Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (52 page)

“He’ll be fine now. I fixed his arm bones, but he still has a concussion. He just needs a little rest to recover,” Lusam said, as he began assessing the second man. His injuries were more extensive, and would have been life threatening if Lusam hadn’t intervened. He swifty repaired the damage and informed the other paladins of his condition, then went to wait with the others.

“Is there a problem?” Lusam asked, noticing the iron gate still remained locked.

“No, lad, it’s standard procedure for any unknown arrivals during a time of war. Someone will have gone to fetch whoever’s in command so they can decided whether or not to let us into the city,” Renn replied chuckling.

“Oh, I see,” Lusam said, noticing for the first time the strange looks that Carlos and his fellow paladin were giving him now.

“How did you do that?” Carlos asked, pointing to the two men on the ground. “You didn’t speak any incantation, you just… did it.”

Renn burst out laughing, knowing exactly what must be going through both Carlos’ and his fellow paladin’s minds right now. “Don’t ask, lads, it’s far too complicated a story. I still don’t understand it myself, and I’ve been trying to get my head around it for months now,” he said, still chuckling at the amazed look on both their faces. Just then a familiar voice called out from behind them.

“Renn, is that you in there?” Hershel shouted from behind the locked gate. He was still wearing his full suit of chain mail, just like the last time they had seen him at The Sanctum of Light, but somehow, he seemed older now,—as if the recent events had taken a high toll on him.

“Aye, you old fox, it’s me—and I’ve brought some old friends along,” Renn replied grinning at his old mentor.

“OPEN THE GATES!” Hershel bellowed, and a guard swifty obeyed his command. Renn clasped his arm in greeting, then introduced Rebekah and Kayden to him. Once Lusam, Neala and Alexia had greeted Hershel, they all started walking slowly towards the High Temple building.

“How goes the battle?” Renn asked quietly, suspecting he already knew the answer to his own question.

“Not good I’m afraid, old boy. Best estimates give the city’s shield two days at most before its power is fully drained. We have every available mage trying to keep it topped up with their magic, but we simply don’t have enough magi available. If those Empire magi attacked right now, it would be over in a matter of minutes,” Hershel replied quietly.

“Maybe I can help with that,” Lusam suggested, overhearing their conversation.

“Any contribution would certainly help young man, but I doubt even
you
can change the outcome of this war now,” Hershel replied, sounding a little deflated.

“I wouldn’t count on that if I were you, old friend,” Renn said grinning. He checked all around to make sure no one else was in earshot, then still grinning from ear to ear, he said, “Hershel, we found Coldmont.”

“You what!” Hershel gasped in disbelief.

“And there’s more, but we must speak of it in private, and only inside the High Temple,” Renn said cryptically. Hershel nodded, and they all picked up their pace as they headed towards the largest building in the city.

They entered the High Temple through the main paladins’ entrance, then veered off to the right, towards a small office. Renn suddenly remembered that Hershel knew nothing about the Guardian book in Helveel, or the fact Lusam had already read it long before meeting him. Renn himself had only learned of it during their trek through the fog-covered valley in The Elveen Mountains, and that was after they had seen Hershel in The Sanctum of Light. He trusted Hershel completely, but for some reason he felt an overwhelming desire to keep the exact location of Helveel’s Guardian book a secret from him, and as many other people as possible. Coldmont’s Guardian book was already known to Lord Zelroth, as was the one suspected to be somewhere inside the High Temple, but Helveel,… that must remain a secret, or the entire world would be in danger.

“So tell me all about Coldmont,” Hershel asked excitedly, as he closed the door of the office behind them.

“We discovered it high in the Elveen Mountains, it’s everything you would expect it to be, and much more, old friend. But that’s not what I needed to speak to you about. Hershel… we found a Guardian book there, and Lusam read it,” Renn said grinning at his old friend.

Hershel’s mouth fell open at the news Renn had just revealed to him, unable to comprehend the magnitude of it. If anyone else had told him such a thing, he would have dismissed it out of hand. But Aysha herself had spoken to him of Lusam’s unique abilities and his future potential for saving Afaraon, and he had already witnessed several of those unique abilities himself.

“Lusam read a Guardian book?” Hershel managed to half-whisper through his utter shock.

