Chapter Twenty: A Shift In The Wind
Callum and Rayla knew that they had nothing to fear, but they still backed up when Janai entered her heat-being mode, her now yellow and black eyes taking on a wild fury. Even her own guards seemed to be putting in effort to staying in place. Callum thought to himself that maybe taking his aunt's offer of accompanying the two here would have been a good idea after all; she would have been able to keep the Sunfire queen calm. But no, Callum had insisted on having a clean break from Novus. On the other hand, maybe mentioning Viren or Aaravos wasn't the best idea, either. At any rate, by some miracle, Janai had managed to calm herself down.
She had barked at Kazi who, at her voice, had jumped and practically flew out of the doors. She had demanded they find a book on sun magic for Callum; she knew he had mastered moon magic with a book of spells. Honestly, Callum preferred to learn from a mentor than a book, but he supposed he was to make do with what was given to him. Janai took a deep breath to calm herself down and looked at them.
"I'm sorry, Callum." She said, seeming to mean it despite her now clearly suppressed anger. "But now that I know it's…them –" she paused with a look of bitterness on her face, the word 'them' practically spat. Amaya had told Callum and Rayla all about Viren's murder of Janai's sister, the former Sunfire queen. This crime had not been forgotten, clearly. "I really can't spare any mages."
"I understand." He said as he took the book gently when Kazi timidly reappeared and offered it to him.
"I hope it will be of use to you. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to start connecting to the sun arcanum." Janai seemed almost embarrassed about this last sentence.
"Yeah, I've noticed that trend." Callum told her. "I guess when you're born with something, you don't think about it that much and don't know how to explain it. But I'll manage."
"You mean I'll manage." Rayla told him, her expression playful. "You'll probably just fumble around nearly burning yourself to death to learn the most basic spells, Mr. tries-to-cast-a-lightening-spell-without-knowing-the-trigger-word."
"You love my fumbles, and you know it." Callum shot back, just as playfully. A corner of Janai's lips raised itself in a sort of amused half-smile for a moment before it dropped.
"Callum, get out there and master sun magic as fast as you can." Janai ordered and her face darkened as she looked at each of them in turn. "And if you see Viren or that vile Aaravos, don't let them get you. Run away if you have to, but don't let them get you. May the sun light your path."
"Right." Callum nodded, sharing in Rayla's look of determination. "Thanks, Aunt Janai." With that, the couple ran from the throne room. If Janai caught the misplaced title, she didn't make a big show of it, she just looked after them, silently wishing them luck. Kazi and a few of her guards certainly had caught it and needed to suppress amused grins.
Since they couldn't afford to stay for too long in Lux Aurea either, Umbra was there to meet them outside the palace. He'd drop them off at a remote location; the plan was to travel around, avoiding towns if they could, to learn magic without risking the lives of anyone. Aaravos was interested in Callum's power, which meant they might come for him. If they did, there needed to be as few bystanders as possible.
Umbra dropped them off in a wide field, after which he had taken to the sky and flew away once more. Part of him was disappointed not to be allowed to stay with them, but the queen had said it would be for his own safety; if the dark mages found him, he'd be in danger. So, Callum and Rayla were left alone, Callum's sketchbook and a satchel strapped to his shoulder like old times, and he held the book. Neither minded not knowing where they were for once; if they themselves didn't know, they were probably safe for the time being.
It wasn't often that Ezran sulked, but that was what he was doing now. He couldn't believe Callum and Rayla had gone off without him. Granted, his current life as an ordinary kid – well, comparatively ordinary – was nowhere near as stressful as being a child king. It was a stable life that was so much easier to handle than deciding the fates of thousands or judging this, that, and the other thing, but still, it…got a little monotonous after a while. And Callum knew he had always longed to explore Xadia, and still he was made to stay home.
Ezran was brought out of his stewing by a wet, cold thing pressing against his cheek. A smile forced itself to his face as he pushed Ava away. Ellis was behind her, looking at him inquisitively. They were on the western outskirts of the village, bordering the base of the Storm Spire. It was a safe place that one could also go for privacy. "Trouble?"
"Callum and Rayla are off on another adventure without me, and Callum knows I've wanted to see Xadia for years." Ezran frowned, an action that caused him to look remarkably like Bait.
Ellis moved to sit beside Ezran, Ava settling down where she sat. It was a warm day with a slight breeze, one of those days in which it seemed a shame to be upset. "They probably just don't want to worry about you." Ellis told him.
"I know there's trouble and they don't want me in it, but maybe I could help." Ezran said. "Even if I couldn't, Callum's a mage and Rayla's a warrior; there's no way they couldn't protect me. It could be like old times."
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Aaravos, an elven archmage is…back from the dead or something, I don't know, and he's after Callum." Ezran said. "So, he's going to travel around to learn the other primal sources so he doesn't have to stay in one place or put the rest of us in danger. It's the Dragon Queen's orders that Rayla go with him to make sure he doesn't go bad like Aaravos did." He turned away bitterly. "That's what they said, anyway; if you ask me, she only went along to do things that would get them skinned alive if Aunt Amaya caught them."
