Chapter 63: Chosen, Chapter 62: Freedom and Security

Aidan

The Realms

Sixthday, 2nd week of the 8th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Late Morning

Starchaser Village, Mistvale Highlands

It was nearly midday when the three of them emerged from Brighid's home. Llwyd snapped to attention, pressing a closed fist to his chest and bowing his head, when Aidan walked out the door. "Good morning, my Lord. What is today's agenda?"

Aidan frowned at the obeisance, but let it pass. "I'm going to head out to meet Sarpedon on the hill. Is Cai awake?"

Llwyd nodded. "She should be. We changed shifts at midnight, so she has had plenty of time to sleep."

"Good. Go ask her to join us if you would. Brighid and I will visit Councillor Ailis to see if she wishes to be present as well. We'll meet you outside the eastern gate in half an hour." Llwyd saluted again and trotted off. Aidan turned back to Brighid to find Riama already perched on the centaur's back. He snorted and thought to himself, If she could learn Skills, I swear that cat would have more Centaurback Riding levels than I do inside a week.

A short walk later, they arrived at Ailis's home. After hearing the knock and admitting Brighid and Aidan inside, Ailis asked, "To what do I owe this pleasure? Did you remember a question you forgot to ask me?"

Aidan shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I'm going to see Sarpedon—the gargoyles' representative—and tell him that I'm accepting their quest. When he gave it to me, he said that there was a secret he knew of that I could act on immediately; I'm inviting you along, as you've already made your payment." He couldn't help smirking internally as he threw in that last bit, although Ailis showed no outward reaction to the barb.

"Ah, I see. Yes, I would like to be present. Give me just a moment to finish my tea, and we can be off."

It took the party around an hour to navigate the path up to hill's crest, but it was not quite noon when they approached the stony figure standing there. As Aidan approached, Sarpedon turned to face him. "Greetings, Chosen Aidan and company. I am surprised to see you so soon. It has not yet been a day, has it? I confess, I sometimes lose track of time."

"Greetings, Sarpedon. It has been a little more than a day, yes. After resting and recovering from my ordeal and consulting with friends and family, I found that the decision was not hard to make." Aidan brought up the quest prompt and mentally hit the ACCEPT button. "I accept your offer and look forward to working with your people, now and in the future."

Sarpedon smiled and pressed his hands together, palm to palm, bowing over them. "Most excellent! I am overjoyed. As a first token of our pact, I know a secret within the city that you so recently cleaned. Do you wish me to tell you alone, or may these others hear?"

"Ah, forgive me, I have not made introductions. Ailis, this is Sarpedon of the Sapphire Sky Horde. Sarpedon, meet Ailis Silverhair of the Starchasers; she is the mother of my beloved and one of the Councillors who guide the tribe. She has a stake in your answer, and the others here I trust to hold my secrets."

Sarpedon bowed to Ailis, who inclined her head in return. "The city of Ceallach Macht was not built where it is by accident," he began speaking in his resonant voice. "Deep in its heart—in the very chamber where you fought the Tannath Taig—there lies a room with tiled floors and an altar. That chamber is the physical manifestation of a Place of Power." Ailis nodded with a grim expression on her face but did not interrupt. Sarpedon continued, "By your lack of reactions, only the Lady Councillor knows what that means, so I will elaborate. Even though most mages do not realize it, magic is not ever-present in the Realms. There is a sort of magical landscape which most cannot see or detect, with its own hills and valleys, rivers and peaks—not exactly, you understand, this is merely an imperfect metaphor. But magic accumulates like water in this physical world, and in the places where several rivers flow together, they form great pools with massive magical potential. When one of those pools is discovered and exploited properly by a skilled mage, it becomes a Place of Power. Even when left alone, such a pool will increase the ambient magic in the land around it; that is why the mists are ever-present in these hills, as it happens. When a mage with the right affinity takes possession of the Place of Power, they can access some of the energies which power the entire world. The more rivers which run into the pool, the harder it is to control; the Taig did not have the correct nature for the Place of Power to submit to it, and it is fortunate for all of us that it did not. The power it was able to siphon from the pool with its crude methods was enough for it to raise and control an army thousands strong."

