Rising of a Mage (11 page)

“what are you doing, Anwar?”

“I just want to try something.” The boulders ranged from twenty to eighty paces. Anwar held up both hands and then twenty fire bolts flew from his left hand as twenty magic bolts flew from his right. Each hit a designated target; fire bolts hit x-marked boulders, breaking and burning the rock and magic bolts hit black-painted boulders, blowing them into little pieces.

“Anwar, your ability far exceeds my own. You simply do not yet have all the knowledge and experience. I could not have accurately cast more than eight or nine of either of those attacks at one time accurately. I think we can safely say you have mastered these techniques and that maybe the rest of the world of magic uses that word too lightly.” Tomorrow we will move on but I have to say I cannot stand in front of you, unless you hold back a great deal.” Anwar nodded and they headed back to the guild. Anwar was thrilled he was using magic again and his abilities had grown more than he could have imagined. He wasn’t going to say anything, but he could have hit twice as many targets. When they got back, Master Gabrielle talked with him about ways to alter the bolts so that it would merely stun your opponent or pierce right through them or explode on impact and blow them to pieces as his had done to the boulders. Over the next two weeks this is what he practiced, altering the attacks to be used as he desired, as well as changing the number.

The morning of Mariah’s birthday Master Gabriel pulled out a long bag containing Mariah’s coat. Anwar took it back to his room. He knew Mariah was working with Master Gibbins right now. He decided the best place to hide the coat was in her bed; it almost never got used. So he pulled back her covers, laid the coat on the bed, and then made the bed again. Now he knew how he was going to give her the gift. He spent the rest of the day in his room studying. He ate both of his meals with her and never mentioned her birthday. After the evening meal they went down to train. Her heart obviously wasn’t in it and he felt guilty, but he wasn’t going to ruin his surprise. While she was studying he went and bathed and then lay down in his bed. She went after him, which almost never happened. When she came out she was furious. He really forgot my birthday, she thought. Not only was he asleep but he was facing the wall with his back to her. She went to her bed, threw back the covers, and there it was. She lifted up the coat; it was beautiful. As she put it on, she felt the temperature change to perfect and the coat fit perfectly. It was PERFECT. This is what he was making. He could have killed himself making this for me. She ran across the room and jumped on him. He rolled over, looking her in the eyes. He was smiling. “Happy Birthday, Riah.” She lay down on top of him and kissed him, and continued to kiss him. She felt him swell against her. She wanted him to take her but she was not going to push him. He had made her a beautiful magical perfect coat. She lay on top of him, holding him.

“I love you, Riah.” Now, why had he said that, he wondered. Well, he did love her. It just felt like the right time. When she lifted her head from his chest, there were tears on her face.

“I love you too Anwar. Thank you. This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.” And then she kissed him again. She lay on top of him pressed against him. She could feel his hardness against her, and, even if she could not have him yet, she did not care. He loved her. And she loved him. Anwar watched her sleep she was smiling in her sleep. That made him happy. He really did love her. He went to sleep with that thought.

Chapter Nine

Raiding Party

“A
nwar, Anwar, come quick!” Someone was banging on his door. Mariah and Anwar got up. Anwar opened the door; it was Jabaal. He paused for a second when he saw Mariah was there too. Anwar threw on a shirt, a pair of pants and his boots. Mariah wore tan leather pants and a leather blouse. That might spare her a knife slash but nothing else.

“Take that off; put on the coat.” She looked at him, confused. “Just do it!”

She grabbed the coat and they were moving toward the front gate. There they met the others. They had horses waiting for them as well.

Not long after they left the city, Anwar began to realize that whoever had been attacked, he was going to know them. They were heading in the direction of the farming community he had grown up in. There were only about a dozen farms out this way and he knew each family. But they did not go to one the farms near his. They went to the farm where he grew up. When he realized this, he leaned into his horse and was sprinting toward his family farm. There was yelling from behind him, but he heard nothing. The only thing that he knew was he had to get there. He pulled the horse to a halt in front of his house, jumped off and ran inside.

“It’s not real. This can’t be real.” Lying in a line in the middle of the room was his father, his mother, his brother Sammuel, and both of his sisters. They were all dead. He did not cry. He could not cry; it wasn’t real. Captain Anthony stepped into the house.

“I’m sorry, son.”

“Where did they go?”

As they walked out Anwar heard: “Looks like at least thirty of them.” He was not sure who said it. It did not matter.

“Where did they go?”

Someone behind him was talking to Captain Anthony. “Sir, we should gather some more swords; we are good but eight on thirty.” Anwar turned around. Victor was the one talking with Captain Sammuel. When he looked into Anwar’s eyes he was afraid.

