A Labyrinth of Light and Shadows
Chapter 1
The king was really old. He had
been king for a very long time. He took the throne when he was thirteen, and
now he was 85. He had been wise during his time, even led the country to
victory in the past, participating in battle himself. But those glory days were
long past by, and all that was left of this king was a weak figure and a mind
slowly descending into madness. He was King Cunradus Marquart.
King Marquart had no son that
could inherit the throne. Next in line would have been his younger brother
Hermannus Marquart with already 72 years old. He was even madder than his older
brother though, and for that reason the people of the kingdom did not see him
as a proper heir to the crown. It was thought that he did not even know that he
was next in line.
The king was going to die pretty
soon, that was no secret, and for that very reason there was the need for an
heir to be declared. People did not see Hermannus as a good option, so for that
reason there were several other pretenders for the crown going around. However,
the law stated that the next king should be the actual’s younger brother. That
did not deter many of their ambitions nonetheless.
The old king was resting one
evening when his wife, the much younger than him Apollonia, encountered by
chance the successor to the throne.
“Lord Hermannus! I didn’t see you standing
there, you surprised me.” Said Apollonia after being startled. She was abandoning
her husband’s quarters.
“Excuse me, queen Apollonia, that
wasn’t my intention.” Said Hermannus in a tired voice. “I was just heading to
my lab down at the chambers. I am conducting several researches and
experiments. I think I might have a clue on uncovering the secrets of the
wonderful craft of Alchemy!”
Apollonia tried to disguise her
annoyance by smiling, though it came out as fake. Hermannus however did not
notice, he was too concentrated in yelling out his theories as if no one could
be able to hear his voice.
“Sorry to interrupt you, Lord
Hermannus, but I need to go and see my son. He is expecting me. I will see you
around. Good luck with your research.”
“Sure, sure, go ahead, go ahead.
I am running late as well. The secrets of Alchemy will not be unveiled by
themselves!”
They both parted in different
directions. Every time she spoke with Hermannus she felt uneasy, even upset.
There was something about that old man that bothered her. And to think that by
law he was going to be king when her own son –son of the queen- could not
become one. The unjust laws of this country.
Caleb was sitting in his small
room when his mother arrived. He was not allowed to have a room in the upper
areas of the castle as a normal prince would, and he was not allowed to have a
bigger room either.
“My son…” grasped Apollonia upon
seeing him.
“Mother… it’s good to see you.”
They embraced for a few seconds
before letting go. They loved each other. There was nothing Apollonia would not
do for her child and the same went the other way around. That is why she had
ambitions for him to become king someday.
“I saw your uncle on the way here.”
She said seriously.
“How is he?”
“I think the old bastard is going
crazier by the day. He is sure he will discover the secrets of alchemy.”
“That old idiot… he is still
practicing that black magic bullshit? I cannot believe that the Elder’s Council
will allow someone who engages himself in such taboo matters become king one
day.”
“Alchemy is not illegal in our
country, Caleb. It is frowned upon, yes, but there is no laws broken by doing
it.”
“Still I can’t believe that they
will let that bag of nuts become the king when father dies. I should be the
king! Me, not him!”
“Calm down a little, Caleb. Mommy’s
working on that.”
The law stated that if the king
had no rightful heir to the throne, that is a naturally born male child, the
throne would be handed to the next male in the line of his family. Caleb was
Apollonia’s son, that is true, but he wasn’t Cunradus’. He was a bastard who
was adopted by the king when he married Apollonia, but there was no blood
relation amongst them. Therefore Caleb could not sit on the throne.
Nevertheless, Apollonia and her son had other plans.
“…And with that I declare this new generation officially
graduated!” the voice of the old Guido Lancellus, the head of the academy and
the Azmar village, exclaimed as the excited and somewhat nervous young
graduates listened attentively.
Azmar was a village in the north
eastern part of Royaume, almost at the border. It was small, but it was
specialized in the training of warriors who were keen on the use of powers of
Seidr, or magic as known to the populace. These abilities usually manifested at
a young age, around five or six, then at age seven are taken to Azmar to
receive their training. Only a small part of the population developed Seidr.
Many wars in the past benefitted from this power, that was until a king long
ago decided to restrict the use of it to a certain amount of villages at the
borders with the purpose of fighting invasions, rather than using the Seidr
users as weapons. Kids who are raised in these villages are instructed in the
arts of sword fighting, archery, hunting and, of course, Seidr dominance, and
they are set to become the protectors of the realm.
Amongst the newly graduated was
the young Evrardus Maminot, who had barely made it through the academy but had
finally graduated. It is not as if he was a bad student or had no motivation,
he probably had more motivation than anyone else, the problem was his control
of the abilities. He had great potential, even Guido recognized that in front
of him, but he was never capable of dominating his powers. However, through his
determination he was able to finish his course. His mentor, Petronius Odo, was
proud. Since his childhood he had looked after Evrardus, he had saved his life
when he was just a kid. He had taught him the use of his abilities –or magic,
as common folk and ignorant people called it- the best he could, even if his
control over it was not that strong.
