A Dragon In the Palace Read online

  “A bit better, Master Lucas.”

  “Splendid. I hope they are feeding you well.”

  “I have no complaints, sir.”

  “Excellent.” I saw Master Lucas and the beefy apprentice exchange a look. The youth shook his head. I wondered at the meaning of this. The ritual was repeated in various ways as we passed around the room. In the dim light it was hard to say but I got the impression that none of the people in the chamber were healthy. All of them however seemed to take some comfort in the presence of the healer.

  At last it was over and we left the room and passed back into the garden. After the gloom and the company of the sick, it seemed so much brighter. Red scampered onto a nearby tree, inserted himself into a crook between the branches and fell asleep.

  Master Lucas rubbed his hands together, sighed and then smiled, a man who has just finished an unpleasant duty and was now relaxing a little before continuing with his business. I wondered when he was due to begin teaching but I remained quiet and observed. Perhaps he believed in teaching by example.

  “Bruno, your opinions,” he said at last.

  The beefy youth took a moment to collect himself. “Fredrik’s condition is worsening but the salts you gave him are elevating his mood and alleviating his pain. I suspect he will no longer be with us by the end of the week. The rest of them seem as well as can be expected.”

  His tone was as bored as if he did not care whether any of the people in the room lived or died.

  Master Lucas said, “Octavia?”

  She smiled and said, “I concur with Bruno about Fredrik. The rest shall continue to enjoy the Duke’s charity for some time.”

  Master Lucas smiled as if pleased by their answer and then looked at me. I was not sure whether he expected me to say anything or not. I kept my mouth shut.

  Master Lucas said, “Fredrik and the others are servants of the Duke, now too sick to perform their duties. Duke Marco sees to it that they are comfortable in their old age.”

  “That is very kind of him, sir.”

  “Our Duke is a very generous individual,” Master Lucas said. “He looks after his own.”

  I could not help but feel that Master Lucas was sending me a message. He seemed quite determined to let me know that I could do well in the service of the Duke and most likely the church.

  While he was speaking Bruno and Octavia looked daggers at me. Whenever the old man glanced in their direction their faces became smooth and bland. I did my best to emulate them. I was starting to feel deeply uneasy but it would not do to show it.

  They were nobles like Sir Vorster. No doubt they resented having to mix on equal terms with one they considered vastly their social inferior. I wondered if they would try to injure me the way Vorster had. The thought made me squirm inside. I told myself that they could not. I was an apprentice just like them. They would not dare. The fearful part of my mind did not believe that for a moment.

  “Bruno, Octavia,” Master Lucas said. “You may withdraw to your chambers and study your folios. I have business with this young man.”

  The pair bowed to their master and withdrew but not before giving me the evil eye.

  “Walk with me, young man,” Master Lucas said. “And tell me how things are with you.”

  He sounded amiable enough but there was an element of command in his voice. “What do you wish to know, sir?”

  “How are your studies going?” I sensed an edge to that question.

  “Not so well, sir,” I said. “I cannot seem to master the Light spell.”

  I glanced around to see if we were being overheard, a habit I had learned on the trip here to Solsburg. There were only a few servants around, trimming plants, sweeping the paths and doing other little chores. None of them were close enough to overhear us. They mostly paid more attention to Red than to the old man and myself.

  Master Lucas noticed the direction of my glance. “There’s no need to be afraid, young man. Everyone here is loyal to the Duke. No one means you any harm.”

  I thought about his apprentices and I was very far from certain of that. Now did not seem to be a good time to mention it. “Thank you, sir. That is very reassuring.”

  “Go on. You were telling me about your difficulties.”

  I wondered if he took pleasure in hearing about my difficulties and the failings of Mistress Iliana as a teacher.

  “I just cannot seem to grasp the nature of the glyph.”

  Master Lucas smiled. “You have already done that, as the fact that you have cast the spell illustrates. It may be that an inability to grasp the nature of the glyph is not the problem.”

  He had definitely caught my interest now. “What do you think it is, sir?”

  “It could be one of a number of things.” Master Lucas said.

  It seemed to be the nature of wizards that they could never give a straight answer to any question. There were always a number of potential answers. Master Lucas did not notice my expression. He just continued to speak.

  “The first is that you have not yet fully recovered from overdrawing upon your power.”

  “What do you mean, sir?”

  “Perhaps you’re casting perfectly well. You simply don’t have the strength yet. If that’s the case, there is nothing to worry about. Your power will return soon and the chances are you will be stronger than you were before.”

  “I don’t understand, sir.”

  “Everyone has a fixed reservoir of mystical strength. This can be increased with training and practice. At the moment you have drained the well dry and you must wait for it to be refilled. Often when this happens, mages achieve a breakthrough and their wells deepen. Once that happens, you can sometimes draw upon more power.”

  “So you’re saying that the more I practice, the stronger I will get.”

  Master Lucas pursed his lips and made a tut-tutting sound as if I was being dense. “I’m saying that the more you cast spells, the stronger you will get. You see the difference?”

