Chapter 3

Secrets revealed

"Get out of my shop you grubby little urchin!" The young boy tumbled out the door his feet slipping on loose stones in the unpaved street as his face hit the ground hard causing a feeling of warmth to spread across his features. Rising the young man rubbed a hand across his face and he felt warm tears bead up in his eyes. His nose was injured, possibly broken, and here he was in Palanthas in an age where clerics could not be found. At this time the heroes of the Lance were fighting for the disks of Mishikal.

The young males rose unsteadily, his head pounding, as he reached up to cover his nose and stop the seeping of the blood. He could feel the blood pulse between his fingers and he felt warm tears come to his eyes, and leave a streak of clean white skin on a face smattered with dirt. Rubbing his eyes vigorously and then blinking out the tears he set off up the road.

This young man was in fact Ichabald Imperidol. He was the son of a collapsed family. A family who once held a crest in the hall of the Solamnic knights but was condemned to poverty for deserting the knight hood very long ago. Ick moved quickly up the road to a sign with a white moon painted over the doorway. He figured a magus of the white robes would be able to heal his wound or at least make a poultice for them.

Stepping up to the door he touched the handle and received quite a shock. He knew it was an alarm that had been set up by the magus inside. It would send a shock through the body of anyone not under the white robes. This confused Ichabald for he was not a mage at all and the spell should not have affected him at all. Soon though a young woman with dark brown hair the fell down her back and a slender figure covered by her white robes appeared. For a moment she entranced the young male, her eyes, which were brown with what appeared flecks of gold throughout them, mesmerized Ick.

"May I help you?"

Her voice pierced Ick's mind snapping him back to the reality he had long sought to escape. He nodded once to her and indicated his nose unable at the time to speak. He was excited though as her thin fingers slid up and down the sides of the door and a small flash followed by the unmistakable a creak of the opening door.

The magus motioned for Ichabald to enter the shop which he did very cautiously feeling only a slight tingle as he stepped across the threshold. Once inside the female poured over books on her shelf finally coming up with the one she sought. Flipping through she found the page she needed and read silently motioning for the young intruder to take a seat.

Ichabald did not hesitate to sit down and lean back his head to staunch the flow of blood. He would hate for this kind woman to have to clean up after him. She soon shut the book with a snap lifted a few rose petals and headed back over. She dropped the rose pedals on his face and then spoke softly squeezing her hand slowly into a fist. As she mumbled the spell Ick felt a cool sensation in his nose and soon he could no longer feel the warm flow of blood.

"Now you should be fine so I would like to know your name, rank, and loyalty."

Ick was a bit dumbfounded at this. He didn't know what she meant. It didn't take him long though to figure it out. He had somehow set off the alarm and she thought he was a mage. "My name is Ichabald, I am the son of a former Solamnic knight, and not a magi." He glowered at her as thought he very idea of him being a magus was an insult to him. After all Solamnics never did look very high upon magic, even if it was Magus himself who saved them in the first war of the lance by aiding Huma in his fight.

The woman pursed her lips severely and frowned. "Not a magi eh? I find that hard to believe." She walked over to a desk and withdrew a bit of parchment, a quill, and some a bottle of lambs blood. Laying this out she motioned Ick to the desk. "I want you to write something on this scroll. It will look just like….this" In the pause between words she pulled out a book with a bit of writing on it.

Ick looked nervous and hesitantly took the quill and wrote the words upon the scroll. When he was done he watched the scroll absorb the blood. The woman beside him shrugged and went to lift it when the words flared to life. Ichabald stumbled back and fell to the floor and the white robe smiled broadly. Turning she held out a hand. "I am Tyrenia, white rob, and you are my new student."

Ick pushed her hand away and rose up on his own. "I am not your student. I am not a magus. It would be against my family to become one." He growled at Tyrenia preparing to leave.

"You, young man, are a magus, probably a descendant of Magus himself. Did you parents ever tell you the story of Magus. He fought right alongside Huma in the first war of the Lance."

Ichabald had never heard this story. This seemed to make sense. His parents never explained who was on the back of the dragon with Huma, and in that instant he knew. Huma, and a magi had worked hand in hand to take down Takhisis. He smiled at the idea and looked up at Tyrenia. "Ichabald your student." He stated taking her still outstretched hand and shaking it."

"Very well Ichabald our first order of business is to get out of here. I have received some dreadful news and we are needed quite quickly. Please come with me." She entered a room in the back with a queer rune on the front. To Tyrenia it marked the entrance to her lab. To anyone else it was a warning. Ick followed her into the room and on the floor was a symbol drawn out. "Take my hand this is going to feel different. Don't worry though I have used this spell many times before." Once she had a hold of Ick she started the spell.

The walls vanished and a dazzling light surrounded Ick. He closed his eyes and soon the light behind the lids faded but was replaced by a very painful searing heat. Tyrenia cursed and Ick opened his eyes finding himself in a building with flames leaping up in others around it face to face with an elven woman and a young Solamnic knight in full armor. He was in awe as he looked up into the eyes of Kerth, and Kerth looked down stunned into the eyes of the young boy.

Chapter 4 will be forthcoming. I am currently in the process of writing and should be done within the next week or two.