Magus (Advent Mage Cycle) (19 page)

"Magus Hay-el D'Auch," En-Nelle continued, "Life Mage from Coven Ordan."

Hay-el D'Auch was a woman that could only be described as striking. Her dark hair and wide black eyes were set in a face too angular to be labeled as pretty, but something about her made her looks attractive instead of plain. The smile she gave Chatta was genuine, and perhaps a touch curious.

"And Magus Terran Far'Auchmage, Water Mage of Coven Ordan," En-Nelle finished with a triumphant smile. Chatta had no doubt that En-Nelle was silently plotting on how to get control of these three Mages.

Terran Far'Auchmage was as fair as the other two were dark, aside from his dark eyes. In fact, with his slim build and fair coloring, he could almost pass for Chahiran.

Almost in perfect unison, the Remnant Mages bowed slightly, hands spread out to the side. "We seek the balance."

Chatta, after a startled beat, translated that, roughly, as how do you do?

"Mages, this is Witch L-Chattamoinita Delheart."

Chatta had spent so much time in Chahir recently that she gave them a polite bow without thinking about it. "A pleasure to meet you."

With the proper introductions out of the way, En-Nelle turned eagerly toward Chatta. "Is Magus Rhebengarthen with you?"

"No, he is in Q'atal," Chatta answered.

En-Nelle blinked, obviously confused. "Q'atal? Not Chahir?"

"The Q'atalians asked that he take a brief detour and help them with something," she explained. "He should be there by now." Chatta wasn't about to be sidetracked, and launched into the more important matter first. "I came to deliver a rogue Mage. I put to the Council that this Mage must have his power stripped from him."

As she had expected, there were immediate protests from all corners. Chatta wasn't about to try to shout them down—for one thing, she didn't possess the necessary lung power—and just stared at them, waiting for them to settle again.

"I would like to hear the reasoning behind this request," Tyvendor announced. His deep voice rumbled through the room like approaching thunder, silencing people instantly.

Chatta liked this calm, reasonable response, and chose to direct her reply to him. She had spent most of the ride here thinking about how she would explain this, and so the words came easily to her now. It took several minutes before she was done explaining exactly what Remcarparoden had done in Jarrell, and when she was finished, the room was as still as any wake.

"That is grave, indeed," Doss finally stated, breaking the silence. "You are quite correct, Chatta. We must strip this young Mage of his powers."

"Surely the boy can be taught," En-Nelle protested, hands flapping in agitation. "I mean, consider his history…where he was…"

"Every other Mage that we have discovered has a similar history or worse," Chatta snapped back. Sometimes she was just ready to
strangle
this woman. "None of them have
ever
abused their powers. Besides, this boy went crazy
after
the new laws were put into place. He had even less of a reason to burn the city than all of the other Mages that we have rescued!"

O'danne actually applauded her. "Well said, my dear, well said. No, Nellie, we shan't play with fire—no pun intended, of course. A full circle must be called."

"I quite agree," BycLewsh stated in a deceptively mild manner.

En-Nelle knew when she was outnumbered, and grumpily subsided. But she definitely wasn't happy about it.

"A full circle won't be necessary," Hay-el D'Auch announced. "We will be pleased to assist you in this matter."

"Very pleased," Terran Far'Auchmage agreed darkly. "People who abuse their powers anger us. Where is this Fire Mage?"

Chatta wanted results, and she frankly didn't care who did the deed, so she answered quickly. "I put him in a holding room in the basement of this building. A Wizard is watching him now." Kartal thought it prudent to keep an eye on Remcarparoden—neither of them had been sure if the building's wards, as old as they were, could really contain a Mage. He had surprised her by offering to babysit while she went up and talked to the Council.

"If you would show us the way?" Tyvendor asked her politely. "After we are done with that, I would like to talk with you about several matters."

You and me both
, Chatta thought. "Certainly, Magus."

~*~

A half an hour.

Three Mages had done in a half-hour what it would have taken a full circle—that's fifteen people—a whole day to do.

Was she
ever
so glad that these Mages were on her side!

