《The ruins of Gorlark》


 Prologue : The ruins

    A hooded man was riding on a mule, which was slowly walking, each step forward sinking into the mud. He had a bag hanging on his left side, and a cape over him to cover from the heavy rain that made them both him and the mule drenched. He also had a staff, or a walking stick depending on who you asked, which rested on his shoulder.


    The light forest began clearing up, until their was but a plain. He raised his head slightly and saw a breathtaking, but depressing sight.


    The enormous castle of Gorlark was in ruins. There were several breaches across the great walls, and the huge steel gate was mostly destroyed. The main tower, an enormous square structure had collapsed, taking many buildings with it. The Grand Hall, however had holded, despite many rocks falling on it.


    A little smile formed on his lips. "That will make my job a lot easier." He swinged himself off the saddle, and lead the mule in, holding the reins in the left hand and his staff in the righ.


    He walked though the gate, and eventually found the stables. The roof had collapsed, but outside there were some sticks in the ground. He bound the reins of his mule to one of them.


    He began taking the saddle off by loosening the belt under the horse, but hesitated, and then tightened the belt again. The mule turned its head and looked at him.


    "Sorry old boy, I may have use to you soon."  He said with a guilty tone. The mule looked at him with blaming eyes. Or that''s what it felt like for him. He shaked his head. "I must be growing old, talking with a mule." He clapped it on the back and walked towards the Grand Hall.


    The three meter tall wooden gate was blocked by rocks. It was impossible to open. He walked up close, and then pointed the tip of his staff at the gate. The wood was rotten.


    He drew the staff a little back, and slammed it into the wood. A shockwave tore through it, making a hole. He proceed to enlargen it with his hands, tearing pieces of wood off until he could come though the hole.


    It was dark, only a sole ray of light came through the opening in the gate. Looking up, he could barely see the stone roof. He strolled to the end of the Grand Hall, and he saw a skeleton with an arrow through the skull.  It had light armor, and a worn out cape. He kneeled beside it.


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    "Rowena. I''m sorry." He whispered, while taking out the arrow and tossing it over his shoulder. "To think they left you to rot here."


    He touched the skulls bone cheek, and then suddenly stood up and walked up to the throne, build against the wall. It was made of stone, and truly majestic, with an complicated and beautiful pattern carved into it.


    Without a sound, he slammed the staff against the throne, creating a loud sound which resonated in the Hall. The throne was pierced, and a small hole was made. he repeated the action a few times, and created another hole he could come though.


    A small light erupted from the tip of his staff, along with some smoke. He looked around, and noticed a grave. It was crudely made, and he hurriedly opened it. Inside, there was a corpse, with torn black clothes.


    He took a wand from his bag. It was white, like cleaned bones, with a pale miniature serpent circling around it. He put it next to the corpse and then retrieved a hammer from his bag,  and smashed it into the face of the corpse, but it only cracked the decaying skull. He did it again and again until it shattered, and then took two short knifes from the bag, after he had dropped his hammer on the ground.


    He sticked knives in the head, and opened the head. A faint red light emerged. He smiled,  and put his hand in the head, and retrieved a red glowing stone.


    He picked up the wand, and touched the stone. Slowly, the glowing stone''s light faded, until it lost all colour, and became a transparent stone.


    The wand seemingly didn''t change. but he could feel it. Feel the trapped entity slowly waking up.


    "Let''s find you a good host, Mylord Adalwulf." He said, and put the wand back in the bag.

 Chapter one

    A young boy ran in the grass. He had blue eyes, like the sky, and platinum blode hair barely reaching his shoulders that surrounded his round and lively face. On his back were a small sack, that bounced up and down as he ran on his small legs. He was tall for his age though, comparing to the other children of the village, at twelve winters old.


    As he ran, he tripped on a stone and fell, scratching his knee. He loudly cursed while holding his bloodied knee, and bit his lips.


    ¡±Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry...¡± He mumbled, with tears starting to appear at the corners of his eyes. He quickly wiped them off and then got up. ¡±Men don¡¯t cry.¡± He checked his sack and confirmed that no berries had fallen out. And then he began running again, though a little slower.


    It took only a few minutes before he reached a small path, at which he turned right. Arriving at the top of a hill, he then saw the small village, only counting a a few dozens og families and houses. He then hurriedly ran downhill, and a few cows lifted their heads to see with the new arrivant, only to lower them again and to continue eating, not having judged the child a threat.


    Right before he reached the first houses he slowed down to walking, while catching his breath. Then he suddenly saw a person lying in the grass right next to a mule. He had closed eyes, and was dressed in a grey wool tunic and pants, with high cavalier boots. The boy smiled.


    ¡±Dobarn!¡± He shouted out. He then quickly approached. ¡±You¡¯re not sleeping are you?¡±


    ¡±No, I am not.¡± He said while opening his eyes. ¡±It¡¯s good to see you, boy.¡± A faint smile formed on his lips.


    ¡±Call me by my name, Talr!¡± He corrected, but his voice was full of joy. Walking over to the mule, he patted it and noticed a big black cape, with a hood, bound to its saddel. He took some berries from his sack. ¡±There you go, old boy.¡± With a beaming smile, he began to feed the mule, who greedily eated them.


    ¡±Don¡¯t give him too much, you¡¯ll spoil him¡± Dobran said, though he didn¡¯t make any action to stop him.


    ¡±What an ungrateful master, if you come with me, I¡¯ll feed you a lot of berries!¡± He exclaimed, while looking at Dobarn.


    ¡±Hm. What are you going to eat, by the way?¡± He said and smirked. Talr sighed and took the sack away.


    ¡±Anyway, I found you a wand. With this you can start learning magick.¡± All joy disappeared from his face, as he became serious. ¡±You body is compatible with magick, which is very rare, as you already know.¡±


    The boy¡¯s eyes turned big, ¡±But shouln¡¯t I start with a staff? I heard that it is much more difficult with a wand.¡± Talr said with respect and fear.


    "But much more powerful."


    ¡±Even you, you still has a staff.¡±


    ¡±Oh, I haven¡¯t found a wand compatible with me yet.¡± He explained. ¡±But, I believe you have great talent and intelligence. So if you can master the difficult first, then you will become more powerful very quickly and then you will be able to... Protect and save everyone.¡± Talr thought for a short moment that he had spotted a strange thing in Dobarn¡¯s eyes, but he ignored it.


    ¡± Yes... That is my goal. What do I have to do for the wand to accept me?¡±


    ¡±Sleep with it for a whole night, and be careful to never loose skin contact with it. And in the morning, when you wake up, I will be there.¡± Dobarn said. He put his hand in the bag, and took a wand out, and slowly handed it to Talr, with it lying on his opened hands.


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    Talr took it, while being extremely careful and respectful. He then began inspecting it. The wand was pale, like it had been carved out of bone, with a very small and slim white snake circling around it.


    ¡±It is beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Dobarn said with a smile. ¡±Quite long though, at thirty-five centimeters.¡±


    ¡±How do I know if it has accepted me tomorrow?¡± He asked, while still looking at the wand.


    ¡±Do not worry. You will know soon enough...¡± At that moment, Talr thought that Dobarn¡¯s smile was creepy. "Anyway, the day will soon be over. Go find a place to sleep"


    ¡±Then see you tomorrow!¡± He quickly ran off under Dobarn¡¯s watchful gaze.


    After Talr had eaten all of his berries, or the rest of them, he took his self-made rope, which he had made with long pieces of bark, and bound the wand to his left arm. That way, he wouldn¡¯t loose skin contact, even if he moved in his sleep.


    He was excited, and his heart kept pounding, eager to learn fancy and strong magick, but after a while he managed to fall asleep.


    Talr stood on a rock. He looked around, and spotted a person far away. He shouted out. The person didn¡¯t react. He then sprinted towards the person and got a better look at him.


    He was dressed entirely in black. A black loose silk shirt, and fitted black silk pants. He had high black leather boots, going halfway up to the knee. And long brown hair, at the limit of black. It all contrasted greatly with his pale and smooth skin. When Talr got closer, he could see his face. It was a captivating face, not one you would forget. He had sharp green eyes, like the ocean can be sometimes. But sharper. A proud and straight nose in the middle of his face, over his slim lips.


    As Talr stopped a few meters from him, he noticed that the man was tall. Tall and slim, and well fit.


    ¡±Who are you.?¡± The man finally noticed him. He fixed his piercing gaze on the boy. After a moment, he resbonded.