“No, actually he read two,” Renn replied, his grin now so wide that his jaw began to ache.

“What!” Hershel replied, dropping into his chair with his hand pressed to his forehead. Renn nodded slowly, as if that would legitimise his words further. It took a long time before Hershel spoke again, all he could do was stare at Lusam shaking his head in disbelief. Eventually he found his words.

“So, how powerful is he now?” Hershel asked Renn, as if Lusam wasn’t even in the room with them. Renn turned to Lusam and nodded his head. Instinctively Lusam knew that Renn wanted him to reveal his aura to Hershel, so he slowly lowered the shutter around his mind, revealing a blindingly bright aura to him, before concealing once more a moment later. Lusam thought Hershel had looked shocked before, but now his face went way beyond the look of shock. It was quite possibly the most hilarious sight Lusam had ever seen, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t help himself grinning at it.

“Seven Gods!” Hershel swore, surprising everyone in the room, most of all himself. “How is that even possible? We need to inform the High Priest at once, this could change everything,” Hershel said, jumping to his feet and knocking his chair over in the process.

“Wait old friend, I have even more incredible news to tell you,” Renn replied, holding up his hand to his old mentor. “And, if you thought what I just told you was hard to believe, wait until you hear this. Hershel, we have found strong evidence to suggest there is a Guardian book right here, in the High Temple—one that Lusam must be allowed to read, before those Empire magi discover just how weak we truly are, and launch an all-out attack.”

“But… there can’t be, or we’d know about it already, surely,” Hershel said, mainly to himself.

“That’s exactly what I said at first, but the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. I ask that you trust us on this old friend, and arrange a meeting for us with the High Priest as soon as possible, so we can discuss the matter with him in private. It’s quite possible that only he knows of its existence, or maybe even he isn’t aware of it himself, either way, we must find it and allow Lusam access to it as soon as possible,” Renn replied.

Hershel thought about Renn’s words long and hard before he replied, but when he did, it was to Lusam, not Renn he spoke. “Lusam, I know the question I’m about to ask you would sound crazy to anyone else, but having seen your aura I must ask it. Could you defeat those Empire magi outside alone?”

“I’m sure I could kill a large number of them, but no, I couldn’t survive against that number of magi alone,” Lusam replied shaking his head.

“And if we did find another Guardian book here… what then?” Hershel asked. Lusam thought about it for a moment, not really knowing the answer to his question. All he could go on was how much more powerful the previous books had made him after reading them.

“Possibly, but I’m not certain. It would depend on what knowledge the Guardian book revealed to me. I would certainly stand more of a chance if it increased the size of my magical reserves the same way the previous books did,” Lusam replied honestly.

“That’s if he survives reading the next one,” Neala said quietly to herself.

“Survive?” Hershel asked curiously.

“Yes, Survive! The last one he read almost killed him. Not to mention the amount of time he might be unconscious if he does survive reading it. After reading the first book it was only about forty minutes, but the second one was more than two hours. Who knows how long he would be unconscious for this time?” Neala said, sounding extremely worried at the prospect of losing him.

“It’s okay, Neala, I’ll be fine,” Lusam replied hugging her, and trying to sound more confident than he actually was. He knew he had barely survived reading the last Guardian book, and knew if he had remained unconscious a few more minutes, he probably would never have woken up again. The incredible headache, and the damage it had done to the blood vessels in his head were still vivid in his memory. He pulled back from the hug, forcing a smile onto his face and kissed her gently on the lips. “I
have
to do this, Neala. You know I do,” He whispered to her. She nodded her head, as a small tear trickled down her cheek.

“So, any more revelations I need to know about?” Hershel asked, obviously trying to lighten the mood a little within the room.

“Actually, yes,” Renn replied, taking Hershel by surprise yet again.

“Oh?” he asked, looking slightly overwhelmed.

