The Elementalist (The Kothian Chronicles Book 1) (3 page)

"I don't," Mikel said under his breath, but loud enough for everyone else to hear.

The comment did not really bother Maxim, but Zack jumped to his defence once more, "Well we do Mikel, so keep your opinions to yourself."

After Danton told everybody to calm down and be nice, he suggested Maxim have that bath he so desperately needed. Zack and Melia offered to help, and so whilst one fetched the copper bathtub from the outhouse, Melia filled a large pot with water. "It will take a while for this warm up Maxim, So I will try and cut through that hair of yours while we wait."

After trimming off the knots and clumps of dirt, Melia commented on how lovely the colour of his hair was. "You do not see many people with this colour hair, did your parents have the same?" She asked enquiringly.

"I don't know," he replied, "I don't even know who my parents are, I was left at the orphanage as a baby." Melia grimaced, and apologised for asking thoughtless questions, but if truth were told, Maxim was not too bothered.

Once his hair had been cut, and the copper bathtub filled with piping hot water, it was time for Maxim to scrub the grime from his skin. Zack found him a brush and Melia handed him a large block of soap, and he held it up to his nose, inhaling the slightly perfumed scent. Without even thinking, he stripped off his clothes and let them drop to the floor. The others in the room all cringed, as Maxim stood there completely naked. Not sure what everybody was complaining about, he explained that in the orphanage they had all bathed together, albeit only a couple of times a year.

After an age of rubbing and scrubbing himself clean, and washing his hair, Zack handed him a towel to dry himself, and suggested he wrap it around his waist to maintain some decency. His new friend then suggested they go into one of the other rooms and find some suitable clothes. Inside the other room, Maxim looked around. There was not much inside, aside from the three beds that all lined one wall, there were two wooden trunks. "One of these is mine. I'm afraid I probably have more clothes than I need, but my parents insisted I bring them," Zack told him as he lifted the lid.

Maxim was handed clean underclothes, a warm vest, black trousers, a pair of boots, a shirt, a tunic and even a new cloak for when they ventured outside. As he stood, dressed in the finest clothes he had ever worn, he felt a little overwhelmed.

"Thank you," he said with the makings of a tear in his eye.

"You are welcome," Zack said with a warm-hearted smile.

After re-joining the others in the main room of the small cottage, Danton thought it best that, they all sit and discuss plans. By which, he actually meant that he talked and made the plans, whilst the others listened. Some of what he said the others already knew, although he thought it only fair to explain everything for Maxim's benefit.

He was a magician, as they all were; all had powers, some more so than others did. In Maxim's case he was unsure as to exactly what those powers were until he could be tested properly, but he was certain they had the potential to be greater than he had ever seen. They would spend a few days to get to know each other, rest and get a few more supplies, as well as horses before they moved on. He kept the name of their destination a secret, telling them they did not yet need to know, only that it was somewhere south.

Until such time as they got to the secret destination, they were not permitted to do any magic outside of the cottage. Maxim thought that would be easy, as he was still certain he could not do any. Mikel groaned and was about to complain, but Danton stared him down. "I mean it. If anybody catches you, then you put all our lives at risk," he added sharply, just to make sure the young man understood the seriousness of the situation.

Once Danton had finished his short lecture, he suggested a talk about their powers. He went first and told them all that he could do, going invisible was his main skill, and sensing magic in others via the aura he could see when he was in stealth was his other. He told them he could do a few minor bits of magic, such as produce a small sphere of light, which he duly demonstrated. Maxim's eyes nearly popped from his head when he saw it; he had never seen such an amazing thing.

Mikel told them he would go next, and seemed keen to show everyone his skills. Again to Maxim, they were impressive, scary almost he thought. Using just the power of his mind, Mikel could move small objects across the table. "I moved a chair once," he said proud of his own achievements.

Melia went next, and to demonstrate her power she took a rather limp looking flower. She closed her eyes and placed her hand over it, as the others all watched on intently, waiting to see what happened. Maxim thought he could hear her mumbling strange words under her breath. There were gasps all round as she lifted her hand away to reveal the flower had changed. It now looked as fresh as the day it had been picked, "I know a good teacher of healing that would be interested in you my dear," Danton said clearly impressed.