    ¡±You are weak. But you have the Gift.¡± His strong voice revealed a will of iron.


    ¡±Huh? What do you mean? Who are you!?¡± Talr was scared. He took a step back.


    ¡±You cannot escape.¡± Suddenly, the plains and the sky disappeared, leaving only the nothingness. They both floated in the air, but the man began turning into green smoke. And then he threw himself at Talr, who began screaming while trying to hit the green smoke. His mind felt pressed, like it was being crushed slowly.


    But he gathered his will to live, his will to gain power to save and protect people. He shielded himself, with a blue wall surrounding him.


    ¡±Why?! Who are you?!¡± Talr screamed. A green translucid spear formed in the green smoke. It launched itself at his wall and instantly pierced it, continuing its path and reached deep inside Talr, who felt pain like never before.


    A high pitched scream sounded. A dying child¡¯s scream.


    ¡±I am Adalwulf.¡± The entity said.

 Chapter two

    Dobarn strolled over to the building where he knew Talr had gone yesterday evening. Behind it there was a small grassfield, where he saw the boy. He was sitting up, and his hands were slowly brushing his face, with his eyes closed.


    Dobarn approached and kneeled a few meters before him.


    ¡±My Lord?¡± Dobarn asked with uncertainty in his voice. ¡±Lord Adalwulf?¡±


    Without doing stopping his hands the boy began speaking. ¡±It is strange, Dobarn. After... How long has it been? A decade? Half a century?¡± Dobarn opened his mouth to answer, but was immediatly cut off. ¡±Nevermind, I can feel again.¡± He let his hands fall down in his lap. ¡±I have a body. I will no longer only be restricted to Mindpower.¡± He opened his eyes. ¡±I can feel it, Dobarn. The magick, my muscles!¡± The boy, who was Adalwulf said, with wonder in his eyes. He saw Dobarn kneeling and invited him to come sit with him.


    A real smile emerged on Dobarn¡¯s face. ¡±For too long we have waited, Mylord. The humans are ready. They will once again welcome you, as their leader!¡± He said with passion, as he sat down in front of Adalwulf.


    ¡±Dobarn. Calm yourself. My magick is limited, in this body. I will have to rely more on the other two Ways, but for now I am not familiar with this young body, so that only leaves the last Way, my Mindpower. But that power is very limited in a straight fight.¡± Adalwulf looked directly into Dobarn¡¯s eyes. ¡±Futhermore, my soldiers and knights will not follow me. This child¡¯s body will not inspire faith and trust, and certainly not respect in my armies. I need more time, to master this body and... Grow up.¡±


    ¡±You are right. I should have gotten you a more mature host. Forgive me, Mylord.¡± He said, with his head slightly bowed.


    ¡±There is nothing to forgive. I have a body, that is the most important.¡± Adalwulf stood up slowly, with calculated movements. He looked insecure, with his hands ready to act if he should fall. ¡±Besides, I plan to take out one ennemy before the war even starts.¡± He said with a snicker.


    ¡±By yourself?¡± Dobarn exclaimed in surprise. ¡±I guess you have a plan?¡±


    ¡±I am going to infiltrate the Alfas kingdom of Sylvesta. Their political situation is already a mess, with the Elder Council¡¯s members constantly fighting each other for more influence and power.¡± The face that had belonged to an innocent face before, now erupted into a demonic smile. ¡±They only need a slight push, and their forests will crumble into chaos.


    Dobarn had a doubtful look on his face. ¡±Last time they stood pretty united though... And don¡¯t you think the Civa Alfas will come them to help?¡±


    ¡±They had a common ennemy at the time.¡± He said and his gaze became unfocused, as he looked into the sky, seemingly deep in thought.


    ¡±Us.¡± Dobarn said, and Adalwulf  lowered his eyes, breaking the stream of thoughts he was having.


    ¡±Yes. But even at that time, they barely stopped their internal struggle, to maintain a positive public image. The Civa Alfas wouldn¡¯t risk weakening themselves when they are already depleting their resources trying to maintain control of the human territories they conquered at the last war.¡± He made a small pause. ¡±You see, I have been watching them.¡±


    ¡±Excuse me? Haven¡¯t you been trapped in your corpse for the last twenty years?¡± Dobarn asked as a light frown appeared over his greying eye brows.


    ¡± Dobarn, I have gone farer than anyone else I have ever heard of. I mastered the Third Way before my death. Now, I am more. I have discovered things you can¡¯t even begin to imagine. You are a Magician, of the Second Way. But I will now tell you how a mind can make the difference.¡± He took a deep breath, and used a minute to organize his thoughts.


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    ¡±The Third Way is the Way of the Mind, as you already know. When you master it, you can control and project your willpower outside of your body, and attack the ennemy¡¯s mind with it, and the closer you are, the less power you have to use to reach the oppenent and the stronger your attack will be. The downside is that you body is defenceless when you project your mind, and when attacked, even a non-initiate of the Third Way can defend himself. It is like, when you defend, you have a fortress, making the defense that much easier than the attack.¡± He held a pause. Dobarn just sat quietly, and patiently waited for the him to continue.¡±That boy... He surprised me. He had a strong willpower, and a dense and powerful soul. But I obliterated him nevertheless within seconds. A waste of talent though, but a necessary sacrifice.¡±


    ¡±Yes. For the well of the human race.¡± He took a look at the sun. ¡±My Lord, we should get over to the nearest estate of the Ga?lla Order, there we will be safe.¡±


    Adalwulf more or less ignored him. ¡±How is the Ga?lla organisation going? How many have we left?¡±


    ¡±Do not worry. The Order has remained rich, even with the fall of the Empire. We have possessions in nearly all human kingdoms, and even a few in the Na?nen clans. Over a twelfe hundred knights and two thousand squires are spread out in our castles and territories. And thousands of servants of course. ¡±


    ¡±Excellent. The Order will soon take up it¡¯s true purpose, to guard and fight for the human race.¡± Adalwulf said as he stood up. ¡±Oh, and where is my daughter? Where did Rowena hide her?¡± You could see deep pain in his eyes as he metioned her name. ¡±I tried to find her. I couldn¡¯t.¡± He had not tried that hard actually, it had always been Rowena that tied he and his daughter together. His daughter had always seemed quite indifferent towards him.


    ¡±I am sorry. I do not know. Forgive my uselessness.¡± Dobarn said and bowed.


    ¡±Then search, and find her.¡± She was his last relative afterall, and his daughter. Even though she was physically older than him now. That was a weird feeling that he quickly shrugged it off.


    ¡±But, what about you? Surely we should first...¡± Dobarn began, but was cut by Adalwulf.


    ¡±No.¡± He said with a firm voice. ¡±I will go to the Alfa Kingdom alone. Any guards of the Order will gather to much attention. And make my mission that much harder.¡± Besides Adalwulf itched to use his new body, and to take a few years liberty. He took a few steps, bowed down and picked up his wand. ¡±I will be back in a few years. Find her by then.¡±


    Dobarn reluctantly accepted the order and bowed. ¡±Yes My Lord Adalwulf. I will do as you command.¡±


    ¡±Good. Now i¡¯ll be off.¡± Adalwulf began walking into the small village.


    He just left Dobarn standing there. The latter scratched his head. ¡±Well an order is an order.¡± He turned around and went over to his mule, mounted it and began riding of. ¡±He¡¯ll manage. He¡¯s The Lord. He can take care of himself. ¡± He mumbled, trying to convince himself. But he couldn¡¯t refrain from taking a glance over his shoulder to see a boy walking proudly, though with bare feet and filthy and torn clothing. He sighed. ¡±Don¡¯t get yourself killed ¡¯young¡¯ Lord.¡±


    ___________________________


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 Chapter three

    Adalwulf was frustrated. He had walked through the whole village but found nothing interesting; only peasants doing their daily jobs. But it wasn¡¯t important, he would just walk to the nearest town, he should be able to reach it before nightfall. It still irritated him though.


    He asked a young man with a growing beard who was working at the corner of a wheat field, which way there where a town.


    ¡±Just follow that road, boy.¡± He said, happy to have an excuse to hold a little break.


    Adalwulf thanked him politely, and noted the strange look the man gave him. He hurriedly walked away, following the road.


    After he had walked quite a while, the road split in two. Adalwulf just stood there, trying to decide which road looked like the continuation of the first one, and finally settled on the one going left.