“Our two young friends over there,” Renn said nodding towards Rebekah and Kayden, who were busy playing a guessing game with Alexia at the back of the small room. “We rescued them in a coastal village called Prystone on the east coast. Their parents are… missing, but we discovered something incredible about not only
their
village, but apparently several more up and down that area of coastline. I don’t know if you’ve noticed their auras, but I believe with the correct training they could both become capable magi. It seems that the local tradition of giving birth far out to sea has spared them from the Empire’s culling of newborn magi. The girl told us that everyone in her village, and the neighbouring towns and villages was born at sea, and have been for generations. Other than our two young friends here, Prystone’s population was completely devastated, but maybe, if we’re lucky, the other towns and villages were spared. If they were, can you imagine the potential there? It may very well save magic itself in Afaraon, providing of course we survive this attack first.”

“Well, you’re certainly full of surprises today old boy,” Hershel replied, shaking his head slightly whilst checking out Rebekah and Kayden’s auras.

“I’m afraid I must ask a favour of you Hershel. I was wondering if your sister still lived here in Lamuria? If she does, do you think she would mind looking after them both for a while, at least until we can find a more permanent home for them. I’m sure the High Temple will be more than happy to offer them both a place at their School of Magic once this is all over. Besides, if we do survive this attack, I fully intend to go back to Prystone myself and search the surrounding villages and towns for any more survivors. Who knows how many potential untrained magi are out there, and if I’m lucky, I might find one of their family members there who can take care of them,” Renn said.

“Yes, she still lives here, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind looking after them at all, given the circumstances we’re all in at the moment. I’ll ask her about it as soon as I get a chance, but for now old boy, I suggest we don’t waste any more time and see if we can get this young man an audience with the High Priest,” Hershel said looking towards Lusam.

“Of course,” Renn replied, knowing he still had other important things to discuss with Hershel, such as the creation of a new female branch to the paladin’s order: one that he hoped Alexia would lead someday. The paladins’ entrance had only led into the barracks, and not the main part of the High Temple, so they were soon back outside making their way around towards the main front entrance of the High Temple.

Lusam was completely overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the building. It towered high into the sky above them, its white marble-clad walls reflecting the sun’s light, making it appear to almost glow against the backdrop of the blue sky behind. The incredible detail carved into every slab of marble took his breath away. ‘
It must have taken decades, if not centuries to complete the work,
’ he thought to himself. Each and every one of the countless windows was a work of art in its own right. The colours were so vibrant and real that Lusam was convinced they must have been created by Aysha herself. Then he noticed it for the first time. High above the tallest tower, floating in what seemed like mid-air, was a massive jewel-like structure. It was barely visible as it reflected the blue of the sky across its multifaceted surface, making it almost invisible against the sky beyond.

“Whoa! What’s that?” Lusam gasped looking up at the indescribably beautiful object in the sky above him. He remembered seeing the painted picture of Lamuria on the ceiling in Coldmont. That too had shown a floating gem up above the highest tower, but he had thought it was only an artist’s impression of something else, and had never expected it to actually exist.

“You can see that, lad?” Renn asked in awe.

“Of course, can’t you?” Lusam replied, not taking his eyes off the beautiful object.

“No, I can’t, lad, and I doubt anyone else here can either,” Renn replied confidently.

“What is it?” Lusam repeated.

“It’s called
The Heart of the City
. It’s what powers the city’s defences. In the past, it was visible to almost everyone, but its power has diminished so much over the past few centuries that some people now believe it to be only a myth. How they think the city is actually shielded I have no idea, but I’ve found that if people can’t see something with their own eyes, they often deny its existence,” Renn replied, looking up at the spot where he
knew
it was, even if he couldn’t see it himself.

“Shall we?” Hershel said, gesturing towards the huge stone staircase in front of them, one that Lusam hadn’t even noticed while he was busy taking in the full splendour of the High Temple building itself. It was nowhere near the scale of the stone staircase in Coldmont, but it was still impressive all the same. The handrails were so ornately carved that he dare not even touch them, in case he somehow damaged them. He couldn’t believe they had withstood centuries of daily use, not until he looked at them using his mage-sight, and noticed the subtle enchantment on them: one that had no doubt been used to strengthen them, and still, to this day drew its magic from the city’s own power source. Although the handrails were certainly beautiful, it saddened him to think of how many other—unnecessary—things in the city were protected in a similar way, all slowly sapping the city’s precious power source. He suspected that when the city had first been built, magic had been an abundant resource, and such frivolous use of it would have been commonplace. But ever since magic became so scarce in Afaraon, those same luxuries had slowly been killing the city.