The Conflict of Magics

Frajian's Peak

The morning sky ascended to the afternoon as Niles felt the ray of the sun shine right above his head. The heat was only ever slightly, the soft wind that blew caressed his cheek and lightly sent his hair scattering above his forehead, and the clouds rested so close to him that he felt he could reach out and touch them. He was at the peak of Frajian’s on a relatively flat ground that was once a forest but over the years had been cleared off to make space for the many travellers that seek to use the Refter. The clouds were below them and the city that was normally so enormous down below had been casted an illusion so small it made one feel like a giant. Multitudes of tents which ranged from the alchemists, Warrs to souvenir stands were erected at the peak saved for a singular building without a roof constructed from bricks and Niles knew that was where the Refter is housed. An invention of such importance must be guarded at all times to prevent its’ secret from being leaked to outside kingdoms.

After Niles, Celia and Amelia were safely brought to the peak by the Warrs, they were first escorted to the alchemists’ tent which was identified by its striking purple tent with their symbol: a long pole with two thick strands of vine curling itself around it. Niles sustained injuries of a broken arm with a deep cut across his shin. The alchemists stationed near the Refter concocted a chemical by pouring crushed Wrentan eggs into a solution of emerald liquid which immediately turned as clear as water the moment it was boiled under fire. The alchemist had then bathed a piece of fabric into the solution and pasted it over his arm. The effect was immediate, the pain that had once lingered in his arm and leg like leeches had disappeared as fast as it came, a cooling sensation blanketed his arm and for the first time since he left his home, his mind was at ease.

“I thank you, master.” Niles had said with genuine gratefulness. The alchemist who was a young man with a shaved head with black eyes wearing a heavy white robe that seemed to big for him did not seem to have expected Niles to thank him for his face which was stoic for the whole time he sided Niles lit up for a moment and with a small smile, he nodded towards him and went back to his tent.

He took a deep breath and thought about what had transpired before. From the unexpected gestures of his parents to the crash of the carriage, he could not remember the last time his life had been this exciting.

Exciting?

He halted his thoughts. His arm was broken from the crash, he bled from his face and he almost witnessed a young girl from the northern kingdom across the Great Talmuc River who was deathly afraid of heights and would have been murdered himself had not his heroes arrived to save him. But all he could feel right mow excitement. It was not a sensation he was familiar with, even the sense of rush he felt fighting against fat Sork and his gang of delinquents could not compare to what he felt. In the former, there was never any sense of death impending, but here the reality that death almost claimed him for the darkness gave him a sense of accomplishment, having just denied death its’ claim.

Before he could continue, he heard a soft, high-pitched voice calling out to him. “Mister Niles!” He turned to see Celia waving her small arms at him from a distance, it made him feel glad to see her smile with genuine joy for once and waved his own arm back at her. She then began running towards him with her arms outstretched. Niles stood up from his seat and knelt in anticipation, she threw herself onto him and hugged him tight.

“Thank you for saving us.” She whispered, Niles instantly felt a sense of gratification coursed throughout his body and he patted her head. Following behind was Amelia. She wasn’t wearing the blouse that she wore in the carriage, this time she was wearing a light brown dress that flowed from her shoulders to her knees and Niles thought she looked much more attractive.

“I hope you are feeling better?” He asked, her palms were crossed over each other as she stood before them. She then nodded with a smile, “Yes, much better, thank you for ashking.”

Before Niles could ask more after her, he saw a young man of a few years older than him walking towards them and Niles recognised him immediately as the man who saved them from the crazed man. In the heat of the moment, Niles did not have the opportunity to study him but as he walked towards them, he noted the man’s shortly cut black hair that revealed a slightly receding hairline, a pair of eyewear rested above his nose bridge and this time he was wearing a jacket that matched his pants. He gave a smile the closer he got to them and said, “I sincerely pray that the alchemists healed your ailments well enough.”