    ¡±Useless peasants...¡± He muttered as he resumed his trip. ¡°Just follow the road he said.¡±


    As he got farer and farer away, his feet began to irritate him. Nothing serious, and although the former host of this body had ran around a lot on his bare feet, he was walking kilometers on a stone road.  Endless grass fields and sometimes cultivated fields were at each side, only interrupted by the occasional groups of trees, until he entered a light forest, where there were many more.


    After a few hundreds of meters more, he heard something coming from behind. He quickly turned around, and as he expected, a caravan had appeared not that far away, which seemed quite big. He put the hand clenching the wand behind him, not wanting them to know about his magick powers.  He decided to wait for it, hoping to get a lift. When it got closer he saw six heavily armored guards riding before the carriage in formation. This was no trading caravan.


    All of the guards wore chainmail and barrel helms, with clothes outside their chainmail which showed their red and orange colors. They had swords at their side, and some had war hammers hanging in their saddle. The first guard on the right carried a long wooden lance which ended in a steel spearhead, and had a banner attached to it. It displayed a red fire surrounding an orange sword, on orange background. The guards had already seen him of course. They didn¡¯t stop though because they were expecting him to move out of the road at their approach.


    But Adalwulf didn¡¯t move, and remained where he was standing, right in the middle of the road. When the guards began to realize he wasn¡¯t moving, they hesitated, and within few meters of him they slowly stopped. The guard at the front, the one next to the banner man, took the word.


    ¡°Move boy! I won¡¯t say it twice!¡± He shouted, though his voiced was muffled by his helmet.


    ¡°No. Not unless I get on the carriage.¡± He couldn¡¯t see the face of the knight, but he guessed that he must be quite irritated right now.


    ¡°We are knights at the service of the Duke Redfyr, escorting his daughter and magician Arianna. We will remove you with force if¡­¡±


    ¡°Why did we stop?¡± A head appeared from within the carriage. As the only visible face, Adalwulf took a good look at her. He was also intrigued, as magicians were really rare, and normally didn¡¯t have to travel much. She was light brown-haired, almost blonde, and her hair was hanging freely. She had a small mouth with full lips and a straight nose. Her eyes were brown, and were now fixated on him. She didn¡¯t look like she was older than seventeen, but she had little curves, even though her breasts were pushed up by the dress she wore, which was a quite simple but beautiful red and golden colored one.


    Adalwulf removed his hand with the wand from his back, so all could see it. He didn¡¯t point it at anyone though, as he didn¡¯t want things to escalate into a fight. He had almost zero chance at coming victorious out of a fight with half a dozen knights and a mage, and only an average chance of escaping uninjured. But he was confident that he could take a few down.


    ¡°I only seek a small favor. It is not that troublesome, is it?¡± He simply said.


    ¡°We will not tolerate such¡­¡± The knight started to talk, but was once again cut off by Arianna.


    ¡°You can do magic, child?¡± She smiled. ¡°If you can shoot a lightning bolt in one of the trees behind you, you can come with us.¡±


    Adalwulf frowned. Lightning was some of the very difficult spells to cast, and master. She didn¡¯t have any intention of making him come in her carriage, yet. He turned half around and pointed the wand at a tree. A light emerged from the tip of his wand, which slowly became brighter. A few seconds later a lightning shoot out of the wand and hit a tree almost instantly. It fried the tree at the place where it hit, but didn¡¯t do that much damage. But to a humanoid, it could have been deadly.


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    Arianna¡¯s eyes widened and he saw a few knights that slowly moved their hands on their swords hilt while moving anxiously in their saddles.


    To her merit, Arianna quickly recovered and put on an indifferent expression.


    ¡°You can come.¡± She said, and then began to move back in her carriage. ¡°And please use your magick to cleanse yourself. You look filthy, and probably smell awful.¡± She added before she went inside.


    Adalwulf agreed with her, although he didn¡¯t like her tone. He used water and wind spells to wash his body, while Arianna was furiously thinking. She had only received her own wand at the Citadel less than a week before, and was now returning to her father¡¯s castle.  And he, who looked like a thirteen year old, not only did he already had a wand but he had also mastered difficult spells with it. She needed more information about him, and why such a successful boy was wondering around looking like a beggar.


    It took Adalwulf ten minutes to get the deed done, after which he walked over with half-wet hair and entered the carriage. It was a beautiful one, made of carved wood, with banners hanging down at the sides. A soldier served as a driver for the horse driven carriage, and now that he looked he noticed dozens of soldiers hid behind the carriage before, as well as wagons with supplies.


    Inside the carriage, it was dark. He could still see, but the red curtains were keeping most of the sunlight out. Arianna had a soft smile when he sat down in front of her. They felt the carriage beginning to move again.


    ¡°You have great magick skills it appears. Wouldn¡¯t you be interested in serving our House? I will personally take care of you.¡° She said with a sweet smile. Of course when she said personally, she meant that her own servants would take care of him, and she would supervise it herself¡­


    ¡°I am very thankful, but I only need a ride to a town, so I must decline your offer.¡± She lifted her eyebrow slightly, surprised by the refusal, and his manners. She hadn¡¯t really expected a peasant looking boy to have any knowledge in that area.


    ¡°Oh. That is a shame.¡± She made a sad expression, and then looked at him again.¡±But where are you going to sleep? What will you eat? Do you even have any money?¡±She asked with a amused smile. She was sure that he didn¡¯t have any money.


    Realization dawned for Adalwulf. In truth, it was the first time he was truly on his own, without money and a noble status. In his previous body, he had been born in a small noble family. But even so, it wasn¡¯t like him to forget something as crucial as money. Actually, now that he thought it through, it wasn¡¯t like him to act that reckless at all. He guessed that it was the childish body that made him impulsive. Bu there was no way he would ask Dobarn for help. His pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to that.


    ¡°Well?¡± Arianna asked, impatiently.


    He realized that a moment had passed. ¡°Actually, your offer doesn¡¯t seem that bad now that I think about it.¡± He said with a smile. The Sylvestan Kingdom could wait. He had around six years before his coming of age after all.


    Arianna giggled. ¡°Oh, by the way, you know my name, but I don¡¯t know yours.¡±


    ¡°Pardon me. I am Tarold.¡± He marked a slight hesitation before the name, although he had already found it beforehand.


    ¡°Tarold. May I call you Tal?¡± She asked. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± It didn¡¯t seem like she had noticed anything. She smiled and raised her hand to touch his cheek, and caressed it. At first he was uncomfortable, but he quickly relaxed. He enjoyed the first human contact he had felt in years, and almost closed his eyes.


    She giggled and smiled sweetly, although she was confused that she had such an effect on a child. He must be in dire need of love, the poor child¡­ Is what she thought. But that suited her just fine.  Magicians were rare. If she could get one for herself, she would gain a lot of status. Even more so as he was quite young.


    The Tarold had fallen asleep.


    "The future looks promising." She whispered with a gleeful smile.

 Chapter four

    Adalwulf, or Tarold as his new name was, woke up. He dizzily looked around and noticed Arianna looking out of the window. She had opened the curtains, which was most likely the thing that awakened him. But that¡¯s not possible, was his first thoughts. How could I fall asleep before a stranger?  How could I be so careless? Did she cast a spell on me? No, I would have noticed. He thoroughly searched for all possible scenarios. He finally settled on a mix of tiredness between the possession of this body and the backlash of the spell earlier. This body seemed even weaker than he expected.


    She finally noticed that he was awake and made and apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry. I hoped it wouldn¡¯t wake you up.¡± She then looked out of the window. ¡°But we will soon arrive. It has been quite a while since I was here last time, so I wanted to see our lands. I have been studying in the Citadel for a year, to obtain the wand.¡±


    To obtain a wand, you would have to relearn all your previous spells that you knew how to perform with a staff. A wand made the toll on the body easier when you used magick, and your spells slightly more powerful. But it was mainly for the first reason that mages would seek a wand, for being able to cast more spells could be a crucial factor in a duel or battle.


    ¡°That¡¯s impressive. You must have had great teachers.¡± Who were probably paid by her father who was a Duke. It was the highest rank of a lord, standing over Counts and barons, and must therefore have a great territory with many villages and mills. The latter were actually much sought after, as all peasants had to mill their crops and pay taxes of them as it was forbidden to do it at their homes. This gave a sturdy source of income to the landlord, and was an efficient way to keep control over the peasants and the crops, because the lord could close the mill and thus make the population starve if it rebelled against him.


    ¡°And great talent. But you self are quite impressive. How did you become so good at magick at such a young age?¡± She asked ignoring the little verbal attack.