She wasn't sure how they did it, as she had been outside the room while they worked, but she certainly knew when the job was complete. Remcarparoden, when he realized his magic was gone forever, started sobbing hysterically. Chatta had half-expected this reaction, but even with his screams echoing in the hallway, she felt no pity for him. He had brought this entirely on himself.

They didn't even look tired when they came out of the room, just unhappy.

"It is done," Hay-el D'Auch assured Chatta. "Now, we would like to speak with you."

"Let's choose a more comfortable place to talk," Chatta suggested. She, for one, was looking forward to a nice, soft chair.

There were no protests to her suggestion, so she led them to some of the more private study rooms in the building. They were meant for students, but normally remained vacant because of their small size. However, there were enough chairs to comfortably seat four people, which made them perfect for Chatta's purpose.

She found a vacant room on the second try, and ushered everyone inside. It was with deep satisfaction that she sank into a faded, overstuffed armchair, relaxing for the first time in days.

"You look tired," Hay-el surprised her by commenting.

"It was a long trip," Chatta admitted. "And a little nerve-wracking. We weren't sure if the amulets would contain a Mage's power."

"By 'we' I assume you mean you and the Advent Mage?" Tyvendor inquired.

"Yes." Chatta paused, but decided she might as well be frank with him. "Just as a warning, when you meet Garth, don't call him the Advent Mage to his face. He hates that title."

The three exchanged puzzled glances. "We were given the impression that he was a man of great power and reputation," Terran commented, his eyes studying her carefully. "Is this in error?"

Chatta couldn't help but smile. "His reputation doesn't match reality
at all
," she laughed, shaking her head ruefully. Chatta was more aware of how Garth was perceived than her quiet friend was. Garth was under the impression that everyone viewed him as some sort of demi-god of tremendous power. And that was true, to a point. What he wasn't aware of was the
rest
of his reputation.

"Perhaps you can tell us just how much of his reputation is off course?" Hay-el suggested. "And what your relationship is with him?"

That seemed perfectly reasonable to Chatta. "Certainly. I'm Garth's best friend. We went through part of our schooling together, and we are usually paired up on projects. I've known him almost two years now. As for how much of his reputation is right…" She started ticking points off on her fingers. "It's true that he's insanely strong, but he isn't egotistical about it. He really
did
turn a coast city into an island, but he didn't just bounce up and go slay a dragon afterwards. It took him a while to recover." She paused, trying to think of all the rumors she had heard. "He really is a Jaunten, and he really does have white hair. He really has saved about twenty people from Chahir, but he had a lot of help doing that, too. Have I missed anything?"

A wicked smile darted over Hay-el's face. "Is he secretly engaged to you?"

Chatta blinked, briefly stunned. "Um. Haven't heard that one. No, we aren't. Actually, our relationship isn't like that at all. We really are friends…" she trailed off, cocking her head to one side. "Was there truly a rumor about us?"

"Several," Terran drawled in open amusement. "Guin's keeping your real purpose in Chahir secret, so all the public knows is that you and Magus Rhebengarthen have been off somewhere for two months now. Some people think your father refused to give the Magus permission to marry you, so you two eloped."

That was so different from reality that Chatta nearly fell out of her chair laughing. It took several deep breaths before she felt like she could talk coherently again. "Oh dear. I've got to tell him that when I get back." She giggled again when she pictured what his reaction would be. "He'll be
completely
dumbfounded." She was sure that Garth would have a good chuckle, after he reattached his jaw and put his eyes back in their sockets. Maybe she could buy a fake engagement ring to tease him with…hmmm, now there was a thought.

"So what
is
he really like?" Tyvendor leaned forward slightly, eyes bright with interest.

Chatta softened, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. "Kind. Patient. Quiet. He's the type of person that will help you, no matter what the cost is to him. And he has no tolerance for people who abuse their power, or deliberately hurts others." Memories flashed in the back of her head, of times when he had leapt to someone's defense. "He is the kindest and best of men."

"You love him a great deal," Terran observed quietly.

