The Castrofax (3 page)

During her lessons of socialism,
equalization, commerce, industry, needlepoint and party-giving,
Robyn watched through the windows as the Mages practiced. Of the
three Mages, Dagan moved with the most experience, though he was
younger than Cordis. He was an interesting study since his motions
were deliberate and connected. Though Robyn could see nothing of
these
patterns
they spoke of, something only Mages could
see, she saw the outcome of sprouted trees or crumpled rocks and
bent branches. Cordis was amusing to watch, for he was serious when
laying patterns, a character trait much unlike his usually jovial
self. Gabriel seemed to be a mix of the two. Amusing in
conversation, he became serious and fluid as he moved his hands to
lay unseen threads, shifting his whole body in a dance only Mages
understood. Sometimes they stomped their feet and shards of stone
or clumps of dirt shot from beneath them. On other occasions they
would throw out their hands and snap their wrists to create an
explosion of blossoms from the poor tortured cherry trees. It was
frightfully entertaining.

“Robyn, you are not listening,” Professor
Magin stated one afternoon as they sat in the library. The sun
painted yellow squares on the dark wood behind the Professor as she
sat with a book in her hands. “Child, I expect you to listen when I
lecture.”

“But I do not care about castles outside my
kingdom,” Robyn replied with a weary tone.

“If you should listen to any lectures about
profound structures, it should be this one. You have two—someday
three—Mages who call Jaden their home, and it would be admirable of
you to understand their culture. Tell me three things concerning
Castle Jaden.”

Robyn crumpled her fingers together. She
really had not been listening to the lecture, but sometimes Gabriel
spoke of it. “Jaden is the smallest but the most powerful of
kingdoms since it houses the Mages. Mages bred themselves out of
High Classes after the Mage Wars made it acceptable to marry
non-Mages.” She rolled her eyes up, trying to think of more. “The
Castle has never been breached and is rumored to be the safest
place on land.”

Magin glared at her. “You have been talking
to Mage Cordis. I said none of those things. Now, listen this time.
Castle Jaden was founded by Class Ten Cornel Jaden in 1555 when
he purchased land from Eccoveria, what is now Anatoly. Jaden did
not become its own kingdom until 2020 when the castle was
completed….
”

“I don’t want to learn of castles, Magin. I
want to study the Mage Wars!”

“
Don’t
? Sweet stars, you
have
been talking to Cordis too much. Alas, he would be the man to speak
with about the Mage Wars, but he is busy.” She nodded her head
outside and Robyn followed with a longing gaze.

Father and son stood with their backs to her.
Dagan walked up with an open book, speaking words she could not
hear and gesturing to sketches on the pages. Robyn had seen many
books with sketches in their library that showed how patterns were
laid and how the body moved to manipulate them. Dagan set the book
on a stone table and made several large-armed gestures before
stopping and shaking his head. The earth gave a slight tremble as
he moved, and Robyn braced for excitement only to be
disappointed.

Cordis pointed to the book as Gabriel folded
his arms, speaking for a few moments. Gabriel shrugged and nodded
before unlinking his arms.

“Robyn.” Magin stated.

“Wait,” she whispered, sensing entertainment
on the horizon.

Gabriel took a defensive stance, and with
great care and seriousness, laid the unseen pattern. Dagan and
Cordis backed up as he worked, and with each step their faces grew
more surprised.

“Robyn.”

Gabriel moved his arms in circular motions,
stopping and drawing his hand back twice as if pulling something.
She watched with rapt attention, ignoring Magin as he slightly bent
in the knees. Suddenly the earth gave a tremendous roar and sprang
up around him in a circular dome that swallowed him. The top of the
dome twisted soil, grass, roots and stones together in a grinding
mass that slowed and stopped. Robyn found herself on her feet
squealing with excitement as her eyes flicked to the Mages and the
dome. Cordis and Dagan stood with limp arms and open faces, staring
at the place where Gabriel had been swallowed up.

Slowly, the earth began to shrink back to the
garden to reveal a whole and hale Gabriel in the center, his arms
level with his waist as he pushed the earth back down. His hair and
shoulders were dusty but he was unharmed, and with a quick shake of
his hair he looked normal once more.