    He mischievously smiled. ¡°I have great talent too, and an extremely talented grandfather who taught me.¡±  He was twelve years old right now. This meant that he couldn¡¯t be the son of the Adalwulf who supposedly died twenty years ago. But he had a daughter, who was nine years old two decades ago, so she was seventeen when this body was born. He would just claim to be her son, and therefore with the support of the Ga?lla Order he would bring the Gorlean Empire back, with him as the Emperor. That was more or less his plan, which made him the grandson of himself.


    Arianna couldn¡¯t really see why he was smiling, so she shrugged it off. ¡°Anyway, we will soon be at my father¡¯s castle. I will find some better clothes before I present you to him.¡±


    Tarold nodded and they kept the silence for the next hour or so, until the carriage stopped, and the small door opened. A servant stood there, with his hand open, palm towards the sky. He had a red tunic, with yellow hoses. With a ladies-first gesture, Tarold made a small courteous bow. She made a light smile and took the servant¡¯s hand, and slowly stepped out, followed by Tarold.


    When he was out of the carriage, he looked around. He was standing in the bailey of the castle, surrounded by tall walls on every side, with five corners that each had a large square flanking tower. One of the towers, although it had the same form it was much higher and bigger than the other towers. It was the keep, where the Duke lived with his family.


    In the courtyard, or the bailey, there were a lot of people. You could hear horses neigh, and the sound of a smith hammering somewhere. Servants were walking in many and different goals and a few soldiers were guarding the entrances of the towers, and standing watch on the walls.


    This was a small castle for a man with the position of a Duke, and it looked very new. He must have risen in rank and build a new castle.


    ¡°Welcome to the territory of Gorlak.¡± Arianna said with a proud and true smile. ¡°It is a small but sturdy new castle.¡± This was where she had grown up.


    Tarold froze. So that was why. The old castle of Gorlak must be in ruins, and this lord took it when he  died, and thus became a Duke. Gorlak was afterall one of the richest, if not biggest territories in the western provinces. He managed to hide his illogical anger. He knew that somebody was going to take care of it. But he hadn¡¯t wanted to check it out, knowing he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± He responded slowly. ¡°Do you know how your father became the Duke of Gorlak?¡± He asked, trying to feign an indifferent tone.


    She looked at him, finding the question strange. ¡°The Nothars gave us Gorlak. And in exchange we pay them tribute, every year. That¡¯s common knowledge¡­¡±


    Tarolf felt disgusted. In his opinion, they had collaborated with one of their enemies, who were partly responsible for his and the Empires fall. But he repressed and buried those feelings of anger and betrayal deep inside, so they would not disturb him in the present.


    Arianna told him to follow her and so he did. They went into the keep, with a few servants and two soldiers serving as guards. The knights had all gone to their chambers to rest after the long ride in their heavy armor. They eventually showed his chamber. It was small, with a bed in the corner, a small slit opening which allowed some light to brighten the room a little. A huge chest was in another corner, were he was supposed to stuff his belongings in, though he didn¡¯t really have anything besides his wand.


    Another servant arrived with a stack of clothes in her arms. Arianna threw an appraising look on them and nodded. ¡°This is your chamber.  Put this clothes on, they will do for now.¡± She told him. ¡°I will go talk with my father. A servant will inform you when you can get an audience.¡± She walked out of the small room.


    Torald waited until he couldn¡¯t hear their footsteps anymore, and then he closed the door. He put the clothes on the bed, inspecting them. It was a simple green tunic of linen, with an intricate pattern surrounding the opening for the neck. There was also a leather belt, pale light green hoses, and a pair of leather boots reinforced with wood to keep water and mud out. A little disappointed that it wasn¡¯t silk, he nevertheless understood that they couldn¡¯t just give silk clothes to every guest in the house.


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    Silk was the most luxurious fabric available, and it was so costly that only the nobles and rich merchants could afford it. While its beauty made it a highly-prized status symbol, silk has practical aspects that made it much sought-after. It had excellent dyeing properties and was very comfortable and light, yet strong.


    He put the clothes on. The boots were a little too big, and the hoses and tunics were the right length but too large. But as Arianna said, that would do for now. It was better than his former rags anyway. He waited a few minutes for the servant, but then he sat down cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes.


    Projecting his mind, he grazed a lot of people of the castle. Unknown to him, they would get the feeling that they were being watched and grow anxious. But in this invisible form, he couldn¡¯t see material things, not even bodies, only life forms and their minds, so he was oblivious to it. He could hear some of their intensive thoughts and strong emotions. The first time he had done this he had been overwhelmed, but now, he could cut them off and even slightly influence them. But he did none of these things, and simply scouted the people in the area. Overall, it seemed that the people here were living well. Sure there were many negative emotions, but there were more satisfied and positive ones.


    He returned to his body and inspected it from outside with his mind. It seemed like his soul where stable in its new body. That was good. He had been afraid that when his mind travelled the soul would have been destabilized, because of its attraction towards the mind. That was actually the first thing an apprentice learned in the Way of the Mind: to split the soul and the mind apart, so the mind still had a connection to its body. If both the soul and the mind left then it was extremely difficult to find it again, and attach the soul to it. Sometimes people would wander around searching for their body until their soul slowly dispersed, killing them in the process. That was one of the reasons few people attempted The Third Way.


    He spotted a life form approaching his body. He quickly returned to it, and as soon as he regained his senses he heard someone knock on the door, and a female voice that was calling him. Not one he recognized though.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± He said as he got out of bed and put his wand in the belt, and then he opened the door. A servant stood on the other side. She told him to follow her. She brought him to a large hall, where long wooden tables were installed and many people sitting. The tables were arranged in a reversed ¡®U¡¯ form, with the Duke sitting at the end.


    Arianna sat at his left, and she had tied her hair up in knot since he last saw her. Next to her sat a middle-aged man, probably in his forties, who had a slight under belly forming but still looked strong. He had short hair and high cheekbones, and a small nose. He had gentle but lazy looking brown eyes that swept across the hall, with a satisfied little smile.


    At his right sat a woman, who looked like she was a little over thirty. She had thick and straight eyebrows, which were a little darker than her blonde hair. Her hair was tied into a knot, with braids surrounding it in a circle, and then falling down in her back. She had observant blue eyes, and a high forehead. She was quite pretty overall, like her daughter.


    The brouhaha slowly died down as the herald stood up next to Tarold.


    ¡°I announce Tarold, aspiring court magician!¡± He cried out. All eyes were now on Tarold, but he didn¡¯t seem like it bothered him. The Duke then called him out and urged him to come closer. He had a raspy voice.


    ¡°You are indeed a young one. You know the deal, right? You swear loyalty and obedience to me, and I will house you and feed you, and guarantee not to misuse you.¡± He said it slowly, while chewing on a piece of meat. His teeth were a little yellow, but fine otherwise. Because when you had money, you could pay a magician to clean and repair them.


    ¡°Yes. I know.¡± He just answered. Duke Redfyr stopped chewing.


    ¡°Well? What do you say?¡±


    ¡°I accept.¡± Tarold put one knee on the cold stone flour, and bowed his head. ¡°I swear that I will serve you, and I swear that I will remain loyal and obedient to you for the rest of my life.¡± He said with a solemn voice.


    ¡°Excellent!¡± He waved at a vacant seat next to his daughter. ¡°Rise, and come over and sit, and let us eat to our hearts content.¡±


    As he sat down, Arianna send him an approving look, and then returned to a conversation, with a young man. He shrugged, and grabbed a piece of chicken, but when he was going to tak a bite, he noticed something. In the palm of his hand, a purple mark had formed. It was small, the size of the tip of his little finger, but still unnerving.


    But Tarold ignored it for now and took a bite of the chicken. It tasted fine extremely good, and the flavor invaded his mouth. It was probably the first time this body had eaten something so delicious. So he satisfied the hunger he had been holding back until now.


    _________________________________


    Author''s note :


    Tell me any mistakes, or anything on your mind about this chapter.


    Thanks!

 Chapter five

    A soft snowfall covered the countless pine trees in snow, and made the beautiful valley into a white landscape. In between those trees there was a longhouse, made of wood. It looked old, but well maintained. A figure was slowly walking towards it, each step sinking deep into the snow with a distinct noise. He wore dark grey fur, covering almost all of him, leaving only the head.


    He had long dark hair that reached his shoulders in small waves, and lazy brown eyes. His long and hooked nose was red at the tip, proof of the biting cold.


    He finally arrived at the longhouse, opened the door and stepped in, then closed the door behind him. Five familiar faces met him.


