Firebrand

Despite winter being a recent memory, the Triumvirate of Archen met outdoors; the day was mild and the weather gentle. They no longer used the fallen tree trunks by the wayside beyond the city gate, but instead, sat on three benches arranged like a triangle in what would someday be a pleasant little grove near the centre of Archen. For now, only saplings surrounded them; without magic, it would take the trees many years to grow. But Martel did not mind; there was wisdom in letting nature take its course rather than always demolishing every hindrance through magical force.

Atreus arrived as the last, looking at the other two. “What do we need to discuss?” Follow current novᴇls on NoveI★Fire.net

“This morning, Padmani came and found me. He thinks his magic may finally have awakened, and I agree that he ought to begin training,” Martel explained.

“Which begs the question of how to proceed,” Eleanor continued. “You have already given this some thought, I am sure.”

Martel nodded. “His own inclination is towards water magic, and I see no reason to deny him that. I have spoken briefly with Cornelia, who is willing to take him on as apprentice and further awaken his gift.”

“That seems reasonable. Is there anything we need to discuss?” Eleanor asked.

“I figured it was the right time to consider this in depth. Our intention is to train a new generation of mages, after all, not just two.”

Atreus nodded. “If Archen is to thrive, it requires magic. And I should dearly like to pass on my own knowledge. I have no desire to be the last spellbreaker in history.”

“While we must solve the issue of attracting students, I want to first propose that this is our method of teaching. One mage, one apprentice. No classes or even a school at all, the way we trained,” Martel elaborated, looking at the other two.

“That seems like it would give a very narrow focus. The child, Sparrow, has she learned anything other than earth magic? Besides other magical skills, there is also astronomy, history, language, and more to learn.” “We specialise as well. Valerius couldn’t light a flame to save his life,” Martel argued. “And we teach those other subjects in the school for the ordinary children that you set up. No reason our apprentices can’t take those classes alongside being trained.”

“I do see the wisdom in this,” Atreus granted. “In old Archen, magic and knowledge were simply considered pathways to power. The more mages, the stronger the city. The faster, the better. One wizard to teach one apprentice might prove a slower but wiser course.”

Martel looked at the surrounding saplings and agreed.

Eleanor seemed less convinced. “We have barely any mages who can teach. Both I and Valerius are busy with mundane tasks. No student will learn magic looking over our shoulder. And Maximilian can only teach a student with the talent for healing, which seems exceedingly unlikely to happen.”

“If we have more students than teachers, I shall consider that a wonderful problem to have. We’re past our second winter now, and we’ve only attracted one student. The other I had to track down myself,” Martel pointed out.

“I suppose until the situation changes, there is no harm in proceeding in this manner,” Eleanor conceded. “No point building a school with classes until we have students to fill those classes.”

“We are agreed? We shall proceed with Cornelia teaching Padmani as her apprentice?”

Both the mageknight and the spellbreaker nodded.

“Good. I’ll let them know. I did have another matter I figured we should also discuss,” Martel continued.

“Which is?” asked Atreus.

“So far, all decisions have been made by us. This has been expedient and worked so far. But I think in the long run, this isn’t ideal. We are all mages, and every major position of influence in this city is likewise held by a mage.”

“By necessity,” Eleanor said. “Henry is in charge of the city’s stonework, as he is responsible for it. Maximilian runs the infirmary because he is our primary healer.”

“I understand that. But there’s plenty of other things that those without magic can handle. More importantly, if our city is to avoid the mistakes of Aster, it needs to hear the voices of its own people. I can only imagine there are many problems that we are blind towards,” Martel claimed.

“So you wish to create an assembly like you did in Aster?” Atreus considered.

“Something of that nature. It would be small and mostly serve as a forum for hearing complaints, ideas, and perhaps debate matters that benefit from other perspectives besides our own.”

“I am not against the idea,” Eleanor declared. “But the next question will be how to choose who sits in this assembly, and what powers…” Her voice faltered upon seeing one of their runners come towards the grove. “What is amiss?”

“A messenger, mistress, from the miners! They’ve seen undead!”

Setting aside their meeting, the Triumvirate made their way to the eastern gate, where a young boy sat, being provided food and water. He quickly related his message; an undead creature had stumbled into the village. The miners had dispatched it with their pickaxes, but they were understandably frightened at the presence of maleficent magic.

The three mages pulled away to discuss the situation out of earshot. “This is not related to Leander,” Martel claimed. “He may be undead, but he’s not a necromancer.”

“I am aware,” Atreus said curtly. “As much as I wish this could be blamed on him, I’ve kept him well under watch to know he’s not responsible for this. But I can imagine three possibilities,” he continued. “If we are fortunate, this is simply residual magic that reanimated some long-dead corpse, perhaps disturbed by the mining activity.”

“And?”

“If we are unfortunate, this is the work of Karolos.”

Silence followed the name. In the two years they had lived in Archen, Martel had forgotten about the lich. They had sealed away the labyrinth below the city, including the chamber that had served as his prison, and Martel had given no further thought to the undead archmage. He knew Atreus often left the city on the hunt, but he had never wanted to think more about it.

“And the third possibility?”

“This is an unknown threat, and we have no idea of what we face.” The spellbreaker took a deep breath. “Regardless, our response should be the same. I will investigate and return once I know more. If a single abomination is all they’ve sighted, it’s too early to panic.”

“Very well. We shall continue as usual until we know more.” Martel looked at the ancient Archean who had become his friend. “Stars speed you on your way. Take care.”

Eleanor gave the spellbreaker a quick embrace. “Indeed. Be careful.”

With the half-smile that he often wore when he desired to deflect questions or concerns, Atreus nodded. “I’ll leave at once. Make sure the city is in one piece for when I get back.”