Ascendant (9 page)

Koren
’
s face fell for a moment.
Being a
servant
was very different from being an
apprentice
. He
would not be training to be a wizard. Still, Koren the unwanted farm boy, would
be living in a castle and serving as the royal wizard
’
s personal servant? And
anyone working closely with a wizard must learn some magic, wouldn
’
t they? He, Koren Bladewell,
learning to use powerful magic? He came close to fainting and rolling off the
roof.
“
I would
have to ask-
“
Koren for a moment forgot that he didn
’
t
know where his parents were. What would they think now, their son a hero and
soon to be living in a castle?
“
I
mean, until I find my parents, I would like to be your servant, thank you very
much, sir. Master Wizard, could you help me to find my parents?
”

Paedris nodded
very seriously.
“
I
will certainly try to find your parents, young man, I promise you that. You,
uh, to be my servant, and work in the royal castle, you will need to take an
oath of loyalty to the crown."

Koren shrugged.
"All right."

"That
means renouncing your current loyalty to the Duchess of Winterthur, and your
Baron, uh, whatever his name is."

Koren tilted
his head in disbelief. "My loyalty to the Baron?"

"Yes."

"The
baron who banished me, for being a jinx."

"Mm."

"Which,
you say, I'm not."

The wizard
shook his head. "Never have been."

"I think
I will not have a problem renouncing my loyalty to Baron Fostlen." Koren
said in a tone bordering on sarcasm, to a powerful wizard he'd just met.

"Nor the
Duchess?" Paedris knew some peasants, deeply attached to the land and the
tiny patch of the kingdom where they likely spent their entire lives, could be
stubbornly loyal to royal people they had never met. "Your family could
have appealed your banishment to the Duchess, if I understand the law
here."

"Appeal
to the Duchess, to rule against the Baron, who is first cousin to the Duchess'
husband?" Koren said bitterly, echoing a sentiment his parents had
expressed many times.

"Hmm. I
rather see your point there. Unfortunately, Koren, loyalty most often flows
only one way, uphill." The wizard pointed upward.

"What
flows downhill?"

Paedris pursed
his lips. "Something that smells bad. And comes out the back end of a
horse, if you know what I mean. Now,
”
the wizard rose to his feet,
“
I
rather think we need to get you inside. You need to eat, I brought a delicious
beef soup which is unfortunately cooling off next to your bed. And then you
need to rest quietly, instead of scampering around the roof like a clumsy
squirrel.
”

Koren looked
glumly down the slippery roof tiles, from where he'd nearly fallen to his
death. He'd never seen a clumsy squirrel, but then, any squirrel who was clumsy
wouldn't live long enough to be seen by anyone.

“
How is the boy?
”
Carlana asked quietly as
the wizard came thru doorway, and shut the door behind him.

“
Apparently, quite well,
since he went out the window, trying to escape.
”
Paedris said simply. The wizard strode to
the window, looked outside, and pulled the heavy curtains shut, for privacy.

“
Escape?
”
Carlana gasped in shock.
“
Did he fly?
”

“
What?
”
Paedris asked in
surprise.

“
What?
”

“
You asked if he flew out
the window?
”

“
You said he was a wizard.
”

“
Oh.
”
Paedris was constantly
surprised about the absurd things people thought wizards could do.
“
No, no, he didn
’
t fly, he crawled out the
window, and onto the roof. Almost fell off, if I hadn
’
t been there.
”

Carlana
gasped. She hated heights, was terrified of falling.
“
That
’
s four stories off the
ground! And the courtyard below is cobblestones. He would have been killed. Why
was he trying to escape? Didn
’
t
he know he is an honored guest?
”

“
When he awoke, he heard a
couple of the duke
’
s
foolish maids gossiping, and thought he was going to be thrown into a dungeon,
and likely hanged, as a bandit who tried to kidnap Ariana.
”

“
He
saved
my
daughter!
”

 
“
Yes, and I told him not to
pay attention to gossip. As regards his health, he is recovering well, and I
fed him a broth of beef and vegetables.
”

“
And some pastries, Lord
Salva?
”
Carlana pointed with a sly smile to the streak of cream down the front of his
robe.

“
What?
”
The court wizard, his
dignity injured, looked down in dismay. He had rinsed his face in the washbasin
in Koren
’
s
room, but neglected to check his robe.
“
The
pastries were, er, very tempting. For now, the boy is in a deep healing sleep.
”

“
Very well.
”
Carlana wearily pushed
her reddish hair away from her face.
“
Who
is this boy, this, wizard?
”
She added the last slowly.

“
His name is Koren Bladewell,
a farm boy from Crickdon.
”
Paedris shook his head. "And, yes, a wizard."