    ¡°Loke, you¡¯re late.¡± A big man said.


    ¡°I had some things I had to finish first.¡± He said while taking his fur coat off. There was a big fireplace in the middle of the building. Around it sat the big man, and four others, who did not speak or even glance in Lucifer¡¯s direction. ¡°Not even a small greeting? That¡¯s cold¡­ ¡°He said with a sad expression and sat down in front of the fireplace. The others ignored him.


    ¡°Well, Absalon. Why did you tell us to hold this meeting? It has only been a few decades since the last.¡± A female voice spoke. She was Faladis, a stunning northern beauty with no imperfection visible on her skin. Her long platinum blonde hair had been sat up in braids, and she had light blue eyes. She wore a thick silk dress, and was thus very close to the fireplace.


    ¡°I have discovered something very¡­ disturbing.¡± He said. ¡°Someone has found a way to cheat death. In other words, a human died, but somehow survived his own death. It is unheard off. ¡±


    That immediately caught their attention, with one exception. But instead of looking at Absalon, Loke inspected the others reactions.


    Hestia had a slight look of vehemence and disgust on her small face. Her red eyes were focused on Absalon, eager to gain more information. He knew what damage she could cause to the ones who suffered her wrath, as she was the owner of the Emerald Ring, of growth and nature. He also knew that she was well-equipped in her feminine features, but that was well-hidden under layers of simple and gray woolen. She had kept her outdoor clothes on, and she was as far as possible from the fire, while still being close enough to participate in the conversation.


    Jormund, the owner of this longhouse, was indifferent. He was slowly petting a small wolf cup. He was lying down on some fur skins, and he was tall and thin, with a long wild hair and beard. He had an unkempt appearance, at the point of looking like a wild man, but he also had a ring. It was a silver ring with a small wolf head roaring. The Ring of Beasts.


    Artemis had a mildly curious expression. Her grey eyes were patiently waiting for Absalon to continue. She had long brown hair, which didn¡¯t seem to get much attention, though it was far better off than Jord¡¯s. She was sitting upright with her head held high, and a strong hunter bow rested in her hand not far from a full quiver of arrows in her belt.  She had the Ring of The Hunt.


    Faladis had a slight frown on her perfect face. She was lying down on the side, which showed her generous hourglass figure. She never failed to show off. She was perfect, thanks to her Ring of Healing and Beauty. She had used it to make all small imperfections on her body disappear. He had asked her countless times to do the same on him, but she had refused.


    Absalon, was one of the biggest men he had ever seen. He was strong like a bull, and yet he had that piercing glaze showing that under all the muscles there was an intelligent man. He had a huge steel war axe this time. At every meeting he carried something different, probably because the last one broke under his inhuman strength. He carried The Ring of Honor and valor, which gave him this strength, and combined with his skill it made him an unmatched warrior.


    It took Loke only a few glances to notice all this though Absalon waited a little, to ensure that the information sank in.


    ¡°A traveller told me.¡± Absalon said, to their questioning glances. ¡°I promised to let him go in exchange of some information. That¡¯s what he told me.¡±


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    ¡°Are you sure he didn¡¯t lie?¡± Hestia asked.


    ¡°I would have known. I know only one person who can lie to me.¡± Absalon said, with a blaming  glance at Loke. The latter just smiled innocently.


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t know anything about whom the... Undead is?¡±  Hestia said the last word with disgust and repugnance.  She knew that he wouldn¡¯t break his promise.


    Absalon confirmed that he didn¡¯t know. Hestia then turned towards Artemis.


    ¡°Can you hunt him?¡± She asked her with hope.


    ¡°How?¡± Artemis said slowly. ¡°We know nothing of him. I can¡¯t find someone whom I don¡¯t even have a single clue off.¡± If she had a target, she could go on for days. She had outstanding skills, and the Ring gave her nearly limitless endurance to pursue her prey.


    ¡°We have to find this undead nevertheless. I do not know what he has become, but allowing a creature to overcome death is unacceptable. As the gods of this world we have to destroy this abomination.¡± Hestia said.


    ¡°We are not Gods, but simply Immortals dear.¡± Loke said with a mocking smile. Hestia opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Absalon.


    ¡°That is true, but we need to find him anyway.¡± He said, receiving approving glances from the others.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Artemis said, ¡°but it is simply not possible. We don¡¯t even know what we are searching for¡­¡±


    ¡°Well you could just leave it to me.¡± Loke said. This gathered their attention.


    ¡°What makes you think you will succeed?¡± Absalon asked?


    ¡°Give me five years. I¡¯ll find him by then.¡± Loke said with a self-confident smile. He could clearly see that Hestia and Artemis were against it. But Absalon didn¡¯t look like he minded, and neither did Faladis.


    ¡°Let him do as he wishes.¡± Jormund said, probably to end the meeting so they would his house. He had never really cared about much other than his companions. One or two times he had gotten more or less in a fight with Artemis, when he interfered in her hunts to protect the hunted beast.


    ¡°Fine. In exactly five years, we will be meeting here again.¡± Absalon said. ¡°I hope that you have it by then.¡±


    Loke nodded. ¡°Well, that was a pleasant meeting; I look forward to the next.¡± He wrapped himself in his fur coat and left them, walking out in the cold again. He could feel their eyes on his back when he closed the door without turning. Barely an hour had passed since he had arrived at the house. As he began walking again, he took a look at his ring. It was made of silver, with an amethyst in it.


    The Ring of Illusions and Shadows. It granted him immunity to mind attacks and made him ageless. But all of The Six Rings did that, the more important thing was the ability it gave. And he had always liked his ability the most. It was also impossible to take off; he had tried a few times, just to be sure. He remembered the time he put it on, where The Ring¡¯s small claws had stabbed into his finger, all the way into his bone to making it impossible to take off, and making his bones extremely hard.


    It had taken a long time to get a grasp on his abilities, and it was possible that there were more he hadn¡¯t found out yet, though he severely doubted it.


    He found his old mule and took a hold of its reins. He didn¡¯t want to burden it yet, so they just walked together, the mule following him obediently. And as they walked, a grey beard began growing on Loke, and he began aging, while his face slightly changed.


    It didn''t seem to disturb, as he walked through the pine forest while humming.

 Chapter six

    Tarold was sitting on his bed in his chamber, furiously trying to wash off the purple mark in his hand. It had been a month since it appeared. At first he had thought it was just some filth, but when it didn¡¯t disappear, he grew restless.


    He believed it had grown since he had discovered it. He wasn¡¯t sure, but it seemed so, and that was a really bad sign. Now He had been desperately rubbing it for half an hour, and it just stayed. Though his skin was becoming red and irritated, and beginning to hurt.


    Another thing he had discovered while looking in a priceless mirror was that his hair was slowly becoming black and he believed that his eyes would become green too, given the time. It was his soul messing with the body, shaping it to its most comfortable form. Slowly, but surely.


    He hadn¡¯t found a plausible explanation yet. But that was a problem for another time, for right now he had planned to make this body learn all of his old sword techniques, of The First Way. One thing was to know them, another to be able to use them.


    He got out of the room, and locked the door. While strolling down the corridor he greeted a few knights, who politely greeted him back. His status was very high in this castle, only below the Redfyr family in theory because he was the official court magician. Arianna being a Redfyr the position wasn¡¯t available to her. His simple presence gave them a lot prestige among nobles, as they now had two young and skilled magicians, which was more than most families had. They had provided him with silk clothes and a mirror, both being very costly, but affordable for most nobles who had more than a few villages.


    He went down the stairs and exited the keep. He then arrived in the bailey, and saw wagons coming in through the opened gate, full of supplies and materials. A young man he recognized stood not too far away. He went over and met with the young squire named Cadell. Arianna¡¯s mother, Alis Redfyr had found him a teacher in The First Way, after he had expressed the wish to learn to fight with a sword. Cadell was the one she recommended.


    ¡°You seem to be in a bright mood this morning.¡± In fact he seemed to be about to burst from joy, he had that huge grin on his face.


    ¡°My mentor told me that I am ready. The ceremony will happen in a few weeks!¡± The young man was slim and tall, and strong, but most important of all he was skilled. He was handsome with his catching blue eyes, which attracted attention from the average brown hair. But he was only eighteen if Tarold remembered right, which was much too soon to become a full-fledged knight.


    First you became a page at seven years old, and were trained to serve a knight and his squire, while being trained by the squire. The general rule was seven years to become a squire, and another seven to become a knight. So at eighteen, he still had three full years to accomplish.


