped down in his chair.

“If all are agreed, I will have a
scribe draw up an official document that may be signed by both
parties,” Jacob said happily.

“You have a scribe?” Bren asked, mildly
surprised.

“Yes, they are often needed on the
battlefield, so we make sure to include it in our training,” Jacob
said with a confident grin.

It didn’t take long for the scribe to
pen the short terms that they two grounds had agreed too. The paper
was thick and may have lacked some of the leafing and
embellishments that his mother was so fond of, but it would serve
its purpose.

Sae-Thae was the first to pen his name,
quickly followed by the other eight masters. When it came to
Turneal, he angrily scratched his name on the paper, then shoved it
toward Bren. Bren gave the angry mage a bright smile as he signed
his name, then pulled his seal from his pocket. Jacob was quick in
calling for wax. Bren waited as it was heated, then pushed his seal
down, leaving behind the symbol of an eagle in
midflight.

“I am going back to where people don’t
bow to spoiled children,” Turneal said as he stood from his chair
and marched out of the room with a handful of the other mages
following quick behind.

“Bren, a moment please,” Sae-Thae said,
pulling Bren to the side.

“What is it, Master Sae-Thae?” Bren
asked as he readied himself for his friend’s harsh words of
rebuke.

“Stop that,” Sae-Thae demanded. “If you
are going to claim to be king, you must act like one at all times.
I think I have found a way to free your father, but it will not be
easily done. First, we must locate the door to the veil, as well as
one of the Brotherhood swords.”

“I will pack right away,” Bren said
enthusiastically.

“Not so fast young man,” Sae-Thae said
in a halting tone. “Do you think you can simply demand control over
this land and then up and leave. No, you must first take control,
set up laws and prove that you can do this, not just in name, but
in deeds. Only once your reign is secure can you dare to
leave.”

“That will take years,” Bren
whined.

“Yes it will,” Sae-Thae admitted. “But
it is a price you must pay for your actions here. Remember that
anything you start, must be finished. If you were to leave now, the
Tower would rest control back and when you returned, you would find
them with a much stronger grip on the land. I am sorry, but you
have put yourself in this place and now you must finish
it.”