"Oh." Ellis had an idea of what he meant; she'd been given the same talk some months ago by her guardian. The possibility made her face go a little pink, which, for some reason, caused Ezran's cheeks to heat up. For a moment, her thoughts lingered on Callum. At seventeen, he wasn't bad looking at all. Tall, a slim, strong frame, sharp but kind eyes, confident. And Ellis wasn't the only one to think so; Callum was a popular topic among many of the young women in the village who seemed taken with him. He was a handsome, sweet, powerful mage, though his devotion to Rayla was too big a hurdle for anyone to really consider worth it. If anything, his loyalty to her only increased their admiration of him.
"Ellis." Ezran called, shaking her shoulder to wake her. Ava was more successful, giving her face a few licks. She shook her head shortly, her blush growing on her face. "Lost you there for a bit."
"Sorry." She looked away, forcing Callum out of her mind. It wasn't easy, but she managed. "I-I don't think they'd be…doing that. It doesn't seem like either of them."
Ezran was puzzled, taking in Ellis's sudden discomfort. Somehow, this turned in to taking in her appearance. She was thirteen now, and he noticed slight changes in her body that he hadn't before, a difference in shape. What allowed him to see this were the cooler clothes she now wore, as opposed to the heavy coat, hat and the like that she'd worn year-round back in Katolis. She was becoming taller than him, too. So far, Ez had noticed of himself only that he was growing taller at twelve years old, though at the moment, he also took in his hot cheeks, sweaty hands and fluttering in his chest. Was this puberty? Oh, now he'd really give Callum a piece of his mind for abandoning him.
Claudia had had to look away. Cover her ears. The screams were too much. Now, she had to avoid looking at Amer for too long. She told herself he'd deserved whatever Aaravos and her father did to him; he'd destroyed their home, killed thousands of innocence. If that didn't make him a monster, she didn't know anything that would. His eyes were wide, and he was curled up on the ground, looking to be in shock. For the first time in a while, Claudia had to remind herself that he was nothing. The whimpers, the begging, that thing in his eyes that looked like guilt or fear, it was all for his own survival. No emotions. Just…just behavior driven by biology. No emotions. For some reason, Soren's depart – betrayal came into her mind and she recalled his words. Dad was changing and so was she. Claudia shook the voice from her head. Nonsense. It was all nonsense.
Wasn't it?
Sirus was heading away from the village, in the same direction he'd seen the dragon fly from Lux Aurea. It frustrated him that they were on the move again, but that also meant that they'd be alone. At the village, they were respected figures and the mage was the nephew of one of the top warriors. Now, there'd be no one to protect them. He ignored Kiara and Latis, who he knew were only staying with him at this point because there was nowhere else to go after years of being out here. Finally, after two and a half years, he'd end that traitorous human lover and bring the mage's head home on a stick. They would be welcomed home as heroes.
Callum opened up his sketch book and pulled out a folded piece of paper that sat between two early pages. He unfolded the paper to show Rayla, and she saw a mostly blank map of the world. The human kingdoms to the west of the border were named and bore symbols; she recognized Katolis and its symbol of uneven towers. On Xadia's side, details were sparse; the Moonshadow Forest, Lux Aurea, the Storm Spire. There was a trail running from Katolis to the spire – it was a documentation of their journey to return Zym to his mother. She smiled, her heart filling with a longing for such simple times.
"Once we figure out where we are, we can start mapping this place out." Callum said, looking around for any sort of indicator of where they were. The newest addition to the map, Luna Tenebris's lair, was situated in the northeast, a short way from the coast. Callum tried to remember the rout that had been taken from Lux Aurea, and eventually came up with a circle that indicated a general area in the south of Xadia.
"Speaking of being lost," Rayla started as Callum finished his rough calculations. "any idea where to start with the sun arcanum?"
"Well, I have this theory." he said, "The moon arcanum is about illusions, darkness and things like that. Aunt Amaya gave me a rundown on Sunfire elves last night, that they believe in the truth of things, no matter what their appearance is."
"So, they're opposite, or…" Rayla asked, fairly certain that Callum would finish her thought.
"Two halves of a whole?" he tried. "I guess it's as good a starting point as any."
"Well, you're the mage here." She shrugged as Callum put the map away and took the sun magic book from the satchel. Now that he looked at it, he could see the similarities and differences between this and the moon magic book he kept back home, gifted to him by Lujanne when he'd completed his training. Somehow, it helped to solidify his theory. The moon magic book was a soothing dark blue with a soft silvery symbol of the moon arcanum, elven writing along the spine. This book was a bold red with a shining golden symbol of the sun arcanum, also with elven writing along the spine; only a few characters different than that of the moon.