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± Tarold said with a smile. ¡°You are very early compared to the others.¡±


    ¡°Yes I know. I won¡¯t disappoint Garentior, my mentor.¡± He said with confidence and determination in his voice. Tarold thought for a moment. ¡®Garentior¡¯ was a Notharn name. He gritted his teeth. Those bastards he thought.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go beat you into a pulp.¡± He flashed a smile, showing that his teeth were white, but not completely aligned.


    While talking about knighthood, they walked over to the training grounds. Many other pages, squires, guards and knights were training there. They seemed more serious and concentrated in their training. There were few laughing and chatting.


    Tarold decided that he would address the issue with Arianna later. Cadell picked up two wooden swords and handed one over to him. He also began lecturing about different sword styles, which Tarold more or less ignored. He already knew most of it, and what he didn¡¯t knew was probably useless.


    They began sparring, with Cadell pointing mistakes out to Tarold, and the latter eagerly tried to correct them. He already knew the mistakes, but wasn¡¯t aware that he was making them.  The last two weeks he had been training the basics, to incorporate them in his muscles memory. Fast reflexes were much needed in a fight.


    Growing a little impatient from having studied the basics this much, he tried to use some of his more complicated techniques. It often ended in big mistakes, because his movements weren¡¯t precise and fast enough, resulting in huge gaps which could be exploited his oppenent.


    And Cadell began lecturing him about why you shouldn¡¯t attempt techniques beyond your level. When Tarold was covered in bruises, and too tired to continue, he ended the sparring lesson.


    Cadell just nodded and they both went to take a swim in the river that was a few hundred meters away. It had a weak flow and was quite small. They enjoyed it and washed themselves.


    ¡°Hey Cadell. Why do Lady Alis like you so much?¡± Tarold asked out of the blue, feeling a little curious.  Cadell threw him a quick glance, and then continued washing himself.


    ¡°Why would you think that?¡± He said with an uninterested voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious. Why else you she pick you to be my teacher, if it isn¡¯t for you to have a powerful magician friend?¡± Tarold said, while enjoying the water flow against his nude body. ¡°Not that I¡¯m against having you as a friend.¡±


    ¡°Why not me? I¡¯m as capable as any of the other squires, if not better.¡± Tarold just kept the silence. Cadell was intelligent; he wouldn¡¯t miss something like that.


    ¡°You can trust me. If you tell me, I will tell you a secret of mine.¡± Tarold said, looking dead serious.


    ¡°You are only twelve years old, right?¡± Cadell sighed. ¡°You first.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s only fair.¡± Torald looked at his left palm. Then he showed it to Called. ¡°You see this?¡±


    He stared at it for a few seconds, and then nodded with a frown.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.¡°Well, this is a godly blessing.¡± Tarold said, while a little smile emerged on the serious face. ¡°The Blessing of the God of Magick, Lucifer.¡± Cadell¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Really? So that¡¯s why you are so good at magick!¡± He exclaimed with respect. ¡°The blessing of a god¡­¡± He whispered, hardly believing him. But the proof was right before his eyes. He grabbed Tarold¡¯s hand and looked at the mark on the palm again. A small purple spiral. He had never seen one before, only heard about it in the Legends. But it definitely looked real.


    Tarold pulled his hand back. ¡°Now what¡¯s your secret? ¡°


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not nearly as big as yours, but¡­¡± He looked on the defensive, fearing Tarold¡¯s reaction. ¡°You know¡­ The duke¡¯s wife? Lady Alis?¡± He nodded. ¡°She took a liking to me a few months ago. And we¡¯ve been kind of seeing each other¡­ Not often! Just, once in a while¡­¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re basically sleeping with the duke¡¯s wife?¡± Tarold said with a neutral face. It was funny watching the young man struggle though.


    ¡°What! No! I mean¡­ How do you even know about things like that at twelve years old!¡° Tarold just sighed. It was really a pain in the ass to be so young sometimes.


    ¡°Anyway, this is between you and me. No one else can know, ok?¡± He said, and Cadell confirmed with a nod.


    They got out from the river and dried themselves. On the way home they talked. He learned that Cadell and Lady Alis slept together whenever the Duke went hunting, which could last several days. Her personal servants were all loyal to Lady Alis, and a lot of the household.


    They parted at the entry, were Cadell had to see to his mentor¡¯s horse and armor. Tarold immediately headed towards Arianna¡¯s chambers. He found her in her new office, studying a book. She only gave him a quick look before returning to it. He waited for a few minutes, before she put it aside.


    ¡°That book is way too complicated.¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t even think it is worth learning.¡±


    ¡°Everything is worth learning. Knowledge, is also a form of power.¡± He said confidently. ¡°And in this situation, I am afraid I am in need of it.¡± He had approached and sat on her desk, with her glaring at him.


    She leaned back on her chair. ¡°I got it. What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Why is it that we are preparing for war?¡± She didn¡¯t react, but simply narrowed her eyes. ¡°The soldiers are training way more seriously that they normally do. In the last week, there have been numerous wagons full of supplies and weapons arriving. And finally, young squires are being promoted to knights in a hurry.¡±


    ¡°Why do you care with things like this? Just leave them to us, the Redfyrs.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m the court magician. I need to know stuff like this, Arianna.¡± He said, exasperated.


    ¡°You¡¯re only twelve.¡± She said. How many times are people going to point out my age today? He thought irritated.


    ¡°And yet I¡¯m a better magician that you.¡± He immediately regretted, knowing that she was already ashamed it. This was not the best approach. ¡°Sorry. I just need to know. I don¡¯t like being kept in the dark simply because I¡¯m young. ¡°


    She softened and sighed. ¡°My mother told me not to let you know. She has very high hopes for you, and won¡¯t risk losing you at such a young age.¡±


    He smiled. It was good to know that people cared about him. As long as they weren¡¯t bothersome and didn¡¯t get too much in his way.


    She took a deep breath. ¡°We are surrounded by the Westoth sea at the West and South, and the Sydli Bay to the East.¡± Tarold nodded. He obviously already knew this. ¡°But at the North, the Duke of Smithien and his vassals are arming themselves for war. They have the full backing of the Notharn Kingdom, and the duke of Wiwald at their Northern border is neutral.¡±  She was getting passionate, and was now pointing at a map on her desk. ¡°We will stand little to no chance if Nothar sends an army, but as of lately they have been withdrawing men from their occupied territories in the North, so I don¡¯t think we have much to fear from them, apart from a few isolated help. We don¡¯t know why though.¡± She said the last pensively, trying to figure it out. She gave up, or delayed it to another time.


    ¡°This is why my mother has convinced the duke to counter attack Smithien. ¡° Now she was smiling. ¡°We will try to take over their vassal, Henrod, at the border.¡±


    Tarold was impressed. He hadn¡¯t expected them to be so aggressive. ¡°Where do I fit in all this?¡±


    ¡°My mother hopes that the war won¡¯t break out in this year, or maybe not the next one either. She is stalling out, to allow our kingdom to rebuild our forces. In the last twenty years, the Notharn has kept an eye for us, and our military. They fear another Empire, like last time.¡± She had once again leaned back in her chair. ¡°But their influence is weakening, and although we don¡¯t know why it is a great occasion for us.¡±


    They should fear another Empire. Tarold thought.  It is only a question of time.


    ¡°And we are also waiting for you to grow older.¡± She said seriously. ¡°I hope you¡¯re still improving in magick.¡±


    He just smiled at her. He had maintained the illusion that he was studying, to fit in better. But there really wasn¡¯t that much more he could improve on. Adalwulf had been one of the most respected and feared magicians of his time.


    ____________________________


    Point out any mistakes please!!

 Chapter seven

    An encampment had been set up, next to the river separating the dukedoms off Gorlark and Smithien. The river of Fallian was quite large and deep, and had marked the natural border for centuries. It came from the mountains at the east of the Gorlean Peninsula, and finished in the Westoth sea in the West.


    The camp had been set up to guard the bridge, and more than a hundred soldiers were constantly on the watch. Traders had increased trouble trying to come through, and preferred using the Westoth and Northern seas to carry on with their business.


    The soldiers had helmets of steel in finishing in a point. The helmet protected the nose and had swan wings that protected the cheeks. A chainmail hanged on it and fell around the neck, protecting it while remaining flexible. The rest of their bodies were covered in chainmail and boiled leather, with increased protection at the lower arms and shoulders. Most of them were carrying long spears, sometimes with small axes in their belts and they had small steel round shields.