Niles showed him his bandaged arm. “They did, no worries.” He was surprised, he had expected the man who froze the crazed man to be one imbued with supreme self-confidence but here he spoke with a rather small voice. He then turned to the two ladies and bowed, “Furenas vei Sor, bein porasge?” Amelia’s eyes widened in surprise, “Dlean, Syumar. Sor maski Vulamaria?” She replied back rapidly to which the man replied fast in return, sending Niles into a spiral of confusion and when they were done, she turned to Niles and let out a small laugh. “Please forgive me, it hast been a long time since I have spoken with a brother from the homeland.”

“You are Vularian?” Niles asked.

The man bowed, “Yes, I am Yuredo, a Wul of the Ryse branch of the Warrs. I was assigned to guard the Refter when we heard a crash from the path leading to here.” Niles who was sitting before unconsciously stood up straight, made a fist, hovered it in front of his face and bowed his forehead to his fist, it was a greeting to pay respect to a member of the Warrs and Yuredo was honestly surprised. Nevertheless, he responded by doing the same except instead of a fist, he bowed his head to an open palm.

“It’s not often for me to see a commoner to give the salute but thank you.” Yuredo said. All around them, more and more people from the city had arrived to take the Refter to different provinces in the empire. He scanned his eyes over the area, there was no one that he knew here.

At least I won’t have any nuisance.

“Wul!” A loud voice thundered from the other side. Instantly, Yuredo’s face turned white and his posture became as limb as paper. He turned to see another Warr who looked much older than all of them standing by the Warrs’ tent, he did not wear a suit like the rest but rather a grey robe. Yuredo stuttered for a bit, Niles could not make out what he said except for ‘excuse me’ and ‘wait here’ before turning to run back to the tent. As Niles watched him, he heard Celia said to Amelia, “He looks scary.”

“Don’t worry, I am sure he will be fine.”

Amelia replied back. As they waited, Niles thought about the Warrs. Thought about what had happened again and what would happen in the future. In his mind, these were the people who will defend the empire during peacetime and in war. The man who rescued them was so timid when they spoke to him but all traces of his tepidness evaporated when he did his job.

What else could it mean? Their training is absolutely intense. Made to instil loyalty and strength. If someone like him can be a Warr, then nothing can stop me.

Yuredo jogged back to them, his face seemed much calmer now. “You.” He said to Niles who was slightly stunned by his tone. “Yes?” Niles responded, becoming wary. “The High Constable wishes to speak to you.”

There were no thoughts forming in Niles’ mind the moment Yuredo said that. The High Constable was the fourth and lowest of the hierarchy but was nevertheless in charge of all Warrs activities in a section. The man that called Yuredo must have been the High Constable but why did he ask for Niles?

“Niles? Are you okay?” He heard Amelia asking worriedly with Celia staring up at him. Her voice brought him back and he replied, “I’m fine, just wasn’t expecting the High Constable to calling for me.”

“Neither was I but maybe it has something to do with the incident before.” Yuredo said. The timid voice was slowly coming back. “Can you follow me, then?” Niles nodded and walked back with the Wul towards the man who was talking to two other Warrs. As Niles got a better look at him, he saw the man had a small scar across his lips, his hair was as golden as the sun and his robe bore a black mark of the Warrs: four points connected to each other by elongated lines with another point right in the middle. As they got closer, the Constable’s attention slowly shifted to the two men.

“Sir, here is the man you called for.” Yuredo announced.

Then, the Constable slowly turned to Yuredo and both of them knew he had said something wrong. “Do you take me for a blind man, Wul?” He asked in a calm but demeaning voice.

“Erh… erh… no sir, I am not!” He was stuttering, his timid personality had amplified into fear. “I was only announcing your wish, I...”

“Of course I know he’s the man I called for, you imbecile. I can see him fine.” The man spat back at him, causing Yuredo to flinch and apologise with haste. Niles felt pity for Yuredo but stayed his tongue.