Cordis and Dagan exploded in excited tones,
closing the gap as they gestured and pointed, unsteady on their
feet. Gabriel seemed to brighten at their congratulations and
smiled. Cordis grabbed the book and pointed to a picture before
shifting back a page, then stopped and gaped at Dagan. ‘Eight,’ he
mouthed. That much Robyn could tell.

“What does Mage Cordis mean by eight?” Robyn
asked, turning to Magin.

“Did you not see?” Magin posed. “Mage Dagan
is a Class Six and failed when attempting the pattern, but Gabriel
succeeded. There are a thousand patterns only certain Classes can
perform and fuel properly. Many have been lost to the Ages as Mages
bred themselves out. It seems young Master Gabriel has succeeded in
a pattern made for Class Eights.”

“This is fantastic,” Robyn breathed. “How
many Class Eights are left?”

Magin smirked, then the smirk slipped as she
realized the question was seriously asked. “There are none. And
there are no Class Sevens either. The highest Class attainable for
hundreds of years has been a Class Six, and even those are
dwindling.”

“Then this truly is fantastic,” Robyn
whispered and looked back outside to the men in their revelry.
“When did the Classes start dying off?”

“Back in the Third Age after the Mage Wars.
As you rightly stated, the Mages were given permission to
intermarry which began watering-down their long bloodlines. With
every generation they grow a little weaker. First the Class Tens
vanished, soon followed by Class Nines. By the time the more
powerful houses tried to instate new rules to riposte the old laws,
it was too late to rebuild the bloodlines, and finally the Class
Eights vanished. This took over a thousand years mind you; it did
not happen in a generation.” Magin closed the book on her lap with
a pleased look. “If Master Gabriel does prove to be powerful, it
will mean great things for their race.”

“But his father is only a Class Five. Who is
his mother?”

Magin gave a shrug. “No one knows. It has
been a secret of the Lenis line since Gabriel’s birth.”

“But you said yourself the highest Class
attainable now is Class Six, so how could a Class Five produce an
Eight?”

Magin chuckled. “That is a question for Mage
Cordis, but I have read of Anomalies, Mages born of strange talents
in desperate times. Though, for years there have been rumors of
secluded groups of Mages that never dwindled. Perhaps our Master
Gabriel’s mother truly is powerful.”

Robyn watched the men retreat to the manor
and heard their faint carousing voices down the hall. She wished
they would come share their excitement, but they faded away and
left her to her studies without escape.

It was not until the sun touched the tips of
the Gray Mountains that Magin let her go. She walk off in dignified
fashion to find the Mages, wishing she could run but that was
unladylike. Cordis had a favorite study tucked back in a corner
where he usually spent his quiet days, and as she suspected, she
found the men within talking in joyous tones.

The room was plastered with dark wood panels
and shelves which sat dozens of books and trinkets. Each had a
story she did not know. The furniture was old and lovingly worn,
made of a faint blue canvas matched with yellow cord trim and
leather pillows. It smelled of dust, leather, and cigar smoke with
another scent she could only describe as
man
.

Gabriel sat in a chaise with a leg propped up
over it, leaning into the corner with a goblet dangling from his
fingertips. Dagan sat in the bay window in a relaxed fashion, his
back not so straight, his shoulders loosened, and his coat folded
aside leaving him in his shirtsleeves. Cordis sat with his back to
her and turned as she entered. He was beaming and red in the
cheeks, likely a result of the goblet of ale perched on his thigh.
“Roby!” he exclaimed as she stepped in. “Did you see it?”

Robyn rounded his chair to address him to his
face. “I did,” she nodded. “It was explained to me that it was a
grand achievement.”

“Grand is an excellent word for it! Come, sit
with me,” he beckoned. He set his goblet aside and lifted her by
the waist to sit on his thighs as he had on several occasions.
Being dawdled like a child was not something princesses did, but
she found herself yearning for the embrace of a father-like figure.
Her own father died nearly eight years beforehand.