    A dozen of those soldiers were standing guard at the bridge. They lazily leaned on their spear and were talking. A banner could be seen towering above the camp, with a sky blue swan with its wings spread on a white background.


    From the muzzling camp, a knight rode over to them. He stopped before them and took off his helmet, revealing a young man in his mid-twenties. At this point the soldiers had all ceased talking and stood straight.


    ¡°Soldiers of Smithien! Are you guarding the bridge?¡± He shouted. They all responded positively. ¡°Then why did I saw you being anything else than watchful!¡± The soldiers anxiously looked at each other. The young knight opened his mouth again, but an arrow suddenly slammed into his open mouth. With a gurgling sound the knight scratched at his throat while blood flowed out of his mouth and he slowly fell out off his saddle.


    The soldiers just stared at him dumbfounded until more arrows began raining over them, and they began shouting for alarm. One of them tried to grab for a horn on his belt, but an arrow hit him in the knee and he fell down with a scream. He still managed to blow in his horn, until he saw horsemen. At the other side of the bridge, knights were coming at full speed to cross the bridge. He desperately got on his good leg to limp away from their path, but they reached him before and he was cut down by a swing of a war axe.


    At the camp, dozens of soldiers and knights on foot were now grabbing weapons and running towards the bridge, only to be met with arrows and mounted heavy knights. Most of their long spears slid off the plate armor of the knights, without finding an opening, and they were quickly thrown down and killed, some trampled down by the horses other simply cut down. A knight on foot inside the encampment were screaming orders, trying to regroup his soldiers behind the defensive pikes stabbed into the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Gorlean attack! Rally behind me!¡± He was shouting, with more than half a hundred soldiers around him.  ¡°Archers!¡± twenty-one soldiers with powerful longbows stepped forward and knocked their arrows. When the enemy knights approached, the commander shouted and they loosed.


    The arrows slammed into the knights, killing horses and injuring men. The plate armor was pierced through by the longbows and the knights fell screaming to the ground. But behind the knights, many Gorlean foot soldiers now charged with short spears and axes and war hammers. The archers loosed a few volleys of arrows which decimated their first lines before they drew their weapons and charged the enemy, with the rest of the force.


    The enemy soldiers were armored in a similar way as the Smithien soldiers, but with a round helmet that didn¡¯t cover the nose or the neck but was more sturdy and easier to make. Neither of the helmets could take a direct and heavy hit unfortunately.


    A bloody melee began, with blood coloring the ground red and fighting and fallen warriors screaming and crying. War hammers were the most efficient in such a melee, as they crushed bones and skulls, and made huge dents in plated armored knights which could cause heavy damage to the man in it. War axes and short spears could get stuck in a enemy body and rapidly cause your demise.


    As the slaughter continued, the Smithien were slowly being pushed back. They were outnumbered, as more Gorlean soldiers joined the fray. Both sides left a trail of death behind them as the Smithien warriors were dropping in number and desperately fighting for their lives. Their commanding knight took a heavy blow to the head, which was protected by his barrel helmet, but he still fell to the ground. The last soldiers turned their back and tried to run away but most of them were cut down, the last ones surrendering.


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    The screams of the injured echoed and the smell from their excrements was horrible. A few battered knights were held captive by the Gorlean, and they were quicly stripped of weapons and armor. The pits for the dead were being dug and the enemies injured were quickly killed off, as well as theirs who had low to nonexistent chances of survival. The others were carried inside of the tents for further treatment.


    And a new flag was hoisted. It represented an orange sword in a red fire, on an orange background.


    _________________________________________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°I should be with them.¡± Cadell said. He was nude, and lying in a sumptuous bed in a big bedroom. Next to him there was a beautiful woman, who has lying on her side, with her generous breasts pressed against him. With her finger she was slowly tracing the contours of the young man¡¯s muscles on his torso.


    ¡°No. You¡¯re one of my personal knights. Remember, I convinced my husband to make me a guard, in case of an enemy ambush or something....¡± She said.


    ¡°I know. But the fighting has begun; apparently the Smithien has ambushed one of our patrols. The Duke is riding with our army towards the Oldrock Bridge.¡± He said with closed eyes, enjoying the feeling off her breasts and caress. She smirked as he said it. ¡°And I¡¯m here, sleeping with his wife.¡± He opened his eyes slowly, looking at her.


    She raised herself and rested on her elbows. ¡°We have already gone through this talk.¡± She said while looking at his eyes. ¡°But, that¡¯s not what¡¯s bothering you. ¡°


    ¡°What about Tarold? Why are you keeping him here? He¡¯s fifteen years old now, a brilliant magician and I don¡¯t know how but he can sometimes win over me in a straight duel.¡± He said. Then he smiled. ¡°That little monster.¡±


    ¡°He stays. I have plans for him.¡± She said while laying her head on his arm, and closing her eyes.


    ¡°Yeah, you said that a few years ago too.¡± He unraveled himself from her, to her displeasure, and got out of the bed. ¡°Are you planning to bed him too? Or are you just keeping him around?¡± The little boy had grown up to be very handsome, though his hair had gotten a stripe of black amongst the platinum blonde hair and his eyes were totally green now. He had claimed it was because of his magick. But Cadell suspected it was because of the mark.


    She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Come back, right now.¡± He hesitated, but then he obliged, and laid himself next to her again.


    Her hand slowly crawled over his hips and ended on his manhood. ¡°You know you¡¯re the only one for me. My husband is a duty, an obligation.¡± She said while approaching it.


    Cadell felt his desire and manhood arise, as she began taking him in her mouth. He knew it was wrong. He had always known. But he really enjoyed it, and he liked her, and¡­ How was he supposed to say no against the duchess?


    Every single outcome he had imagined would result in his death or exile from Gorlark, if he ever went against her. It was only because she was the duchess that he slept with her. As he tried to convince himself, his hand unconsciously moved towards the back of her head, to make her go faster.


    ______________________________


    Please point out any mistakes.

 Chapter eight

    Tarold was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, sharpening his sword. He still lacked the raw strength required to effectively use a two-handed longsword, so he used a one-handed sword , with a eighty centimeter long blade. It was a great work of great quality steel, which Cadell had procured him a few months ago. The two of them had become great friends, in the last years.


    He assumed that his friend was with the Lady Alis now, after the usual training of the morning. He had won a few times this morning, but also lost. Cadell truly was an excellent swordsman, to be able to stand up to him.


    When he was satisfied with the sword, he put it in the bland leather sheath, and stood up and stretched. He was frustrated that it had come to war between the two dukedoms. It was meaningless to fight each other and loose human lives, when the real enemies were still out there, probably laughing at them. Like dogs fighting over meat their masters had left, he thought with bitterness.


    It had angered him when he had not been allowed to come with the duke on campaign. He could have won a decisive victory for them and quickly ended the dispute. He wasn¡¯t even sure who had started the dispute, with both sides ambushing and attacking encampments alongside the river of Fallian. Maybe I should just ignore this and go to the Alfa forests as planned. But he just couldn¡¯t gather himself to leave this castle. He had a great time here, and it was a very long time since he last had enjoyed life so much.


    The bailey felt empty, as few guards patrolled the walls, and the training fields were clear, as well as the large majority of the barracks. Most of the servants had followed the army as well, with many others to sustain the eight-thousand man strong army of the duke. But it was foolish, to send a man who had spent 23 years in peace on a campaign. Tarold was afraid that the Duke Gawen would be swiftly defeated by Smithien¡¯s generals whom had been trained by the the Notharns themselves.


    ¡°Hope for the best and plan for the worst,¡± he mumbled to himself, while going towards the grass fields outside the castle to take a nap. He had to come up with a plan of some sort should Smithien bring the fight here.


    As when he walked through the gate, he spotted a rider at full gallop, rapidly approaching in a cloud of dust. When he approached, Tarold saw that it was a peasant, and a small but robust horse. He was desperate, or else he wouldn¡¯t ride like that. It would eventually kill the horse or make it collapse, and both he and his horse looked exhausted.


    Tarold stepped to the side to let him ride through into the bailey. He clumsily got off the saddle, after which he ran over to the guards. Tarold followed him, being very curious at the situation. Then he heard the man beginning to shout.