“So you finally graduated
Evrardus…” said jokingly Petronius after the ceremony, “I honestly thought that
it was never going to happen…”
“Laugh all you want,” he answered
back in a good mood, “but almost everybody from my class was my age. Only a
couple were younger, and perhaps some older, but fifteen seems like the average
graduation age. Even that prodigy Johannes Dacre is fifteen, so you could say I
am on his level.”
“Haha, don’t get too cocky,
Johannes was top of the class, the best in years or so I’ve heard.”
“He comes from the Dacre family,
so what?”
“You really don’t like him, do
you?”
“It’s not that I have anything
personal against the guy, it’s only that he is very arrogant like if he was
better than everyone. That doesn’t play well with me.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that, he
will pretty soon learn what is real life on this village. And so will you, in a
couple of days’ time you will most likely be in your first mission. And I will
tell you a secret but you have to keep quiet about it…”
“Yeah, of course I will, tell me.”
“I think that I will be assigned
as your superior, that is you’ll be on my team.”
“Really? That is great Petronius!
I have learned so much from you, and I hope to keep learning!”
“Yeah, well, don’t get too
excited. It is just a possibility, it is not confirmed yet.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I’ll
keep quiet. That’s great! Hey I have to go now, so I’ll see you around soon
team leader!”
“What did I tell you to not get
worked up about that?!” But Evrardus could not listen to him, he was already
far enough.
On his way home Evrardus stumbled
upon another student from his class, a girl named Avelina Daunger. He was not
paying attention when he crashed unto her.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t
see you! Huh? Avelina? Haha, I didn’t know it was you.”
“Hi, Evrardus,” she said coldly
while she bent over to gather her books that had been dropped because of the
crash. Her eyes showed no expression.
“So, would you think that we have
finally graduated? Pretty soon we’ll be going into missions and stuff! Aren’t
you excited?”
“Whatever…”
“Right… so, I’ll see you around.
Good luck on the future!”
Throughout his education he had seldom
interacted with Avelina, most likely he had never held a real conversation with
her. She always looked so… so… he didn’t know a word that fitted her. It was
something like emotionless but not exactly, distraught but not quite so, cold
and yet not really. She was a very gifted warrior and Seidr user actually, one
of the best he had seen. But there was something a little unsettling about her.
He didn’t give much thought about that and went home.
The heat in Naporia was
considerable and Domenico Zilio could hardly bear it. He could not believe he
was obliged to come to such a city far in the south, and much less the
assignment he had been given by the king himself: investigate the movements of
a man named Aloysius Donato, the leader of a new religion that was rising in
these territories. It seemed ludicrous to him to see this man as a threat, but
the king believed so, and he had the obligation to do as the king said. It was
not that he was happy to do everything the king asked for, but he had to… he
had to. Otherwise things might get unpleasant.
“You must be Mister Zilio,” he
turned around to see an older man with a kind face smiling at him, “please come
with me.”
He did as he was told without
speaking a word. The man was dressed in a light brown robe which fell to his
feet. Around his wrists he had two funny looking bracelets with a piece of
black jewellery hanging, and around his neck there was a necklace with the same
strange jewel. This man was a priest of the so called new religion, but he wasn’t
Aloysius Donato.
“My name is Girardus,” he said
with his friendly tone, “master Aloysius told me to pick you up. He said you
were very interested in joining our small movement. What sparked that
motivation if you don’t mind I ask?”
“Let’s just say it’s a
heart-burning curiosity.”
“Ah, I see, well come with me
please, we have arrived.”
They had walked to the back of a
tent, probably twenty meters wide and five of height. Domenico could hear a man
speaking. Girardus created an opening in the fabric of the tent through which
he waved Domenico to enter. He did and he encountered a view not so common from
where he came: a big crowd of people –probably two hundred- gathered, sitting
silently as a tall man who appeared of around forty spoke with great oratory
skills.
“Brothers and sisters,” he was
saying, “the world we live in is no more than a mere illusion. We have to
realize this and walk into the light. We are in this place because a battle for
our souls is taking place without us knowing it. The lord of light Ubros is
fighting bravely for them, but it is our job to decide where our loyalty is
with. If we are loyal to him then in the afterlife we have guaranteed divinity.
Otherwise we will condemn ourselves to eternal shadows.”
Domenico was not particularly
religious, but the words of this man worked hard on his brain, and if he wasn’t
that much of a sceptic in all these matters he would probably had been
convinced by this man with an excellent speech. This man was Aloysius Donato.
