Oath and Kingdom [The Swordbreaker Archives]

Chapter 40: Chaos Rises

Amrila did well.  Nine years passed and she was on her way to becoming a scholar.  Dryn could see her powers grow as she aged, and she seemed less afraid of them the more time went on.
They sparred nearly every day, honing her skills in combat and in basic magic.  She refused to use her magic to its full potential, and although Dryn knew she could very well use it, he worried her magic was too powerful to be confined to a small space.
Now a young scholar, Amrila assisted maesters with their teachings and other scholars with their work.  She had not taken a focus, and instead took on the responsibility of learning all aspects of the scholarly world by assisting others with their work.
Dryn was happy every time she walked into his office after reading another Asheran history.  She always liked to talk to Dryn about them.
"So let me get this straight.  Numen can communicate with demons and dragons.  How does that even work?  I mean, dragons are too hostile for any mage who can make mind connections with animals.  At least when they are adults.  And...demons? Demons are mindless and do not have the capability of communicating with anything but the dead and themselves."
Dryn laughed.  "I once had a mind link with a dragon.  It is not as difficult as you think.  Sure, they cannot be controlled to the same extent as a smaller animal, but they do have the capacity to understand you and empathize."
"Dragons?" Her expression widened in astonishment.  "You had a mind connection with a dragon.  When?"
"You passed through the Old Wood to get here, am I correct?" Dryn watched her nod.  "Well, that last Numen battle had a dragon.  I was there.  I controlled that dragon, for a time, but like I said, sometimes you cannot convince them."
Her mouth opened, mesmerized.  "But, if you controlled that dragon, you would have been a baby.  How?"
"Well, I was six as a matter of fact, and Numen have a pretty good knowledge of animal magic at that point.  It is something we start in infancy if I am honest.  By the time I turned three I was already controlling the panthers in the area, making sure they would not harm the villagers.  When they found out how skilled I was, the dragon master trained me to bond with the dragon."
Dryn suddenly realized he was remembering something he thought was long forgotten.  Things that happened long before he came here.  He saw glimpses of faces and heard laughter.  Happiness before the end of their time in the place Dryn once called home.
"Your people did not deserve what happened to them.  I wish people did not have to be so cruel."
"You and me both.  I suppose the world has not really known anything else.  It is a shame."
"Maybe we can change that, someday.  By giving the world the knowledge it needs to survive in harmonious ways."
Dryn wondered if her ideas could become the truth.  Harmony, Dryn supposed, was a long way off.

One night, Amrila had wandered off without telling anyone.  It took a few hours for Dryn to be notified of her disappearance by one of the maesters.  She never showed to one of her alchemy classes.
Dryn made his way out of the citadel around sunset, no more than a few minutes after he was notified.  He suspected a few places she could be.  Most were on top of buildings or in high places where you could see the sky, but Dryn felt a pull towards the city's statues.
For some reason, he knew she was there.
He made his way down through the city and up into the courtyard of the statues, where city folk recently made a garden full of flowers, fountains, vegetables and places to sit.  As the city grew in the past twenty years, the city folk decided it was time to make the city welcoming, cleaning and decorating the city as it grew further into the mountains and the farms and settlements grew further out in front of it.