Ailis interrupted Sarpedon's exposition, her tone urgent. "Which schools? Which schools is the Place of Power attuned to?"

Fortunately, Sarpedon did not seem offended at being interrupted. "Currently, Earth and Air, with two unaspected streams feeding it."

"Four?" Ailis asked, awe evident in her voice. "And Earth and Air, opposites. No one in the village could bind it, then." Her shoulders slumped for a moment before she stiffened and turned to Aidan. "No centaur in the village." Ice-blue eyes bored into him. "Aidan, this is important. You told me once that your Trait increases your affinity with multiple schools of magic, and I know you have access to four already. Are Earth and Air among them?"

Aidan exchanged a glance with Brighid. She tilted her head and shrugged; the choice was his. Aidan closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, then let it out and opened his eyes again. "I am trusting you with this, Ailis. If I ever find that you have betrayed this secret to others, that will be the end of any possibility of peace between us. Do you understand and accept?"

Ailis nodded, her expression solemn. "This is too important. If you can claim this Place of Power, it offers a real hope of the tribe surviving the coming storm. If anyone outside the tribe were to bind it, that would be the end of us. I will not lie: being the Master of a Place of Power will not ease your burdens even a little, but it will give you and us a chance." Ailis kneeled down on her front legs and bowed deep, pressing her forehead to the ground. "Please, Aidan, extract whatever promises you must. This is too important for me to play games with you."

Aidan sighed. "Yes, I have reason to believe that I have high affinity with Earth and Air Magic, if I can find a trainer or Spellbook for them. Sarpedon, please do not spread that around; it's bad enough that me being a Chosen is an open secret."

Sarpedon interjected, "No knowledge of the Skills is necessary, just sufficient affinity and Willpower."

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Ailis looked up from her prostrate position, hope and desperation plain on her face. "Please, Aidan. I have no right to ask this of you. I am a monster, I know that. You are right not to trust me. I will swear whatever Oath you require from me, even vassalage, if you take on this burden." She pressed her face back into the grass.

Aidan looked long and hard at Ailis, thoughts whirling through his mind. He knew that what she was asking went beyond the surface. Claiming the Place of Power, whatever that meant, was the first step on the path she was asking him to take. Ailis wanted him to dedicate himself and his power to protecting and serving the Starchaser tribe—a tribe that he still wasn't a member of. That was the crux of his decision. Aidan had already done far more for the centaurs than they had done for him, individually or as a whole. Even after wiping out an army single-handed and saving the entire region, less than half of the village was Friendly or better. Beyond that, the village's ruling Council, at Ailis's instigation, had used and abused him for no reason other than it had been convenient at the time.

Aidan felt Cai and Llwyd's eyes on him and thought about Llwyd's words. I have the potential to make the world a better place. Would turning his back on the Starchasers be living up to that? Was it even his responsibility to live up to it? That's the question I need to answer, the Vorlon question: Who am I? So far, I've been reacting to events or being used by others for their designs. Am I going to keep being a tool, or am I going to seize control of my fate?

Aidan reached out and took Brighid's hand in his; she squeezed his fingers. "Swear your Oath, Ailis Silverhair."

Still prostrate on the ground, Ailis intoned, "I pledge my sword to thy banner, my shield to thy defense, and my honor to thy glory. I swear to follow thy commands, advance thy causes, and never to work against thee or thine wishes for so long as thou dost hold faith with me."

"Rise, Ailis. I hear thy Oath and accept; in return, I swear to hold faith with thee until the end of days, and to protect thy people as if they were my own."

Ailis rose to her feet and looked at Aidan, tears streaming down her face. He wasn't sure whether the tears were of gratitude or humiliation, and he found he didn't care. "Thank you, my Lord. Thank you."