After the preaching Domenico was
approached by the mysterious leader.
“This is Domenico, master,” said
Girardus when Aloysius approached.
“Ah yes, I’ve heard a lot about
you. My name is Aloysius Donato, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
He wasn’t particularly good at
this sort of situations, but he forced out a smile and shook his hand.
“The pleasure is all mine, Mister
Donato. I have been hearing a lot about the furore caused by your new religion
that I wanted to see by myself. That was a great speech.”
“Ha! Thank you, that is very kind
of you. So curiosity brought you here?”
“Well, I have always wanted to
find answers to my questions,” he lied, in reality he couldn’t give a damn
about this sort of things, “and when I heard about this I felt something like… I
don’t know, but I felt identified with it. I had to see what is was all about.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right
place. I am sure you’d like to hear about the greatness of Ubros and the power
that lies within every one of us.”
“Oh yes, especially that part
about the spiritual battle for our souls. That got me intrigued.”
“Yes, I will tell you everything
about these things. Please come with me for a cup of tea.”
“Do you have any wine?”
“Well I seldom drink alcohol,
only when it’s absolutely necessary, but I am sure there are a couple of bottles
somewhere here. I’ll have them picked up.”
Ditmarus Marquart had just
returned from his archery practice and headed to his room. He was Hermannus son
and inside his head the notion that his father would become king soon was
becoming a reality. King Cunradus’ illness was no secret, and the next in line
was his father. However, he knew that his father’s mental state was not the
best to lead the country, so basically he would soon take over for his father
when it became clear the situation. He fancied the throne for himself.
On his way up to his room he met
with his sister Libeste. They were a little estranged, perhaps even more than a
little. They did not hate each other though, it’s only that their differences
and their pride didn’t let them get along. For all Ditmarus knew, basing
himself on some comments and allusions made by his sister, Libeste fancied the
crown as well.
“Ditmarus! It’s been a while
since I last saw you.” She opened with a touch of false friendship.
“Libeste, hello,” he continued
with the same tone, “how have you been?”
“Good, pretty good, I suppose.”
“How are things with your
husband?”
“Oh, well, you know Wilhelmus. He
is a little dim-witted but he has a good heart, and is a great swordsman.”
“Well I don’t know about that,
the last time we sparred I beat him.”
“That’s because you don’t play
fair, Ditmarus, and you know it.”
“It’s not me who doesn’t play
fairly…”
“Haha, I won’t get into
discussions with you, brother. Anyway, have you seen uncle lately? I’ve heard
his health is worsening.”
“No I have not been able to see
him recently, unfortunately, but I hear that as well.”
“You know what that means, papa
will become king in the terrible chance that King Cunradus dies.”
“I am well aware of that.”
“And you might also be aware that
papa doesn’t have the mental stability for being king, don’t you?”
Ditmarus remained silent.
“I don’t think it is the best option,
as terrible as that may sound. Don’t you think we must consider another
possible heir?”
“Don’t give me that bullshit,
Libeste. I know you well enough to recognize when you have something in mind.
And as I know you I am pretty sure that the person who you would consider fit
for the throne is not me, the natural heir next in line.”
Libeste’s smile grew even bigger.
“I am just speculating, dear brother. And why wouldn’t I want my brother to
assume the leadership of this kingdom? For all I know the only person capable
of doing so is you.”
“Don’t think I’m stupid enough to
buy those words, little sister. I just hope your plans don’t spoil the kingdom
as I know they can.”
“Do you really think I am
planning something?”
“I know you are. You probably
will use your charm to sit yourself in the throne.”
“Haha, brother, you know nothing
about me at all. The last thing I’d like is to find myself at the head of this
land. Trust me, being king is not a job for a woman.”
They spent the next thirty
seconds in silence but without breaking eye contact. They knew each other too
well, they could smell the other had a plan soon to take action. Libeste kept
smiling and Ditmarus maintained his serious expression.
“Oh! Look at the time!” exclaimed
Libeste suddenly, “I need to be somewhere else. It was nice talking to you,
brother!” She took off.
“Yeah, the same to you,” Ditmarus
said in an unconvincing tone, but his sister smiled and walked away. Something
was not right, he thought. If Libeste was not planning something then surely
she had one in mind at least. She had the same thoughts as him about the
throne, and surely she was, just as him, trying to figure out a way to sit on
the head of Royaume.
“It’s official, Evrardus!” said
Petronius happily, “I will be your team leader!”
“Great! Ha! I knew this would
happen!” said Evrardus eagerly.
Three days had passed and the
teams had been organized. In Azmar for small missions such as recognition and
patrolling teams of four were usually formed. The newly graduated students were
usually gathered in groups of three and then paired with a warrior with more
experience who would be their team leader and master as he helped them develop
their abilities. When a team is formed that means that their first mission is
already assigned, and if they work well they probably become regular teamers,
but it wasn’t a fixed affair.