So this is a High Constable, the leader of the Warrs in Ryse. Never have I thought this was how the day would be.

A woman of a smaller stature than even Amelia came out of the Warrs’ tent. She was slightly fat and of Oraenian blood because of her hazel green eyes and snow-white complexion, her lips were small almost shaped like a single line streaked across the mouth and her ash hair was tied into a ponytail.

“Rezar, there is no need to terrorise him, he did what you commanded of him.” She said, her voice was soft but her eyes were not. It was as if she was more saddened than annoyed. Without waiting for a reply, the woman walked off to the building housing the Refter. The High Constable known as Rezar clicked his tongue and said to Yuredo, “Very well, you can go now.” The latter’s eyes relaxed at this and then replied, “Much obliged, sir. With your permission, I would like to be sure the ladies from Vularia will be fine.”

The High Constable’s mouth moved to say something but halted for a split second. Niles thought that he must have wanted to retort but thought twice of it. Wordlessly, he nodded and Yuredo sped off without regards to Niles, mostly to just get away from the High Constable. After a considerable distance, there was only Niles and the High Constable. The latter stared and all of a sudden, Niles felt like a boy again. There was an anger hidden deep within Rezar’s eyes, not towards him but something else. Rezar’s eyes scanned Niles from top to bottom. Niles wanted to look away but he forced himself to not look away and wait for the first word.

“Name?” He demanded.

“Niles Farthern, sir.” He tried to make his voice sound collected and confident.

“Throw your pride off the edge, I know you are afraid.” Rezar said icily, his gaze piercing through Niles’ veil of feigned courage. “I am not afraid.” Niles attempted to retort, only to be shrugged off by a wave of Rezar’s hand. “I have seen and conversed with many others before you, boy. They all say they are not afraid but sometimes a glance is all it takes to reveal their true feelings.”

“If I was afraid, would I have saved that carriage driver from that man?” Niles demanded in an attempt to prove Rezar wrong. To his surprise, Rezar only laughed at his words, almost mockingly. “That was not bravery, boy. Only foolishness. Tell me, how sure were you that you would have defeated that man?” He could not say anything in return. Rezar was correct, he couldn’t have known that he would beat the crazed man who had a knife and rage as his weapons. It was even more evident when the Warrs saved him at the very last minute. Sensing his uncertainty, Rezar pressed on. “If we had not arrived in time, he would have stabbed you in the head and that would have been the end of your pitiful life. What then would happen after that?”

“If I died, then so be it. At the very least I would die trying to save someone” He said.

Then Rezar gave a booming laugh, loud enough to attract the attentions of those around them. Amelia and the younger Vularian both gave a concerned stare at the two of them with Yuredo trying to distract them.

“Ah, the stupidity of youth! Wasn’t the whole reason for that man’s behaviour was so he could murder the Vularians for their boastfulness? If you have died, then what would have happened to them?”

It was only then that Niles had no words to say.

“A truly brave man would have taken the opportunity to save the women and bring them to a safe place before trusting himself to death.” Rezar concluded, a smug aura emitted from his figure.

Niles clenched his fists. it wasn’t for the fact that Rezar was demeaning him, he knew he was right. When he rushed in to aid the driver, he did not think that he would die right there on the Path Cyre. In fact, the concept of death escaped his actions until the last few moments when he assumed he would be killed, right before the Warrs saved him. He could not have known that the Warrs would be coming, it would have been just that the Warrs could not arrive in time and by then there would have been four corpses for them to collect.

“Then it was by the luck of Calliath that the Warrs were there to save us, I than…”

“Piss on your messenger prophetess, boy. I give no s**t for religious stupidity. You and your companions are alive right now because we heard the crash.” Rezar responded. Niles stayed quiet but he was furious deep inside. Rezar’s immediate dismissal of his messenger was like a stab to his neck. Not one person in his entire life even if they professed a different faith had spoken down on Calliath. no good outcome would have been available if he got into an argument with the High Constable. “Not everybody shares or even likes your faith, boy. The Warrs may have been founded by your people but I have no obligations to respect it, it is not part of our duties. This is the real world that we live in, where people can kill you with little to no reasons just like that.” Rezar continued.