When it was Zack's turn to show his skill he appeared a little nervous. "Go on you'll be fine," Maxim said trying to encourage him, even though he himself did not know what he was going to do. The youngster stood and stepped a little way from the table, "Well go on then, do something before we all die of old age," Mikel said snidely. Melia shushed him, "Leave him be," she snapped putting him in his place. Zack stood there, clearly anxious, before he took a deep breath and concentrated. After a few seconds, he clapped his hands, there was a small flicker of light as everybody gasped; before their eyes, Zack had vanished. "Over here," he said. They all turned to look the other side of the room, to see the young man stood there smiling. "I can only move short distances, and I have to be able to visualise where I re-appear," he said explaining.

Thinking that was it, Maxim was about to ask if it was perhaps time to eat again. "Now you," Mikel said pointing rudely at him.

"I don't think I can, I'm not sure what I can do," he replied, as they all looked his direction.

"I think it is probably safer if you don't try Maxim," Danton said. "If what I saw you do to that man in Woodhaven is anything to go by, we certainly should not try anything."

Danton's words only appeared to make the others even more curious, and after a few moments of pleading, he gave in, and told them what he thought Maxim could do. "I think he has the power of the elements," he said causing the others to fall silent. "Maxim, in self defence mind, turned a man to flame, killing him in just a few seconds," he added. Maxim grimaced as he noticed the others look at him differently. Even Zack, who had been so kind and generous, appeared a little put off.

Danton explained his theory. If indeed Maxim had control of the elements, then he would need proper tutorage. Left unchecked, he told them, Maxim would likely have the power to cause destruction on a massive scale. When Melia questioned Danton on why Maxim did not know he even had power, he explained further. From his experience, those with magical abilities usually found out they had them by making something strange happen without trying. "Maxim is no different. Somewhere in his mind, he knows the way to summon fire; what else is in there we can only guess." So rare was the power to control the elemental forces of nature, finding somebody to teach Maxim control may prove limited to but a few. "If Maxim realises the power I see in his aura, then he would most likely be as powerful a magician as I have ever seen. To put it bluntly my young friend, you have more power than the rest of us put together."

Maxim just grinned a little bashfully, he was not used to being the centre of attention when praise was being handed out. Zack appeared to be over the shock of him burning another human being alive, as he shuffled his chair a little nearer to him. Mikel was clearly not impressed, whether that was due to him not believing what Danton had said, or just jealous because he was not being the centre of attention. "So, can we eat again now please?" Maxim said attempting to change the subject.

Chapter 3.

Berxsley was a vibrant city, and was home to the monarchy of Kothia, and the government officials who oversaw the running of the country. Situated in the northwest of the nation, it was home to over twenty thousand people. With such a large populace to cater for, other smaller towns had grown around it to provide for its needs.

Ruled by King Oran and his wife Queen Tiana they had taken the throne following his father's passing several years earlier. They had two children, a son named Anden and a daughter Frona. Although in command of the nation, the daily running was left to a group of governors. Despite the king knowing most, if not all, were corrupt in some way, he had little choice but to leave them be; seen by the people as their voice, he knew trying to remove them would likely cause riots in his streets.

As it was, both co-existed, the governors made most of the rules, with the king, as overall ruler, passing them as law. Despite the years of peace since the magician Galdor had tried to overthrow both the government and the monarchy, it was only a matter of time before something had to give.

Although the majority of people loved their royal family, many thought important matters should be dealt with by elected officials, and to make matters worse, worrying reports were coming in of their neighbour Bosaria. They had recently had a change of leader, and from the news coming over the border, changes were taking place, and not all of them for the good. Apparently, hundreds of government officials had been arrested and executed, all on jumped up charges of treason.

To others looking on, it was clear this new ruler was making sure he had overall control. The two neighbouring countries had both agreed to outlaw magic after the ordeal with Galdor, as both had culled the mere threat of someone using magic. Now, if rumour were true, this new ruler of Bosaria wielded those same powers.

If indeed a magician had taken leadership of their neighbouring nation, then the future was worrying indeed. Fortunately, since the changing of the law regarding magic a few years back, Oran had set plans in motion to counter such an event. This had followed when he had decided to judge over a case brought against a man with the magic. It had been at this hearing, when the man had claimed he had foreseen the future of the nation, should people with magic be continually exterminated, and persecuted.

At first Oran thought the man insane, but the more he was told, the more realistic it sounded. The jury decided a man who could see the future dangerous enough to be charged. As a result of this, the man was officially executed. Whereas in reality he was spared and discreetly moved to a safe house, where Oran had visited him several times, and each time he was told things the man could not possibly have not known. It was after the final meeting the king made a decision.