  Of course I did. If I wanted to become a powerful mage, I would need to solve my current problem. Until I could cast the spell, there was no way I could become stronger. Or was there? I asked Master Lucas.

  “There are ways,” he said. “Another mage could lend you the strength. Certain drugs can give you it. Certain places as well, although most of those should be avoided because they are usually tainted by blight.”

  He paused to give that time to sink in and to let me put any questions that I might have. I suspected that he would be judging me by the nature of those I asked. He had mentioned a lot of things at once and it was difficult to know where to begin.

  “Why is that, Master Lucas? How can another mage help?”

  He smiled. It seemed like I was asking the right question this time. “The transfer of power, while not simple, is easy enough to understand. It’s like helping someone lift a heavy object. If both wizards know the same spell, and cast it at the same time, they can combine their strength. This has an obvious use in rituals.”

  “So it’s not as simple as merely borrowing strength?”

  “That can be done as well. It is more complex than anything that you are likely to be able to do in the foreseeable future so perhaps we should jump that hurdle when we come to it, young man.” The way he said it was not unfriendly. He was simply letting me know not to get ahead of myself.

  “You mentioned drugs, Master Lucas?”

  “Certain blooms of the lotus can infuse a wizard with strength,” he said. “Be wary though. With drugs there is always the problem of becoming addicted and of becoming accustomed to their use. The more you use a drug the more your body becomes acclimatised to it. The benefits get less and less and the costs grow more and more. Using potions is something best kept for emergencies and even then they should be avoided if you have any other choice.”

  I made a sour face. It seemed most things in most wizards’ lives were to be avoided. Certainly anything that would make learning or casting spells easier. Mast
er Lucas noticed my expression.

  “You feel like many a young wizard before you,” he said. “Believe me, I’m not saying this because I want to put obstacles in your path. I’m simply letting you know some basic truths. People always look for shortcuts. That can lead to power but it can also lead to laziness and to an incomplete understanding of the way magic works. In the end it is best to make the effort and to learn how to do these things properly and for yourself. It will make you stronger, for one thing. If you take all of your strength from other people or from potions, you will never develop your own. Magic is like exercise. Muscles grow when they are used. The power is the same.”

  Everything he said made sense. And he certainly knew a lot more than me. I did my best to look attentive. “So you’re saying that I had best simply hunker down and learn to cast the light spell, sir?”

  “Of course I am, and you are bright enough to realise it. This is an essential first step on your path. Every competent wizard in the world has had to go through it. It seems hard now because it is hard. Things will only get harder as you try to master more complex spells. They demand greater flexibility of mind and greater depth of power. First learn to walk before you try to run.”

  “Mistress Iliana told me much the same thing, sir,” I said.

  “For the very good reason that it is the truth. Look upon learning spells as a form of exercise. As you cast them you will grow stronger. Your knowledge of the process will increase. All of that will be needed if you are learn to do more complex things.”

  Clearly, he was not going to be teaching me any magic today. Impatience grew within me. It showed in my face. I was not very good at concealing my emotions in those days.

  He laughed. “You are simply learning as we all had to. A mage no matter how gifted, no matter how strong, must start somewhere. You have huge advantages. You possess a great deal of power already and you’re quick and flexible of mind. You will go far if you pay attention to your teachers. Anyway, that is one way that your ability to cast spells might be limited, I can think of another.”

  “And what would that be, sir?”

  We moved over to the bench and Master Lucas sat down. I remained standing, glancing at him and that the occupants of the courtyard around us. The sound of coughing emerged from inside the Dependent’s Chambers.

  Master Lucas patted the bench with the flat of his hand, indicating that I should sit beside him. I perched on the edge of the seat, giving him as much space as I could.

  “It could be your little friend there,” Master Lucas said, pointing his finger at Red.

  Chapter Nine

  “Red, sir?”

  “Yes. It could be the dragonling.”

  “How could that be so? He is very quiet when I’m studying. He does not distract me. Much.”

  “It’s not the distraction that is the problem,” Master Lucas said. “It may be that his link with you is draining your strength at this crucial point.”

  “I don’t understand, sir.”

  “Nor can you be expected to. You have not studied this matter. You cannot even read.” He did not say it in a contemptuous manner. He was simply stating a fact. I felt ashamed in any case. I resolved that I would study hard with Frater Jonas and anybody else who chose to teach me. I was determined not to remain ignorant.

  “It’s difficult to tell whether this is the source of the problem without performing some tests,” Master Lucas said.

  “You can do that, sir?”

  “If you are willing.” Sensing that we were talking about him, Red scuttled nervously around my neck and dropped onto the ground. Gravel crunched beneath his small claws as he began to investigate something in the shadows.

  “Will it hurt?” I asked. “Him or me, sir?”