The moment was silent for a moment and when Niles looked up, Rezar’s face remained still but then he said, “But nevertheless I have seen how you threw yourself to save the driver. Tell me, where do you seek to go using the Refter?”

“The Rhylands. I intend to travel to the headquarter of the Warrs.” He replied.

“Seeking to join the Warrs?” Rezar then asked.

This is it. He took a deep breath.

“Yes, it has been my dream to join the protectors of the empire.” That was the only time throughout his conversation with the High Constable where he was determined. Rezar thought for a moment and just then, the woman who calmed Rezar stood beside him. This time she was smiling, brightening her green eyes. “This was the young man that saved the carriage driver?” She asked Rezar while maintaining her gaze on Niles. He did not feel any discomfort while she gazed, it almost felt calming.

“Yes, Sergeant. The boy’s name is Niles Farthern.” The way he talked to her was of immense respect.

Niles was stunned. The two people standing front of him were among the top hierarchy of the Warrs: The High Constable and the Sergeant of the Forces. Immediately Niles did the same salute to the woman who seemed amused. “My, it has been a long time since I have seen someone give the salute.” She turned to Rezar. “What do you make of him, Constable? Does he have the aptitudes?”

“He has potential, he did stall the crazed man long enough for us to reach them. Though his stupidity is evident as much as his strength.”

She smiled again at Niles and asked, “Why do you wish to join the Warrs?” It was a question that ha two answers: The first one is the answer he gives to those he knew personally and the latter, the true answer he kept to himself.

“My sister died in the Red Forest when she was only twenty years old. All her life she wished to join the Warrs for she only saw honour and responsibility in the prospect. She loved us and she loved her country, that’s why she wanted to join. After she died, her ambition passed on to me.” Niles explained slowly but he could see the woman was not satisfied. “Are you saying that you are joining the Warrs just because your sister wanted to when she was alive? Have you no desire of your own?” She asked respectfully. Niles took a deep breath, he had to think of a justifiable reason. “When I go to sleep every night, there was only the Warrs, the same happens when I wake up every morning. When I see or read about the Warrs, there was only pride and respect. I realised that the last gift my sister gave to me was her ambition. My desire is to carry on my sister’s ambitions.” The woman then began clapping.

“Well said, young man! You seemed to possess a sharp mind as well as a strong body.” Niles did not feel that it was fake. He could not help but feel good about himself, Rezar on the other hand did not seemed convinced but stayed silent. “We Warrs pride ourselves as possessing both the physical and mental acumen, the mind plans the actions while the body executes it. If that is your answer then I do not see any reason why we should not allow you to join. What do you think?” She directed her question to Rezar. “I care not for what he thinks, I only see the strength and he has it.” “Then it is settled, bring him to Merrick’s Keep to begin his training.” She declared right before another Wul called for her attention. After she walked away, Rezar turned back to Niles. “Congratulations, boy. You are a recruit of the Warrs. Get yourself to Merrick’s Keep in Tynsron by the next morning.” He then turned back to the tent, leaving Niles standing alone. Niles could not believe what had just happened, in one morning he had left his home for a new life, met two Vularians, broken his arm and was almost murdered by a crazed man, he had met a High Constable and the Sergeant of the Forces of the Warrs and now he had been accepted for training by the Warrs, the very thing that had kept him going every single day. He sat down on the ground, not caring for the looks, craned his neck upward to the sky, closed his eyes and whispered not a prayer, but a message to Maia: ‘We’re almost there. I can feel it, our dreams will soon be as real as the air I breath, the ground I feel and my memory of you.’