"Yes I do," she agreed without hesitation. "It's not difficult—even his
enemies
eventually learn to respect him. That's the kind of person he is. Perhaps you can tell me why you're asking me these questions?" Chatta figured it was about time to turn the tables.

"How much have you been told about us?" Hay-el countered.

"The basics," Chatta responded carefully. "You are descendents from the magicians that survived the last battle on the Isle of Strae. Your ancestors settled in a colony on Bromany soil. You've come here to speak with the Mages, Garth in particular. Perhaps you could give me more detail?"

"Tyvendor, you tell her," Terran ordered with an expansive wave of his hand. "You're the best storyteller out of us."

Tyvendor rolled his eyes. "You're only saying that because
you
don't want to do it." With a dark look at his friend, he began anyway. "Our ancestors didn't actually fight in that last battle. They went to the Isle of Strae as ordered, but they had no desire to fight with comrades or friends. They chose to leave instead.

"One of them was a Water Mage, and it was he that gathered everyone up, and traveled along the water path through the Stagway Ocean to Bromany. There were eight of them, and several dozen children.

"They went straight to the Bromanan government and offered them a deal. In return for land of their own, they would work for the government for one year. The offer was accepted with alacrity. A year later, they were given a huge valley in the BankNoren of Ordan."

Chatta stiffened in her chair. She'd heard of the BankNoren of Ordan. It was a huge mountain range that had played a part in the protection and defeat of several armies in the history of Bromany. In recent times, it was a famous place for bandits and the like to hang out. "But isn't that a dangerous place?"

"For normal people." Tyvendor flashed a smile that was as feral as any wolf's. "For us, it was merely a…challenge. Anyway, for the past two hundred years we, the Remnant, have lived there and cultivated the land as we wished. It is now a city in its own right. We call it Coven Ordan.

"Five years ago, one of our Wizards began to carefully keep watch over Chahir. He had a feeling that magic would again live in that land. Then two years ago, we were all surprised when he reported that a Mage had awakened. We went looking for him, of course, but we couldn't find him again in Chahir after that first sighting."

Reality hit Chatta about who he must have seen, and she whispered breathlessly, "Garth…"

"Yes, it must have been him," Tyvendor acknowledged. "We have spoken with King Guin, and the timeline fits too neatly for it to be anyone else. That is one reason why we wish to speak with him. Over the past two years, we all kept a closer eye on Chahir, and we saw more and more magicians awaken. But they never stayed in the same place long. We kept losing them, which was quite frustrating. Three weeks ago, it was decided that we couldn't continue to just sit and watch. Hay-el, Terran, and I decided to come over and see for ourselves just what was going on. We approached King Vonlorisen first, but…" his face gathered in a fierce frown. "That man was
not
helpful."

"I can imagine so," Chatta sympathized. "He probably threw an absolute tantrum that three foreign Mages showed up at his Palace."

"Tantrum is a good word," Hay-el growled darkly.

"While he was ranting, he mentioned something about King Guin, so we came to Del'Hain," Tyvendor continued. "King Guin was
much
more helpful explaining what was going on. He was genuinely glad to see us, too. He explained how he needed help training all of the Mages that were being discovered, so we decided to come here to the Academy and help out until we could find a way to contact the Advent—er, I mean, Rhebengarthen. Two days later, you show up." Tyvendor smiled, relaxing back into his seat. "Now you know everything. You said he was in Q'atal now. Doing what?"

"The Q'atalian borders keep getting overrun with bandits," Chatta explained. "A lot of their people keep getting hurt. They asked that Garth come up and put a barrier around the country."

One would think, judging from the frozen horror on their faces, that Chatta had just suggested setting the Academy on fire.

"He's setting up a barrier around a whole country?!" Terran demanded. "ALONE?!"

"Garth is the only trained Mage we have," Chatta pointed out, confused about their reactions.

"Your King just finished telling me two days ago that no one here could really train the Mages!" Hay-el retorted. "So how is your Mage trained?"

"Experimentation, mostly," Chatta muttered. "He was given some guidance, and a rough idea of what he was capable of from the little bit of history that survived the Magic War. He just kind of took it from there. Experience has helped hone his control."