"I guess we'll find out tomorrow." Callum said, looking over a few pages before closing it and replacing it in the sack. He would study the book before the sun went down. For now, he summoned his mage wings and flew upwards for bearings, leaving the sketchbook and bag with Rayla, who'd wait for him. In the open field, she'd be easy to spot. Unfortunately, Callum had forgotten that he, too, was easily spotted in the air.
Callum flew this way and that way, picking out landmarks he knew. The Storm Spire was just visible to the north, nothing of interest in the south, a mountain range to the east, and he could just make out the Moonshadow Forest to the west. Going a little further, the closest settlement seemed to be a strange town made up of tunnels in the east, sitting in the embrace of the mountains. Callum quickly decided that this was enough information for the time being and moved to return to Rayla.
"Well?" Rayla asked as Callum landed.
"There's a town to the west, at least I think it's a town, and the Moonshadow Forest is in the east." He reported. "But the town is in a mountain range."
"It'll be hard for anyone to find us there." She said. "Sounds good for learning the earth arcanum."
It was a bit disappointing, though not a terrible thing, when Callum's wings chose then to disintegrate. The pair simply shrugged and went on their way by foot; without Ezran or Zym to worry about, things were bound to be much easier. A little stroll wasn't going to hurt anyone. After about a mile, neither of them noticed the distance anymore, as they got lost in conversation, stories and jokes.
Although the staff no longer held power, Viren still kept it on him for sentimental purposes. "Tell me." Aaravos said to him, gaining his attention while Claudia was watching Amer cower several feet away. "Are you familiar with the history of primal stones?"
"Yes." Viren said. "Created by the ancient elven mages, untold centuries ago. Five for each primal source." With that, Viren rattled off more incorrect numbers. Aaravos smirked, giving Viren an expression that the old mage was beginning to recognize as meaning 'I know more about this then you do.' A humbling thought, truly.
"Not quite." Aaravos said. "The unicorns created the primal stones to grant humans magic. This, of course, was insulting. Primal stones are so rare and inconvenient. And humans needed more; they needed to have all forms of magic at their fingertips the moment it was needed." He paused, taking a moment to look at the black orb sounded by colors in the Scepter of Darkness, now radiating with power. "The gem in the center is a sun primal stone, enhancing the power of the Sunfire elves who once wielded it. The same was true for the Scepter of Shadows before it was lost, and so on and so forth with the rest. An act of greed by the elves, who already had all of the magic they needed." He turned back to Viren. "I refused to stand for it and chose to give the Scepter of Night back to the humans who were in dire need of it, with generous improvements, of course. It took quite a long time to gather one of every kind of primal stone and siphon their power into a single gem."
Viren looked surprised. He and others before him had suspected it for generations, but it had never been confirmed. He wouldn't have thought Aaravos had been the one to create it, though. "So, that's two less of every stone."
"And a sky primal stone." Claudia put in from where she was. "Callum had one, but he smashed it."
"He what!?" Viren yelled. Primal stones were precious things, unbelievably rare, priceless... That little mongrel, he –
"Yes." Aaravos's only action was to nod. Somehow, this calmed Viren down. "They used to be in abundance, back before humans were so many, but my understanding is that they are now quite rare." he turned back to Claudia and their little guest. Amer remained on the ground, as if that would keep him safe. How hard the mighty tended to fall. He sneered smugly. "Actually, I bring this up because of Callum."
"Callum?" Claudia asked. Although Amer kept in his position, his ears perked at the name as well, his heart filling with hatred. Perhaps as a defense mechanism, Amer had convinced himself that this was truly all Callum's doing. Amer hadn't figured out the specifics, but it was somehow that human's doing. Because humans were evil, something every elf knew, had been taught from an early age. These dark mages only confirmed it, they were all the same.
"His connection to his precious arcanums." Aaravos said. "Another theory, should you not like the idea of half-elves, as to how it's possible is the constant exposure to not one, but two magical items including that primal stone. That the magic rubbed off on him, somehow."
"So, that means…" Viren said, looking stunned at his now useless staff.
"Unfortunately, those primal stone shards have been endowed with dark magic." Aaravos said, now seeming suddenly aloof. "I doubt it's possible to acquire a primal source from the gem. And even if it was, why would you want to?" Before anyone could reply, Amer finally got up and bolted, using his depleted reserves of courage to force himself to get away.
"Hey, wait!" Claudia pursued.
"Let him go, we're done with him." Aaravos dismissed before she got more than a few feet. They let the rogue elf run, burning with a renewed hatred of humans. So long as he didn't go after Callum directly, it was fine.
Author's Notes: Well, someone's growing up, it looks like. And don't worry about Ellis, it's just a passing crush she has. Speaking of change, it's you-guys' time! Things are going to start getting a little dimmer. With that in mind, one character has come to a crossroad and I must have a vote from you, and this one will impact the story. Should Claudia be redeemed or is she too far gone? Whichever answer gets more votes, it will have consequences, which is much less ominous then it sounds, I promise. Review.