“
Hmm, Crickdon is in
Winterthur province, not all that far to the northeast of here.
”
Carlana pursed her lips
in thought.
“
A
peasant? Well, Ariana wants to grant him a knighthood, and I agree with the
sentiment, but-
“

“
No knighthood! Calling any
attention to this boy would be a terrible idea. There is a complication, that I
had not considered. The boy has not had any training as a wizard, which is why
I didn
’
t know
about him. This boy does not know he is a wizard!
”

Carlana tilted
her head quizzically.
“
He
doesn
’
t
know
?
Are you sure he
’
s
a wizard?
”

“
Yes, yes, there can be no
mistake about it. He stopped that bear, without having any idea how he did it.
The- the very air, around where the bear attacked Ariana, was crackling with
raw magical power, I could actually taste it, it leaves a metallic essence
lingering, for a wizard
’
s
senses. Which reminds me, we need to start a rumor that I was with Ariana when
that bear attacked. The amount of power Koren used is like ringing a bell heard
far and wide to a wizard, the enemy cannot have failed to detect it. If the
enemy learns I was not there, then Koren will become a focus of the enemy
’
s attention. I cannot
explain how the Wizards
’
Council knew nothing about this boy. He has had no training, that is certain,
his power is raw, uncontrolled, a danger to himself and everyone around him. We
have here a dilemma: the boy is now too old for another wizard to shape his
power into something he can control, and he is still too young to control such
power himself.
”

Carlana was
still confused.
“
How
could he
not know
he
’
s
a wizard? Your Council is supposed to identify wizards when they
’
re very young.
”

“
I believe the Council has
sent wizards through this boy
’
s
home county, I can
’
t
explain how we could have missed this boy, especially a boy this powerful. As
to how he could not know,
”
Paedris shrugged,
“
strange
things happened around him, and since no one thought he could be a wizard, the
people in his village figured he was cursed with bad luck, that he is a jinx.
In his last jinx accidents, he destroyed the village
’
s only grain mill, and the
baron of the county exiled him. Then, apparently, his parents became afraid of
him, and abandoned him in the woods one night, he
’
s not seen them since. That
’
s why he was living alone
in Yarron
’
s
hunting reserve, surviving on his own.
”

“
His own parents abandoned
him? That
’
s
terrible! If he doesn
’
t
realize his own power, is he dangerous?
”

“
I am afraid he is. I need
to watch this boy, keep him close and watch him, until he is old enough to be
trained. If the enemy were to learn of him, learn that we had a wizard of his
power, untrained power, I believe the enemy would stop at nothing to capture
him, and use him for their purposes. We cannot allow that to happen.
”

Carlana
sighed. Paedris and her army captains were always telling her what a threat the
enemy was, always urging her to strike first, before the enemy was ready for
war. Carlana intended to do nothing that might endanger Tarador before Ariana
took the throne. As Regent, she was a caretaker, and she would take care, and
not be goaded into rash military actions.
“
What
can we do?
”

“
I can cast a spell, to
block the boy
’
s
ability to project magic. It will be temporary. But he won
’
t be able to work magic,
not until I know he is ready. Until then, we cannot let him know he is a
wizard, lest he try to use his power, or tells others of his power.
”

Carlana rubbed
her temples with her fingertips, and sat in the overstuffed chair beside the
bed. The headache which often plagued her, from the enormous pressure of
serving as Regent, was coming back. To hear that the boy who saved her daughter
was a wizard, a powerful wizard, was the last thing she would have expected.
“
You
’
re going to conceal his
power from him? Deceive him?
”

 Paedris
nodded gravely.
“
Magical
power is far too great a temptation, for one so young. Do you know of any
thirteen year old boy or girl, who would not use such power, if they knew it
was within them? We cannot risk the enemy learning of Koren
’
s immense power, until he
can use it to defend himself.
”

The Regent let
out a long breath.
“
Lord
Salva, the Wizards
’
Council is responsible for this boy not being discovered. If he had been found
when he was much younger, he would never have suffered being called a jinx by
his neighbors. His family would not have been forced out of their home. His
parents would not have abandoned him, they instead would have taken the bounty,
and be living a life of luxury, while Koren served his apprenticeship as a
wizard.
”
The
bounty, for any parents of a child discovered to be a wizard, was two hundred
gold coins, plus another three hundred golds when the young wizard completed
training and accepted service to Tarador. Five hundred gold coins is an
unimaginable fortune for poor farmers, enough that they would never have to
work for the rest of their lives.

“
Instead, this boy has been
cheated of the life he should have had, because the people responsible,
”
she paused looked Paedris
straight in the eye,
“
failed
him.
”
Carlana
often disagreed with her court wizard, and sometimes she didn
’
t quite trust any wizard,
but she had never before questioned his, or the Council's, competence.
"You are now going to compound the insult by deliberately misleading him?
”

Lord Salva,
who had been a master wizard for many years before Carlana became Regent, and
never, until now, felt defensive about his abilities, was momentarily at a loss
for words. Instead of stammering out nonsense, he nodded, and stroked his beard
while he considered what to say.
“
I,
certainly, understand your point, Your Highness, however, I do not see that
there is anything else to be done, at this point. There is nothing for it but
to continue to conceal the truth from him, for a few more years. I would like
to take him to be my servant, I must keep a close eye on the boy. Is that
acceptable, your Highness?
”