“You witnessed a remarkable thing,” Cordis
beamed. “And it will be beneficial for you in the future. The
stronger a Mage you have to protect you, the better. Within five
years Gabriel will have a proper Class to his name and will be able
to take the title of protector from me.”

Robyn felt her heart quicken. “Where are you
going?” she asked in a shrill tone.

“Nowhere, of course, but the stronger a Mage
to stand by your side the safer you will be.”

“Your parents would appreciate it,” Dagan
said before taking a sip of wine. The servants in the manor had
been told she was the daughter of rich ship builders from Iosberg
who came under threat from the Shalabane, the land-grubbing,
ever-invading country across the ocean. The three men in the room
kept the ruse alive at all hours.

“So are you a Class Eight?” she asked
Gabriel.

He twisted his lips. “I have to test for my
Class before we can speculate, and not until I am twenty.”

“And what until then?”

Gabriel looked at Cordis for approval. “I am
leaving middle of next week to begin my training in Castle Jaden.
Dagan and my father think it best I start early.”

Robyn’s heart sank.
‘Then who will I have
to play with?’
She tried her best to hide her disappointment.
“How long will you be gone?”

“As long as it takes to learn what I need. No
more than a year.”

“When you return will you know what your
Class will be?”

He shook his head. “Training is kept secret.
My trainers will not discuss it with others, so when I test for my
Class, the Mage Council will not be biased.”

She nodded. “I will miss your companionship.”
It was a phrase the tutors had long ingrained in her until it meant
nothing but politeness, but this time she meant it.

“This is no time for sadness!” Cordis
exclaimed and bounced his thigh to give her a jolt. “I had Derion
slaughter a piglet, so we will be having roast pork—and I think
Lyesa is wrapping it in bacon, stars love her—and Merina is baking
cakes in Parion fashion, the ones with the whipped sugar and cream.
I had a cask of cider opened, and tonight we will celebrate
Gabriel’s achievement. It will be the first of many, I am
certain.”

Supper was as splendid as Cordis claimed,
lasting for several hours of courses and drinks. Robyn was even
permitted a small mug of cider but decided she preferred the
watered wine she received in Kilkiny Palace.

After supper Cordis and Dagan retired to
Cordis’s study, leaving the children to fend for themselves. As
soon as Robyn was alone with Gabriel, she shot him a dark look and
folded her arms. He grimaced. “Your brother has the same look. How
have I wronged you?”

“I am displeased you are leaving. Now I shall
have no excuse to escape my lessons.”

“I’m sure we can find you something to do,”
he said and shook his locks from his eyes. “You can find a hobby
that can occupy your time. We’ve horses to ride and books to read
or crafts to learn.”

“A girl of my breeding does not learn a
craft, Gabriel,” she stated in an accusing tone.

“Then learn a sport.”

“Climbing trees is as much sport as I
need.”

Gabriel folded his arms over his chest. “You
sound like your tutors. What do
you
want to do? No, don’t
answer for them, answer for yourself.”

Robyn furrowed her brow and realized she did
not know what she wanted. She had always been told what was
expected of her and what was acceptable and unacceptable, but never
had she considered what
she
wanted.

“I—I am not sure what to think.”

He nodded, seemingly aware of her answer
before she was, and grabbed her hand. “Come with me.”

Gabriel had a leggy stride, so she rushed to
keep up with him as he moved through the dimly lit halls deep into
the manor. She had explored most of everything and soon recognized
the storage rooms shut behind locked doors. Gabriel stopped before
one she remembered as the armory, a small room with mostly tools
and a few old weapons. Mages did not need weapons of man-make, but
the few knives used by servants remained sharp and oiled. The room
was unlocked, and Gabriel quickly snatched a few things on shelves
before returning to the hall with a short recurve bow and a quiver
of arrows.

“You are going to learn archery, and when I
return, you will show me how good you’ve become.”

“Archery, Gabriel? That is soldier’s
work.”

“Thank you, Professor Magin.” That silenced
her.

Leading her out into the night, she followed
him to a spot behind the stables where the moonlight illuminated
the space in silver. The night was heavy with the scent of horses
and grass.