  “I don’t think so although I have never performed tests under these circumstances before. Normally when a familiar is bound it is as part of a ritual and everybody knows what is happening and what to expect. You seem to have achieved it without any training or any knowledge of the spells required. That is an incredible feat. If that is what happened.”

  “It is what happened, sir.”

  I wondered if this was what the conversation had been all about. Had he been manoeuvring me into submitting to these tests? Did he suspect that I was not telling the truth about Red? I knew I was but there was no reason for him to believe me.

  “All I know,” Master Lucas said, “is that you have done something that has not been done in centuries. Something only the Dragon Lords were capable of. I’m curious as to how you did it and I don’t think you are capable of vocalising it. You lack the vocabulary and the training and education.”

  He raised his hand before I could interrupt. “I mean no criticism. I’m simply stating the truth. You are not yet a wizard. Perhaps one day you will be able to tell me what happened. Perhaps one day you will be in a better position than any of us to understand it but that day has not come.”

  “I see, sir,” I said, although I did not. “You mentioned the Dragon Lords, sir. Who were they?”

  “They were among the most powerful sorcerers who ever lived. Some served the Sun and some the Moon and some only themselves or darker things. They bonded with dragons and when those dragons were fully grown they were formidable.”

  “Red is not a dragon, sir. He is a dragonling.”

  “Some say that dragonlings are a devolved version of dragons. Certain Solari writers such as Sarian and Hiero wrote that they are like the fry of salmon, that one in ten thousand grow into true dragons. Some of the Lunar scholars make similar claims.”

  He paused and I tried to absorb what he had said. I remembered Ghoran had said the same. Perhaps he was not just an ignorant barbarian after all. It was a strange thought a little creature such as Red might grow to be one of the terrible monsters of legend. Another thought struck me. “How would you perform these tests, sir?”

  “The Duke provides me with a laboratory beneath the Palace,” Master Lucas said. “Normally I use it for casting my most intricate spells and for working my most complex rituals. I make my potions and medicines down there. If you agree we could go there and I can test you and this little fellow. We will see what we can learn.”

  “Perhaps you could answer some more questions before we do that,” I said.

  “Of course.”

  “Why do you think my bond with Red could be interfering with my ability to cast spells?”

  “Because in and of itself it is a spell, one that is working all the time. You’re joined which means your power and his are constantly being drawn upon in order to keep the link in place.”

  “So you’re saying that if the link was not there I would get stronger faster?”

  “That is one possibility. Another is that over time both of you will adapt to the spell and it will cost less energy. Such tends to be the way with spells cast over the long term. Our mind learns how to deal with them and to minimise the drain on our body’s resources. There’s also the possibility that simply by being bonded with the little fellow that you will become stronger.”

  “So it may make me stronger in the same way as casting any other spell does?”

  “I don’t know. But we have a chance to find out.”

  I heard the excitement in his voice. I realised that this was one reason he was interested in me and in Red. I was not sure I liked the idea of being just a subject of observation for this old man. At the same time, having him on my side might prove useful.

  “Surely the ancients must have known about these things, sir,” I said.

  “If they did they did not leave us much on the subject. Perhaps the Old Ones know but if they do, they are not talking. This is a chance for us to learn something or perhaps regain knowledge that was lost during the ancient cataclysms. It might also prove useful for you in the long run. To understand the bond between you and your familiar, I mean.”

  He placed a strange emphasis on the last part of his speech. I wondered if he was trying to tell me i
n a subtle, coded way that going along with his plans would also be useful for my career. I did not want to read too much into his words.

  “You do not think that the link will cause harm to either me or Red though, do you?”

  “The possession of a familiar has not harmed any wizard to my knowledge. Unless, of course, the familiar has been hurt. In that case there seems to be some sort of feedback between the familiar’s pain and the wizard. It is known that if the familiar dies of anything other than natural causes, its owner can die too or at least become very sick.”

  “Why would anyone want to bond with a familiar under the circumstances, sir? It seems that there are many risks.”

  “There are many benefits too.”

  “I was not aware of that, sir.”

  “Well, you have not been bonded to your little friend for much time. And your mistress has been very busy over the past few weeks.”

  There was an element of irony in his voice when he said that. Of course, my mistress had been busy. She had been preventing an assassination attempt on the Duke’s heir. I felt the urge to point this out but I restrained myself. It was probably just another one of the old man’s feeble attempts at humour.

  “What would these benefits be, sir?”

  “Again, I can only go from what I’ve read and been told by my fellow mages. I have never possessed a familiar myself.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, why is that? And why does not my mistress?”

  “You would need to ask her about that. I can only speak for myself. I do not have a familiar because I was never given the option. My teacher, old Master Trent, did not know the spell. Few mages do.”

  “Do you not know, sir?” I asked.

  It seemed like an easy enough question but he looked off into the distance and took a deep breath before he replied. “I do not.”

  It occurred to me that perhaps one reason he wanted to study Red and myself was that he might learn how to cast such a spell. “And yet you have known people who possessed familiars, you just said so, sir.”