When he reached their usual spot, she was nowhere to be found.
He looked around some more, towards the edge where one of the statues meet the mountain itself, and over the rock cliffs behind.
He did not see her.
He looked up, hoping she did not climb her way up one of the statues, but a small shadow hidden atop the book of the Telid.
He could see her cloak handing off of one of the Telid's fingernails.
Dryn grumbled, knowing he would have to make his way up there.
It was not an easy climb, the sleek stone of the Telid's clothes difficult to cling to.  Dryn had to use his feet for leverage, using friction from his shoes to keep himself upright.
He finally made it to the Telid's arm and pulled himself upright.  She sat near the edge of the book's pages, her feet dangling off the edge.  Dryn sensed she felt lost as she stared out on the horizon, the sunset off to the right.  She watched it longingly.
"Good luck getting off of this thing," Amrila grumbled as Dryn made his way to her, balancing on the stone statue.  He sat down beside her.
"How did you make it up here?"
She stared, unamused.  "I am a Wood Elf.  We live to climb things."
"Trees sure, but not sheer rock."
She quickly made a small vine in her hand and let one end drop over the edge.  "Exactly."
Dryn turned away, embarrassed.  "Why did I not think of that?"
"It is not in your nature.  Your species lived near an ocean.  I think you are built to swim more than climb."
He sighed, ignoring her statement.  "Why did you come up here?"
She sighed.  She was quiet for a long time, staring out at the orange sky.  The horizon was flat, the farmland turning to desert.
"I hurt someone today with my magic."
Dryn stared at her, surprised.  She turned to look at his expression.  "It was not intentional."
"I would not expect it to be, coming from you.  What happened?"
"I got overwhelmed and my shadow magic burst out.  It burned someone's hand.  I do not even know how."
"You are naturally capable of more than one magic.  It could have blended with another kind of magic."
"I did not sense any other kind of magic.  It felt like something else entirely, something knew.  Like some sort of destruction magic that I have never used before."
Dryn nodded in understanding.  "We did not train very much in destruction magic.  Would you like to train more to help you understand it?"
Amrila looked sad as her eyes looked below.  She swallowed, her voice cracking as she spoke.  "I do not know if I should.  If I am capable of something like that without knowing, then it could be even more powerful and uncontrollable if I do know."
Dryn watched her, unsure of what to say.  Unsure of what to do.  He knew he needed to do something for her, to aid her with her magic like he did in the past.
After a long time of silence, Amrila spoke again.  "I have always wanted to travel the world.  To learn things from different peoples and use that knowledge to better myself and the world as a whole.  I know you want to help me, Dryn, and you have done what you can.  You have been the best person to help me.  Maybe it is time I take this responsibility for myself.  Learn the way my mind wants, and allow myself to be free of the burden of hurting people."
Dryn understood where she was coming from.  He knew that one day, like he did, she would need to learn on her own.  She at least had the privilege of leaving the city.
"What if I told you I knew someone who could help you a little more, before you decide to go out on your own.  Someone that could help you trust your magic."
Amrila's interest peaked and she turned to look at him.  "Who?"
"Her name is Elvira.  She is the Grand Maester at the College of Dal Vanis.  She is not a mage herself, but she studied how magic affects the body through scientific means, and how the body can effect magic.  Maybe with Eldred's teachings and hers together, you may be able to control it more, and then find your own path."
She looked rather relieved by the thought.  "I would like to see what she thinks," Amrila smiled.
"Let me contact her, and see what we can do."

Months past after he sent a letter to her with no word.  Amrila continued with her studies, mostly remaining to herself in between.  Without a focus, she had more free time to train.  She spent hours with Eldred sometimes, and even talked to some friends she made over the years.  If they were free from their studies.
Dryn spent a lot of time with Bol.  Over the past years, they worked on translating the Numen works into other languages than Scalgorian.  Now they had many Davalian and Callimandonian copies, and were working on more.
WUMNA accepted the works as crucial to scholarly study, and agreed on another expedition once all of the scholarly colleges had copies of Numen works.  They wanted Dryn to join this one and help pick the books they should take, so the council of Grand Masters were working with their governments to accept Dryn as a protected citizen of Scalgoral.
Still, Dryn knew leaving would be a risk.  Especially when Asherah did not belong to any territories.  It was free for anyone to plunder.
Dryn hoped WUMNA would eventually find a way to protect it.
When a letter finally arrived, it came in a large package.  Dryn invited Amrila and Bol into his office to open it.
"What else is in there?" Amrila asked.  "You just asked for scholarly transfer, right?"
"Yes," Dryn stated.  "I will admit I have no idea what is in here, and whether or not she agreed."
"Are you going to open it," Bol watched him impatiently.  He sat gingerly on a small chair in the room, one he frequently took with him.  Now reaching an age where all of his bones ached to move, Bol could no longer climb onto the citadel's given chairs.
Dryn watched him, saddened as Bol struggled.  He did not like help, but Dryn knew he might soon need it.
"Okay, yes."
Dryn opened the package to find a small engraved box, just large enough to hold a few items.  Dryn opened it to find two sealed parchment, a letter addressed to him, one addressed to Elvira, and a book.
Dryn read the letter first.