The Magician’s Apprentice

He sighed and shook his head. He’d lost his favourite riding horse at Mandryn; then, while pursuing the invaders, he had changed mounts whenever possible as it had been impossible to care for them properly. Once the army had grown large enough, and they had access to better feed and took time to rest, he’d found himself growing to like the quiet brown gelding he’d ended up with, and had named him Curem for the colour of his coat. It irked him to know Curem was now in the hands of the Sachakans, or had been killed for his strength.

Tiro, the new horse, had an irritating habit of trying to bite him. And he was ugly. Dakon did not know which of the magicians who had died had owned Tiro. Whoever he’d been, he must have had great patience.

He looked over at Narvelan. The young magician’s expression was dark and brooding. It was always dark and brooding these days. The light-hearted friend Dakon knew still surfaced now and then, but Narvelan’s sense of humour now had a nasty edge to it. He had been the only magician willing to take Lord Werrin’s horse. Nobody else had wanted to, knowing she would remind them constantly of her former owner’s sacrifice.

Dakon shivered as he remembered. As the last of the magicians’ power began to fail, Lord Werrin had shielded the army as all struggled to mount and leave. The king had led a horse to him. The magician had murmured a few words to the king, who had turned white and stared at him for a moment. Then Errik’s face had hardened. He’d nodded, grasped his friend’s arm, then turned away, taking the horse with him.

Werrin had still been shielding as the last of the magicians rode away. Dakon had paused to look back, before Narvelan shouted at him to leave and they both galloped off.

Werrin could not have lived much longer than that.

Later that day, the Elynes had joined the army.

Ah, the bitterness of bad timing, Dakon thought. If only they’d come a day or two earlier. Or if we’d known they were coming, we might have waited another day before confronting the Sachakans.

So much tragedy had happened because information had not been gained in time. He would not have left Mandryn if he’d known Takado was going to attack. He’d have evacuated the village. If the king had been certain the Sachakans were going to invade, and when, he’d have been able to prepare for it. Perhaps even prevent it.

Nobody could predict the future. Not even magicians. And even magicians could only guess at their own strength, or their enemy’s. Dakon had been so sure that, with an army larger than the enemy’s, they would win the battle. He, and many, many others, had been wrong.

Would they be again? They had no choice but to guess at the strength of both sides again, based on what they knew. More Sachakans had died than Kyralians, despite their efforts to emulate their adversary’s ploy of protecting each other. So though many Kyralians had been lost, their numbers were still larger.

Once more they had lived to strengthen themselves again. So far they had only one day’s strength gained from their apprentices. The Sachakans had slaves and whoever happened to be unlucky enough to cross their path. Unfortunately there hadn’t been time to evacuate the villages between Coldbridge and Imardin effectively. And then there were the servants of the army, abandoned at Coldbridge. Though they had been given a little more warning to flee than the townspeople, the Sachakans could easily have caught up with them.

Kyralia had new allies, though: the Elynes.

Sent by the Elyne king, their leader was a small but sharply intelligent magician named Dem Ayend. The Dem was riding at the front, with the king and Sabin. Looking up, Dakon’s gaze was drawn immediately away from the leaders to the scene ahead. They had crested a low rise approaching the city, and could now see the land surrounding it.

Which was covered in a great spread of makeshift shelters, and people.

His heart ached as he realised what it was. The slums around the city had bloated to ten times their former size as the people of the country had arrived, owning little more than what they could carry, and settled where they could find the space. As the army drew closer a stench grew stronger. He’d noticed it earlier, but assumed it was the excrement of the many domestic animals grazing on the slopes of the wide valley, no doubt brought by those fleeing the invaders. Now he recognised it as that particular smell of people living in close quarters with no sanitation. A smell he already associated with the city’s slums, now much worse.

As the army drew closer, people began to move through the shelters, and a crowd rapidly formed on either side of the road. What do they know? Have they heard we were defeated? Are they expecting a triumphant announcement of victory? Dakon saw that people were already lining the streets within the city.

Thousands of expectant faces watched as the king led the army through the expanded slums. Voices rose in a roar of sound. Dakon could not make out whether people were cheering or jeering, merely shouting at each other over the din or yelling at the army, but the sound was full of expectation.

The army made its way to the Market Square, where the king stopped. Lord Sabin gestured for the magicians and apprentices to gather behind him, their backs to the docks. A cart was rolled forward, and the king dismounted onto it. There he stood straight and silent, gazing at the crowd gathering before him with an expression of sober patience. Lord Sabin stepped up beside him.

“Please be quiet, so the king may speak,” he called out, repeating the request several times.

Slowly the noise diminished.

“People of Kyralia,” King Errik began. “Your magicians have been fighting for your freedom. They have been fighting, and they have been dying. Twice they have engaged the enemy in battle; twice they have retreated.”

Watching the faces in the crowd, Dakon saw dismay and fear. The king paused long enough to let the news sink in, then continued. He smiled.

“But, as is the way with magic, nothing is simple or straightforward.” Dakon was amused to see people in the crowd nodding as if they knew what the king was talking about. “The Sachakans may have overcome us, but each time at a price. At the first battle many of them died, but all of our magicians lived to fight again. At the second both sides bore losses, but we were closely matched. We lost by the smallest margin. And we survived to fight again.”

He paused again, scanning the crowd, his expression grim. “The third battle will decide our future.” A hint of a smile returned. “I think we can win it. Why? Because our fate now relies not only on the magicians behind me. It relies on you.”

Dakon saw people frowning, but mostly in puzzlement. He caught a few sceptical looks. A murmur rose but quickly faded. The king spread his hands wide as if he would wrap his arms around the crowd.

“It relies on you giving your strength to your magicians. A strength all of you have, no matter how rich or poor. I say ‘giving it’ because I would not demand this from any man or woman. You are not slaves – though if the Sachakans have their way you soon will be. I would rather die than lower myself or my people to the barbarity of their ways.”

He straightened his shoulders. “But if you choose to give your strength to your magicians, it will not just be magical strength we use to defeat the Sachakans. It will be the strength of unity. Of trust and respect for what we can all do together, magician and non-magician, rich and poor, servant and master. The strength of freedom over slavery.” His voice rose. “You will prove that one does not have to be a magician to have the power and influence to defeat our enemies.”

Hearing the passion in the king’s voice, Dakon felt a thrill run through him. He searched the faces of the people again. Many were gazing at the king in hope and awe. As he lifted his arms and spread out his hands again in appeal, voices rang out in agreement.

“What do the people of Kyralia say?” the king shouted. “Will you help us?”

The response was a mix of affirmation and cheering. “Will you help yourselves?”

Another cheer, louder, roared out.

“Then come and give your strength to those charged with the duty of protecting you.”

The crowd surged forward. Dakon saw Sabin’s smile turn to a look of alarm. A few strides from the cart the wave of people crashed into an invisible barrier. But they didn’t appear to mind. Arms stretched out, wrists upturned.

“Yes! Oh, yes!” came a voice beside him. Dakon turned to see Narvelan gazing at the crowd, his eyes bright, almost hungry. He looked at Dakon. “How can we lose now? Even if Takado finds the servants... how could they match what we have here? All these people, begging us to take their power. The king... I never knew he was so good at this.”

“He probably didn’t either,” Dakon pointed out. “It’s not as if he’s had to do it before.”

“No,” Narvelan agreed. “But if it’s the result of good training, I want to hire his teacher.”