    ¡°My village was attacked! You¡­¡± He had to breathe a little, while a few guards had stopped him one of them brought a chair. ¡°You have to help us! We are being slaughtered!¡±


    ¡°What? Where is your village? How many enemies?¡± A sergeant guard asked, with concern visible in his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s Brilduan, eight kilometers west, at the sea¡­ I think there were a hundred enemies¡­ Or more¡­ They came on a ship, with a dragonhead! They were huge, they were¡­ demons!!¡± He said with a scared and exhausted look.


    The guards quickly assembled, gathering twenty-eight men. They simply couldn¡¯t empty the castle of all the guards in time of war. They grabbed for weapons, and mounted horses. When they were ready in the courtyard, Tarold joined them and rode over to the sergeant.


    ¡°I will take command of this.¡± He said.


    ¡°Sir, you are not armored. You shouldn¡¯t come.¡± He said with respect, but firmly. Tarold had only a dark green cape, and silk clothes. But he had his wand, and a sword.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a request. It was an order. Now, follow me.¡± He then rode, with the unit of guards only reluctantly following him. They knew he had powers and skills with a sword, but what they didn¡¯t new was if he was any good as a leader. They were going to find out.


    They rode at an increased pace for two hours, but not at full gallop. Riding at full gallop for two hours would leave them and their house exhausted and at the mercy of their enemies. They had no idea who the attackers were yet, though most of them highly doubted it was demons.


    They passed through a few other small villages and farms who pointed them in the right direction again. Soon they spotted a village, so close to the sea that you could hear the waves slamming against the beach. They approached the village, cautious, with their weapons drawn in one hand and shield and the reins in the other.


    A few corpses were left here and there, mainly of older men, and a few had died with a kind of improvised weapon in their hands. They couldn¡¯t spot any of the assailants¡¯ corpses. But by the number of houses, there should have been at many more in the village, unless they had somehow reached safety. They rode in between the houses, watching the miserable spectacle.


    ¡°Sergeant, search the houses. Look for signs of the identity of the raiders, but be cautious.¡± He turned his head towards him. ¡°These raiders seem long gone, but there is always a risk.¡±


    The sergeant nodded and shouted some orders. Tarold swung himself off the saddle, and walked over to one of the corpses. The dead man was still holding a hammer in his hand. Or his arm was holding it, because it had been cut off. But not cleanly, it was like the blade had only got half through the bones, but then it had torn off the rest of the arm off with sheer force. He examined the wound a little closer.


    ¡°Impressive.¡± He muttered. It may have been an axe that had been used, a small one, and not a war axe. It had must likely been a hatchet. That was a tool, and only a weapon in last resort. It must have been peasants that defected to bandits. Though this one is a really large one, he shouldn¡¯t have problems finding work. He suddenly heard a scream.


    ¡°Ambush! Defend the Court Magician!¡± He quickly stood up and readied his sword, with his left hand taking out the hidden wand. He had wanted to keep it as a trump card, but the idiot had just revealed it to the enemies anyway. He looked around, and saw them.


    They were coming from behind the houses, a few from inside of them. They were on foot, but they were huge. Some of them had a little armor, most of them just thick wool clothes and fur, and had lumberjack axes and the smaller hatches. They roared as they charged his guards, and he already saw the corpses of a few who had been killed when searching the houses, some were still fighting though.


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    ¡°Charge them, idiots! Help your comrades!¡° He screamed, his voice breaking into a high-pitched sound.  The ones still on their horses charged in all directions to help the guards whom were already fighting.


    He pointed his wand at them, concentrating. But nothing, he couldn¡¯t feel his magick. Dumbfounded, he looked at the hand holding the wand. The left hand which he knew was covered in the mark up to the elbow, and therefore had the leather gauntlet on. Cursing he took the gauntlet off, but nothing changed. He put his wand in his belt again, trying to come with a solution. But his men were all tied up in the fights, so at this point there weren¡¯t really much he could do, other than joining the fray, but then he would lose overview of the situation.


    A few of the raiders tried to meet the charging horses by a slash on the head, one of them succeed. The savages pulled men from the saddle while sustaining heavy injuries; a spear through the thigh, or an axe in the side. The most disturbing thing was their total lack of fear, constantly disregarding death. Some of them even had savage smiles on their face. He had never seen such a thing before. Sure, some Alfas would embrace death with a smile when the time felt right for them. But this was utter madness.


    Many horses were taken down. They stabbed them with daggers from their belts, and hacked them to death with their woodcutting taxes. They even punched them sometimes. But quite a few of the enemies fell to under the guards¡¯ initial charge.


    He saw two approaching him with a sadistic grin. Behind them was a guard with his legs crushed under his fallen horse. They both had red hair in long braids, as well as impressive beards. One was almost two meters tall, and the other a little less, but had a very large build.


    The taller one was a few steps ahead of the other one, so Tarold sprinted towards him so he didn¡¯t have to take them both on at the same time. The giant man met him with a huge swing of his axe in a circular movement. It was excellently executed, but very predictable. A Lumberjack indeed, He thought.


    He evaded the strike easily, plunging under it and sliced the thigh of the man before quickly retreating to dodge the next swing. At first it could look insignificant, but with the blood quickly pumping out of the leg he knew that he had cut through the vein in the thigh. It would severely weaken the man, and it would only grow worse from now on because of the blood loss.


    But he didn¡¯t even look fazed. The other warrior had caught up by now. Tarold was puzzled, he would have expected the wounded one to fall back and try to stop the bleeding.


    Obviously, they didn¡¯t wait for him to act. The wounded man made a sign with his head to the other, who nodded back. Then he attacked, alone.


    Tarold simply couldn¡¯t understand why he was so confident in himself. He was fearless and very strong, but was completely outclassed in skill. The guy nevertheless charged him with a ferocious roar. Tarold aimed for the neck, to properly kill the enemy this time, but still kept an eye on the other guy. He just hoped that the sword wouldn¡¯t get stuck. Then he would be in trouble because of the other warrior who patiently was waiting behind.


    The tall redhead raised his axe over his right shoulder, and Tarold stepped forward, meeting the charge to exploit the opening. His sword was halfway through the strike to the neck, when he noticed the axe swinging down on him.


    His eyes widened. If he killed his opponent, the momentum of the axe was going to injure him very badly at best, and might even kill him in the worst case. He acted extremely fast, changing the course of his blade and putting it between him and the axe. The heavy axe smashed in his longsword, and bowed it slightly, and the sheer power made it hammer against his body.


    He was thrown to the ground, and his left arm was most likely broken or fractured. The pain came in sharp waves and made him clench his teeth. He saw the wounded warrior step over to him, and the latter tried to kick him in the head, but he quickly rolled away, clenching his bent sword in the right hand. He noticed that it wasn¡¯t a kick to kill, but to incapacitate. Maybe they wanted to ransom him; because of how much he looked like a noble thanks to the silk clothes.


    He stood up again, took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on the enemy again.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± He asked, surprised to see the warriors making approving smiles.


    ¡°Du k?mper godt, selv om du er tynd og svag.¡± The tall one said. Tarold eyes narrowed, he didn¡¯t recognize the language. With a quick look around him, he saw that the guards were losing. The last of them who were still mounted began to flee, abandoning the few on foot and easily outrunning the raiders, who didn¡¯t bother trying to pursuit.


    ¡°Damn it. Where is my horse when I need it?¡± He mumbled. It had probably left the fight. It only left him with one desperate last option. As the raiders were forming a circle around him and the wounded giant redhead, he suddenly ran toward him. He had readied his axe and was focusing on him.


    I threw my sword at him. By reflex he raised his arms and axe in front of his head and ducked. The sword just bounced off his shoulder without doing any serious damage, but the guy was vulnerable. When he looked up again, realizing his mistake, it was too late.


    Tarold grabbed his arm, and invaded his mind. His furious and desperate attack destroyed the small mental defense of the warrior, but then he hit a wall. In front of him, thousand of entities were present before him, and they all threw themselves at him, with a thundering battle cry.


    They made clumsy and ineffective attacks, which he easily destroyed by tens, fighting on for minutes, but there were too many. With a last attempt, he formed his mind into an extremely sharp spear and he pierced through almost a hundred souls, but were then slowed too much down and had to retreat while fencing off isolated but numerous attacks.


    Exhausted he was thrown back into his body. The warrior was unconscious, and he himself was on his knees, sweating, and breathing hardly. He saw a pair of boots stop in front of him, when he looked up, he saw a blonde man with his helmet under the left arm, and a sword in his belt. This one even had a chainmail on.


    ¡°Flot kamp.¡± He said with an acknowledging smile. Tarold tried to stand up, but the blonde and armored man knocked him out with a formidable punch.