“WHERE… DID… THEY… GO?” Victor raised his hand and pointed up into the hills. Anwar nodded. “You all go get whoever you want.” He mounted his horse and started riding into the hills. Mariah was with him. Anwar was always kind of quiet, but it was a mysterious, interesting quiet. This Anwar she had never seen. It was the determined and angry Anwar. Oh, she thought she had seen him upset before, but seeing him like this scared her more than she had ever been scared in her life. As they rode over the first hill the others were catching up. There was a clear trail were the goblins had trampled the field. Anwar rode fast and followed it for nearly an hour and then he saw them. There was a small grove of about twenty trees. The goblins were setting their camp there. Anwar could not see them all but he rode hard down the hill toward them. Captain Anthony yelled for him to wait. Mariah stayed with him. As he rode down toward the trees he held up his staff. Two balls of fire went flying into the largest group of goblins. Half of the group was now dead. The others were following behind. Anwar jumped off his running horse as he approached. He hit the ground and rolled. Mariah halted her horse and jumped down, running to catch up. As she did, a crossbow bolt hit her in the shoulder. She saw it too late but when she looked down it was broken and lying on the ground. The others ran past her They had seen the bolt hit her but they were trained; they would deal with the wounded after the fight. Anwar was walking through the trees. goblins that ran at him died with a magic bolt to the face. Those that ran away died, fire bolt to the back. The rest of the group killed a few here and there that got away from him. They were all dead. Anwar got back on his horse. He did not say anything; he just rode back to the farm. Mariah rode with him. She had killed one of the goblins that had jumped out of a tree behind him. Captain told her that they would catch up. They were searching the bodies of the dead and making sure none got away. When Anwar got back to his house, he went to the barn. All the animals were gone. He grabbed a shovel, walked to the top of the big hill and started digging. When Captain Anthony arrived Mariah explained to him that this was Anwar’s family. Now they all understood. They each grabbed a pick axe or a shovel or a hoe—whatever they could find to dig with from the barn—and walked up that huge hill. When the first shovel hit the ground next to the second hole that Anwar was nearly finished digging, he looked up. “No.” He said calmly “I will do it.”

So they all waited and watched as Anwar dug five holes. When he looked at his companions he saw that Mariah was crying and one or two of the others may have had a tear run down their faces as well. The sun was low in the sky when he finished. He went to the house and carried his family one by one up to the hole and gently set them in their holes. Then he filled each hole. There was a huge boulder on top of the hill. He shot it with a magic bolt and it shattered into gravel. The others all jumped in fear. Anwar picked up his shovel went to the pile of rocks and began shoveling gravel over all of the holes. When there was a thick layer of gravel from the edge of his father’s grave all the way to the edge of his youngest sister’s he stepped back from it. The sun was falling behind the horizon now and the sky was a mix of pink and orange. He picked up his staff and the others watched as all the gravel burst into flames. As the fired died away the shape of a huge rose burnt over the length of the now solid stone. When it was done it was one solid slab of smooth stone with the rose engraved in it. He looked at the others; each of them had tears in their eyes now. He walked down to his childhood home. There was nothing left for him there now. He mounted his horse, the others followed, and he rode back to Kampar. When they got to the guild, Anwar dismounted and handed the reins of the horse he was riding to Victor. Mariah handed the reins of the horse she was riding to Captain Anthony and turned to walk away. “Mariah.”

She turned she tossed him a small sack of gold and silver coins and a small dagger. The handle design featured the head of a dragon. They had taken it and a number of other items from the bodies of the dead. Had they known the truth of the dagger one of them would have kept it.

“Thank you,” she said and then turned and ran into the guild to catch Anwar. She caught up with him just before their room. They went in. “Anwar…

“I know, Mariah. I love you but right now I just need some time.” She went and bathed; when she came out, he did the same. He came out, and lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was torture. She did not know what to do for him. All she could do was be here for him. She lay next to him and wrapped her arms around him. She fell asleep like this. Anwar did not sleep. He held Mariah in his arms. He was still lying there when she woke up.

Anwar got up and asked Mariah to let Master Gabrielle know what had happened.

“What are you going to do?” she asked. “I have to go tell my older brother that I am the only family he has in the world, and then take him to see the grave and make sure he approves.”

Mariah did as she was asked. She relayed to story from when Jabaal had banged on their door yesterday to them returning to the guild, and their payment.

Master Gabrielle listened carefully until she was finished. “How does he seem?”

She fidgeted nervously not sure how to answer.

“Its ok. What is it?”

“He seems scary, sir. He has always been quiet. Always listening and observing, but now I don’t know. It’s the look in his eyes like he is ready to take on the world.”

“Mariah I will be completely honest with you. I hope that never happens. He is a good person. We just have to hope that his anger can be channeled to good. There have been many powerful mages who have turned on the world when evil such as this has been done to them. The two of us must do everything we can to make sure he sees the good in the world again.”

“Yes, sir.”

Anwar walked to the little shop were his brother was apprenticing to be a blacksmith. He saw his brother next to the shop hammering at a piece of metal on an anvil. It looked like it would be a sword, but not today it wouldn’t.

“Cannen.”

Cannen looked up at his brother, and he could see the pain in his eyes. “Anwar is everything ok? Did something happen? Is it Mariah?”

“Mariah is fine, Cannen. The farm was attacked by goblins yesterday. They’re all gone. I got there too late.”

“What are you saying, brother? Who is gone. You got there too late for what?”

Anwar looked up into his brother’s eyes. And then Cannen knew. “All of them? It can’t be. Anwar.”

“We should go to the farm. Cannen, do you have a horse?”

Anwar could see the pain in his brother’s eyes as he nodded. “I will go back to the guild and get my horse. Meet me at the gate, will you?” Again his brother just nodded. Anwar turned and walked back to the guild to get his horse from the stables. When he arrived at the gate his brother was there waiting on his own horse. They rode the distance to their family’s farm. As they arrived at their childhood home Anwar continued up the hill and his brother followed. When they reached the top of the hill they both dismounted. And then it became real for Cannen. He saw the large stone monument with a rose imprinted on it. He went to his knees in front of it, and the tears flowed. Anwar knelt next to his oldest brother. His only brother now, and for the first time he allowed himself to cry. After a long time they had both quit crying. They were just kneeling in front of the grave of their family.

“Anwar, did you make this?”

Anwar nodded. “last night.”

“It is beautiful, brother. They would have loved it.”

They spent the rest of the day sitting next to that grave, neither saying a word. As sunset approached, Cannen looked at his brother. “We have to find who did this brother.”