“That means we already have our
first mission, doesn’t it? What is it?”
“Relax, Evrardus, you’ll find out
soon enough. Don’t you wanna know who will be in your team as well?”
“That’s right, who else is on our
team?”
“That girl Avelina Daunger. She
is very skilled and very disciplined. I’m sure she will be an important part in
our mission.”
“Avelina?” Evrardus muttered the
name as his mind quickly swept through all the times he had interacted with
her. They were few, but every time he had had a very strange feeling of uneasiness.
It’s not as if she was evil or anything, but rather that her expressionless
face kind of made him uncomfortable.
“Yes, as I said she is very
skilled.”
“She is a bit strange and I have
never spoken much with her, but I guess it’s alright. I think I heard she is a
very skilled water sensible, and that will be useful in the future I suppose.”
“That’s right! I heard she can control
an aquatic environment greatly for a girl her age, not to mention that she has
great control over earth environments as well.”
“Yes, I suppose she will be a
good partner. Who is the other one?”
A grin appeared on Petronius’
face, a grin of a man who knew what was coming would be a little awkward.
“Come on, tell me!” insisted
Evrardus.
“The other member of our team
will be… your best friend, Johannes Dacre.”
“What?! Him?!”
“Haha, I know you don’t really
like him, but he is a very skilled warrior, and his control over thunderbolt is
one unmatched by any of the graduates this year.”
“But he is so arrogant and
annoying!”
“I know it will be difficult to
work with him, but you have to keep in mind that we are a team and will have to
work together.”
“I guess so…”
“By the way, how is your fire
domination going?”
“Well, not much for domination.
Sometimes it goes overboard and others nothing happens at all.”
“Control of the environment was
the most difficult part for you at the academy.”
“Yeah, but that is the most
important part in Seidr.”
“Well that is true, so you need
to keep training. Plus, you are very skilled with a sword.”
“Yeah, well, I suppose so. Now will
you tell me what’s our mission?”
“Okay then, I will tell you. Have
you heard about all those assassinations going on at the village?”
“Yes, something about it. I’ve
heard that some scientists have been killed in the past couple of weeks. What
about it?”
“Well, there is a possibility
that the person committing all the murders might be lurking in the forest of
doves near the village. We are tasked to making a reconnaissance of the forest
and then report back.”
“Really? I thought you were going
to say to hunt the killer down.”
“We actually might encounter him.
If that’s the case I will face him alone. But let’s not discuss the details of
the mission right now. Your team partners will soon be here, we’ll talk about
it then.”
“Oh great, my team. The weird
girl and the cocky guy.”
Domenico was lying on the bed of
the room he had been assigned at the local hostel. Aloysius had taken care of
it so he hadn’t spent a single cent. He had three meals a day, a place to sleep
and to go to the bathroom. He really didn’t need much more. He still didn’t
like the idea of doing this job.
He was smoking his pipe when he
heard a strange noise coming from outside. He stood up from his bed and looked
outside the window. In a nearby alley he saw –to his disbelief- a strange blue
light coming from within it, followed by a muffled scream.
“What the hell?”
He went out of the room, not
before grabbing his dagger, and headed outside. He probably shouldn’t follow
the strange noise nor the suspicious light, but his curiosity got the best of
him, and besides he had been a trained soldier in the past, no thug could beat
him. He went to the same alley he had just seen. There was no light but he
could still hear something, like some mumblings in a strange language. His
heart started beating very fast as he got near. The air was dense and the
presence of something malign –if you could call it like that- was heavy. As he
reached the final wall of the alley he saw some men further inside a circle of
stone. There were six of them: one was tied up, bloodied and screaming insanely
stuff Domenico didn’t recognize, the other five were surrounding him. In front
of the bloodied guy there was standing mightily Aloysius Donato. He was the one
speaking in a different language, holding his hand up. He finished his sentence
and a bright red light came out of his hand. At the same time the bloodied guy
started compulsively moving. His head jerked upwards and a red light came out
of his eyes and mouth as he yelled something in the same language Aloysius
previously spoke on. When the light had extinguished his head dropped down to
his chest and he coughed up blood. Domenico didn’t know if he was dead or not.
He saw Aloysius and the other five men untie the bloodied man, who dropped immediately
into the floor.
“Well done, gentlemen.” Aloysius
said to his men.
Domenico didn’t know what he had
just seen, but he knew something out of the ordinary had happened before his
eyes.
Just when Aloysius and his men
were preparing to leave –one of them was carrying the bloodied man on his
shoulder-, facing the other way from which Domenico had come, the religious
leader spoke calmly, unsurprised, but with a firm voice:
“Mister Domenico, how nice of you
to join us.”
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