Forgotten Embers

Chapter 28: The Archmage

He had spent the day writing recommendations and letters of state to be handed off to various government officers. He sat at his desk scribbling notes, not much farther along than when he had first began, with a pile of crumpled papers beside him, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open. He glanced over his shoulder to the sight of gloved knuckles as they rapped against the door frame.

"Lord Blackridge, I have a proposition for you."

'Kallida. But he never follows proper protocol on titles. Unless...' He set his pen down on the letter he was drafting and turned his chair to face the door. There stood a second figure behind the first, and he smiled. 'As I thought.'

"And I perceive a guest, as well, Master Kallida. Or to what do I owe the honor?"

"Well, Master Blackridge," Kallida began, "it is the time for apprenticeships to be awarded, as you well know."

'That's better. I was concerned the man may have developed some sense.'

"Yes, I am aware, but that usually doesn't affect me, as you well know."

"Well, yes, but... this year I think I have just the man for you."

"Oh really? I thought that I had been deemed a bad influence."

"Well... yes. And you are."

"And didn't you get up before the king last year about this time when he asked why I had not been awarded an apprentice and give a speech detailing the way in which I would go about bending the minds of our youth and corrupting their morals?"

"Well... yes. And again, I stand behind the sentiment."

"Well, then. Master Kallida, what are you doing here?"

"Lord Blackridge," he said, beckoning the young man forward and presenting him to the Archmage, "this is Kelvin Dehnhardt. He is the highest ranking student at the Royal Academy, and is currently in training to be a Knight of the Royal Guard. Additionally, he prefers that position be gained by appointment rather than bloodshed. Need I go further?  When given the opportunity to choose his instructor, he gave me no preference but submitted himself to my judgement. Naturally, I thought of you."

'I understand now. I can't corrupt someone who's like me.'

"Thank you, Master Inquisitor. This seems... an appropriate placement."

"I'm pleased to hear you think so, Lord Archmage."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Dehnhardt," Blackridge said, addressing the young man who stood respectfully before him.

"It is merely Mr. Dehnhardt, Lord Blackridge," he humbly corrected with a bow. "And the pleasure is mine."

Blackridge smiled. "Perhaps," he said softly, "but it will be." He turned his attentions to Kallida. "You will leave us now?"

"Indeed. I will leave you to your comfort, Lord Blackridge," he stated with a bow much less extravagant than Kelvin's before making a speedy exit.

"Thank you," Blackridge said, amused.

'That was nice. I wonder if I could get him to show such respect more often. But then... he has been suspiciously polite since the incident with the blood tracking, and it's making me nervous, especially given my present lack of a means of communication.'

"Well, Mr. Dehnhardt, it would seem that we're going to be spending quite a bit of time together. I think it would be best that we become acquainted."

"Yes, sir. I would agree."

"Would you like a chair, then?"

"No, sir. Thank you. I'll stand."

"Very well. Was there anything you wanted to know, any questions you have for me?"

He watched as Kelvin's body tensed.

'What do they do to these poor kids?'

"On second thought, you sit here," Blackridge told him, vacating his seat and motioning to it on his way to the door, which he pulled hastily shut.

'He seems extremely uncomfortable with the idea of taking my seat. I don't know what manner of mind games Kallida subjects these students to, but he has somehow managed to intimidate them to the point that they have developed a genuine fear of kindness. It was foolish to promote him, and for what? Killing Gilbert in cold blood?' He winced. 'Then again, I suppose the same could be said of any of us... God! Whose seat did I take?' He closed his eyes. 'I don't want to think on it now.'

"Look..." he sighed, his head down and back against the door, "Kelvin, I don't have your file. I don't know anything about you outside of what Master Kallida just told me. I don't know what went on leading up to our meeting, but I will do my best to teach you. If you have a question, I will see that it is answered. If you have a request, I will see that it is granted. If you have a need, I will see that it is met. This is neither a judgement nor an evaluation, but it is an apprenticeship and it will require your cooperation. So, what do you say, Mr. Dehnhardt? Will you work with me?"

Kelvin smiled. "Yes, sir," he said, seeming to relax a little, "I'd like that."

"Good, then," Blackridge said, smiling. "Firstly, do you have a naming preference?"

"A naming preference?" he blankly repeated.

"Yes. You know... a naming preference, something you like to be called by."