Aidan looked over at Brighid and gave her a tired smile. "I guess I was too hasty when I said I was taking a vacation." There were tears at the corner of her eyes, too, but Brighid smiled back at him. Aidan returned his attention to Ailis. "Do not thank me; this wasn't done as a favor. If I am to become the Starchasers' shield against the world, then you will have to work as hard as I do. And somehow, I doubt that the tribe will accept a Councillor who owes fealty to another; I expect you will be asked to step down once we return to the village." Ailis paled—a feat, given her marble-like complexion. Her eyes closed and she sagged for a moment before resolve filled her expression. She turned to Sarpedon.

"Do you know how Aidan can claim the Place of Power? I know of them in general terms, the history and legends, but it is all theoretical."

The gargoyle nodded. "I do, and I will be happy to guide him. It is to our benefit for the task Aidan has accepted if he has the tools a Place of Power will give him, after all." He turned his head and spoke to Aidan, "I can take us to Ceallach Macht in a moment's time, if you wish, but you will need to return the long way."

"Does anyone have anything that can't wait a few days? Ailis, do you need to tell anyone that you'll be absent?"

"We should arm and armor ourselves," Brighid said, "and gather some supplies for the return trip."

"And I do need to make provisions for my absence," Ailis agreed.

"Okay, let's all head back down to the village, have some lunch, and make whatever preparations we need. Meet back here in two hours?" The others nodded.

Aidan

Early Afternoon

When the party reconvened two hours later, they found Sarpedon standing in the center of a glowing circle of glyphs. He beckoned them forward, indicating for each to stand in the center of their own, smaller runed circle. Once everyone was in place, the gargoyle's stony fingers traced elaborate paths through the air. After his first gesture, the glyphic rings began to spin, and with every further dip and twitch of his fingers, they turned and rotated faster and faster. In moments, each of them was engulfed in a shining sphere of magical energy. Aidan's hair stood on end as he felt the spell's power infusing him, then, suddenly, the light was gone and they were standing in Ceallach Macht.

The city looked different. It took Aidan a moment to realize that the mist was gone, allowing him to see the time-worn ruins surrounding him clearly for the first time. There were far fewer intact buildings than he first thought; the city was little more than rubble. Sarpedon's teleportation magic placed the party near the main avenue, just shy of the central hill, so it only took them a few minutes to pick their way through the debris to their destination. The altar chamber was coated in a thin layer of white ash, disturbed only by the hoofprints and other marks left by the members of Aidan's strike team.

Sarpedon beckoned Aidan over to the center of the room. "Place your hands upon the altar. Now, you must allow your magical essence to mingle with the magic of the Place of Power."

Aidan gave him a blank look. "How do I do that?"

The gargoyle grimaced. "It is difficult to describe, I confess. Do you know the sensation of power building with you as you cast a spell?" Aidan nodded. "That is essence being gathered and shaped by the words and gestures of the magic. It is possible to access your essence without the framework of a spell; try to reach inside yourself and summon forth that feeling, but instead of casting, push it into the altar."

The vague instructions left Aidan dubious, but he gave it his best shot. He closed his eyes and tried to wall off every sense except the feel of his hand on the altar. Once he felt sufficiently centered, Aidan attempted to emulate casting a spell without actually doing so. Nothing happened. Several minutes passed with nothing happening despite his continued mental efforts. Frustration built within Aidan as he repeatedly failed in front of an audience. This isn't working; time for a new approach. Instead of trying to access the power without a spell, what would happen if he started casting one but redirected the manna mid-cast?

Aidan twisted his fingers in the initial gesture for Kindle the Hearth-Flame and started the spell's chant. He felt the power welling up within him and immediately stopped and grabbed at it with his mind. It vanished as soon as his concentration shifted. Gritting his teeth, Aidan tried again, and again, and again, but it slipped away from him every time. He could feel his frustration returning, so he stopped and took a deep breath. The task at hand was to mingle his magic with the altar's. Why did he need to 'hold' it? He let out the breath, releasing the tension building up inside him, and started casting. This time, he focused on the spell's energy, and, rather than stopping and trying to hold onto the manna, he gave it a mental push out and down. Aidan heard gasps from all around him and opened his eyes, only to be overwhelmed by unexpected sights.

Zurai

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