War Of The Wildlands(76)

The brown sorcerer hit the ground hard, and the blue sorcerer stood over him triumphantly. A purple glow encircled his hands as he prepared for his final attack. The brown sorcerer, however, was not yet finished. With a swipe of his foot, he knocked the blue sorcerer to the ground and pummeled him with an unseen energy attack. The force of his blows drove the blue sorcerer into the earth itself, leaving a shallow pit in the center of the arena. Shaking his hands as if to dry them, he commanded the dirt to fill over the top of the blue sorcerer.

The elves jumped to their feet, cheering the victory of the brown mage. Yori was the only person in the coliseum to remain seated. Never before had he witnessed such a scene. One elf had clearly killed the other in front of hundreds of witnesses, yet no crime had been committed. Disputes in the Sunswept Isles were apparently settled in this fashion, and the crowds enjoyed it immensely. Yori wondered what two people might fight over that would require such drastic measures. Surely they could have settled their dispute more peacefully.

The crowd began to disperse, and Yori followed the apprentices back to Eldon’s tower. The old sorcerer had not yet returned home, so Yori proceeded to his room to await dinner. He sat down in front of the desk and once again looked over the scrolls. Reading, he hoped, would take his mind off of the spectacle he had just witnessed. He chose a scroll about purple gems and studied it closely, hoping to forget about reality for the time being.





Chapter 45




King Domren sat tall and proud on his throne as Aelryk stormed into the throne room. “There you are,” the king said. “I’ve been awaiting your return.”

Bowing before his father, the prince said, “My men and I were forced to retreat. The elves have acquired some very powerful weapons. They killed nearly a quarter of my men, and wounded hundreds. The city of Duana has been decimated.”

“Yes,” the king said. “Enald has been destroyed as well. It’s very clever of them to take out two market districts.”

Aelryk glanced back at Mi’tal, who was standing at the back of the room. Mi’tal’s face wore an expression of surprise. The news that elves had managed to attack and destroy two of Na’zora’s largest cities was shocking. “What is your plan, Father?”

“The college has sent over a little gift.” The king’s face broke into a wide smile. “Months ago I ordered them to cease all training that did not involve battle skills. I now have fifty mages at my command who are ready for war.”

The disbelief was clear on Aelryk’s face. He had been kept completely in the dark about his father’s plan. “So you’ve been planning this all along, yet you did not bother to share it with me.”

“That’s right,” the king replied. “Why should I? You’ve been against this war from the start.” He leaned forward, taking a closer look at his son. “You are a magnificent leader, and your men would follow you into the sea if you rode there.” He frowned, adding, “Unfortunately, you are weak. You don’t have the stomach to do what must be done. You’d have tried to talk me out of it had you known my intentions. I didn’t want to listen to your whining.”

Aelryk could feel the heat rising to his face. “Whining? All I’ve ever tried to do was offer you sound advice. It’s more than I can say for those pitiful dolts you call councilors.”

“My son, if you’re going to be king you must learn a thing or two.” He sat back in his chair and shook his head. “Councilors who disagree with you can be replaced. The rule of Na’zora belongs to one man alone. Someday that man will be you, and I expect you to uphold your father’s legacy.”

Aelryk stared at his father, maintaining his silence. No one in the room dared to speak. The councilors who were present didn’t even dare to glance at one another, for fear of making a sound.

“Prepare your troops,” the king said, cutting through the silence. “We will be riding out again tomorrow.”

“We don’t know where the elven army is,” the prince pointed out.

“Yes, we do,” the king stated proudly. “Orzi has given me their precise location.” So far, the prophet had not been wrong in his advice to the king. His words were golden to the king’s ears.

With a bow, Aelryk turned on his heels and strode to the door. Mi’tal followed closely behind as he exited. Once they were outside in the sunlight, the prince paused to speak.

“Did you have any knowledge of these mages?” the prince asked.

“Not in the slightest, my lord,” Mi’tal replied. “I would assume only General Luca was aware of it. He would never divulge the king’s secrets. Not to me, at least.”