A light came into the young man's eyes. "Quince," he told him.

"Very well, then. Quince it is, and where are you from?"

"The region of Sa'ar, from a town called Kindellend."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, sir. My father was a fisherman on the North Sea."

"That's interesting..." he said, considering. "A good friend of mine was from there. Tyberion Ibori. You remind me of him quite a bit, actually."

Kelvin nodded. "I knew him. He and his family showed my family a lot of kindness," Kelvin relayed, moving his hand over his chest with emotion. "I grew up with his daughter. She's a good friend of mine."

"Funny," Blackridge replied with a contemplative smile, "I met Avera for the first time not long ago. She is a remarkable young woman. Her father's very proud of her, I know."

"Were you the one who called him back here?" Kelvin asked him emphatically. "We couldn't understand why he left after all that time to come back. I know a letter came; I saw the courier about noonday. He had his things packed by nightfall. He wouldn't say much, but I knew he had visited High Palace, and soon after, he was gone."

'He seems distressed. All these lives I've upended... I can scarcely begin to imagine them.'

"I... apologize," Blackridge said, bowing himself. "That was my doing. I called him here to help me. I needed someone I knew I could rely upon."

"I see," Kelvin said, trembling. "Thank you," he muttered, fists clenched and eyes filled with water. "I had hoped to see him, but they've quite erased his memory."

Blackridge frowned, his heart filled with remorse, and his mind stopped.

"Lord Blackridge," the boy went on, seeming to calm himself a little, "is this how your instructor conducted himself during your apprenticeship?"

Blackridge watched him for a moment, considering the brokenness of a man in anguish, and he was haunted by a flood of memories. "One of them," he softly admitted. "I had two."

Quince shook his head. "That's unheard of," he said, clearly impressed.

He smiled. "Yes, I suppose." He paused for a moment, looking to the bookshelf. "Here..." he said, grabbing a book from the shelf. He began to rifle through the familiar pages and sighed. 'All of this is pain now.'

Kelvin was watching him with interest as he flipped through the pages. "I have a picture here for you," Blackridge explained, finding the photo of the nine of them huddled together. "Here we are..." he said, finding the page and showing his apprentice the dated image. "That's me there," he said, pointing to the young man in the long cloak, a bit more slender than he was now.

"Funny," Kelvin said, leaning in to examine the fuzzy image, "you haven't changed much."

Blackridge let out a breath of laughter. "I suppose not." He looked into the happy faces of the others around him, and a wave of sadness hit him.

"Who's this beside you?" Kelvin asked him.

"Eliezer Webber," he said, considering the man in the glasses. "The man was a cutup and entirely disorganized, but there was something almost otherworldly about him. He was the Kingsmen Ambassador at the time, and he really cared for people."

Kelvin nodded thoughtfully. "It seems you knew him well."

"Yes... he always did consider me a friend," he said, thinking on the matter fondly.

"I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the Ambassador's position."

"I don't know how familiar you are with Pyrean governmental history, but-"

"Not very."

"I see," Blackridge said with a sympathetic smile. "Well... it was a position which had existed since the formation of Pyre. When we underwent the reconstruction of Pyre and the modern governmental reforms, the twelve seats of the High Court were taken down to ten and the Ambassador's position was dissolved. Originally, the idea was that there should be a member of the Court appointed as the official representative of the Kingsmen in matters of state. He would act as an intermediary between the Kingsmen Council and the City Architects, who in later days were known as the members of the High Court of the King. At the time, the Court dealt primarily with matters of war and law, whereas the Council controlled matters of peace and policy making. The Kingsmen Ambassador would be the one to speak for them, and any concerns that they may have would be brought before the Court or taken to the Council by his hand. It was also true in the case of the man who trained me that he was responsible for recording the years of the king's reign. Hence, this book."

"I see," Kelvin muttered softly, "and you said there was another man?"

"Yes. The other man I served was Ramus," Blackridge said, pointing a finger to the narrow face of the armor bearer which sported a twisted goatee, "and Ramus was a warrior, bold and celebrated. He could navigate any battlefield with ease. He had a lot of ambition. However, his pride would sometimes get the better of him."

"How was it," Kelvin curiously addressed, "trying to serve two masters?"

Blackridge looked down into the frozen faces of the two men, considering them before turning his eyes again to Kelvin. "Impossible," he confessed with honesty.