The man was moved far to the south, away from prying eyes, and was to be given the use of an old border castle and the lands that came with it. The purpose was to secretly amass and assess others with magic, with a view to training them to aid the nation should they ever be needed. Over the next few years the small community grew, and a network set up to help find magic folk before they were found by the state.

During the king's early meetings with the strange seer, he had also been told something on a more personal level. A male family member of his, would reveal himself to be magical after his fourteenth year. At first Oran had worried this might be his son Anden, and that setting up the small magical community in the south, would give him somewhere to be kept safe. As it turned out, the family member happened to be his nephew, who at that moment was probably travelling down to his new home.

That afternoon Oran was due in a meeting with his government, although each time he had such a meet, he felt he was getting less and less say on matters. To a man, he did not trust any of the slimy men that ran his country. He had often wondered why his grandfather had implemented such a system of government; as king, it should be he who makes the decisions for his people, not a bunch of greedy, backstabbing bureaucrats.

He was interested to see how much information they gave him on the situation in Bosaria, luckily though, he had his own network of spies to rely upon, and keep him updated on world events. What he did not want, was his government feeling they did not need him to make important decisions, and he knew that eventually there would be an ultimate struggle for power between him and those that governed. Over the years since his grandfather had seen fit to create the system of government, they had somehow managed to gain more powers.

With him losing a grip of power in his own country, and things in Bosaria looking uncertain, these were certainly trying times for Oran and his family. Things were coming to a head, and he needed to be prepared when they did. His hopes lay with a man who had foreseen the troubles ahead, and the band of people he had managed to gather from all across Kothia.

In the city of Waltham, Capital of Bosaria, the last of the politicians opposing the new regime were rounded together. Guards loyal to the new leader stood around the room as the half dozen men and two women awaited their fate. A door off to one side opened and a tall thin man, wearing a black robe walked in. After slowly walking around those he had ordered captured, he sat himself upon a large chair situated on the dais at the one end of the room.

Bosaria had recently crowned a new king, with the previous monarch, having succumbed to an unfortunate accident, and had not left any direct descendant. Hence, it was left to the king's nephew to take the throne. That man had wasted no time in removing the politicians that presumed to run his country; the last of which, now stood in a small group before him.

Gorius was a man of magic, and his powers had been kept secret to avoid embarrassment to his uncle and the royal household. He was certain that the present regime had been responsible for the death of his mother, as it was said she also had powers. Now without realising it, the government had followed protocol, putting the next blood relation on the throne, not realising he was a magician.

Now he was ruler, he aimed to be rid of all those that opposed magic, and he had big plans for those that could wield it. He had already scanned over his latest batch of prisoners to see if any of them secretly had powers. As he had suspected none of them did, and as a result, none were of any use. All that was left for him to do now, was to decide on how best to dispose of them.

He thought for a while, trying to think of the most entertaining way to kill them. He supposed he could let his soldier's just do it for him, but that was no fun. He opted instead to practice some of his magical skills, and ran his eyes over the pathetic looking bunch, looking for the most weak-minded, and picked a man stood at the back of the small group, cowering away.

Concentrating his mind on that of his target, he smirked as the man in question started screaming. He started running about, making a terrible noise, "Make it stop," he shouted. Gorius laughed aloud, as the man started smashing his own head against the wall of the room, with the cries only ceasing when the man succeeded in knocking himself unconscious. With blood dripping from the fallen man's head, he wondered what to do next.

His pondering was interrupted by a messenger. The youngster apologised for the intrusion, before handing him a sealed note. Gorius accepted the apology, and dismissed the boy. He slid his finger under the wax seal and read the words written within, and afforded himself a smile, as he slowly folded the paper back up and slipped it inside a pocket.

Now bored with those before him, he simply stood and walked back towards the door. As he stepped through, he relayed a simple command to one of his soldiers, "Kill them all," he said before continuing. He could hear a few faint screams as he headed down the corridor, before all went silent; the only noise then was the thumping of his boots on the polished tiled floor.

He had often thought that the palace here in Waltham was a pretty poor affair, and it certainly did not have any of the elaborate grandeur he had always thought such a place should have; perhaps one day he would make it so. For now, his mind needed to be on more important things; the first of his magicians had arrived.

On taking over, he had immediately sent word out to all who had the ability to use magic. They were no longer to be persecuted, and instead, they were to be rewarded, all they needed to do was pledge their allegiance to him. Having removed all the politicians from their building, he had already thought of a good use for it, as now it would be the home to his army of magicians. It would be a place for them to practice and learn from each other, without the worry of ever being caught. Moreover, he would pay them richly for their services.