"Are you sure Father?" Szeth asked, pacing back and forth. His semi long black hair with red streaks blended into it fell into his face as he did so. He wasn't sure, but he assumed his pale yellow eyes were glaring at the floor. What were they going to do?
"The signs seem clear enough. I'm worried Szeth. I don't know if we can fight this enemy," King Denith said. His brows were knitted with worry as he too paced back and forth in front of his throne. Aderos was a strong kingdom, he had made sure of that. But he wasn't certain if they would be able to fend off the evil which he knew would come.
"What are we going to do?" Szeth asked eagerly.
"There isn't much we can do," Denith said.
"Surely we aren't completely incompetent!" Szeth argued.
"There is one thing that might help..." the king said hesitantly.
"What is it? Anything is better than nothing!"
"I know. I'm just not sure if I'm desperate enough to go to her yet," the king said.
"Her?" Szeth asked, curiously.
The king sighed. "Son, I think its time I told you something important. Each of us is unique, but some of us are more so than others. Magic is an art that is nearly lost. It can no longer be learned by the ordinary man. Only those born with magic are able to use it nowadays. I myself can see pieces of the future. That is one of the things that sets me apart as a king," he started.
"Everyone knows that though. What does this have to do with telling me something important? You had me under the impression that what you were about to say was urgent," Szeth said.
"Be quiet for a moment and I would get to the vital part," Denith snapped and continued with what he was saying. "As I was trying to say, there may be someone who can help us. This is where it gets a bit complicated. You have a sister. Well, half sister to be precise," he said.
Szeth froze. "What?! A sister?"
Denith nodded. "I have known this evil was coming for years. Seventeen to be exact. The mother was able to use magic in her youth, but she had that ability taken from her. I bedded her in hopes of producing an offspring able to conjure up magic. The only problem was that as soon as the mother found out that was why I had bedded her, she forbade me from seeing my child. I respected her wishes and left, thinking she would change her mind later. She never did. But maybe the daughter could be convinced to come. That is, if she can even use magic at all. I never actually got to find out if she could for sure," the king said.
Szeth stood there in bitter silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. His hands were clenched up in a fist and his jaw was quivering. Red in the face, he didn't look like he was even breathing. "So. What you're basically saying is that you were disloyal to my mother," he said.
Denith dropped his gaze and looked at his feet, nodding. Szeth had been two at the time when he had bedded Guinevere. His wife Shala hadn't ever known about his affair, not even on the day she died. "I'm not saying I'm proud of what I did. I'm just saying that my daughter could help us," he said.
Szeth snorted. "Maybe. But I don't want to talk to her. She's illegitimate, how could she help us? Besides, what makes you think she'd be willing to even if she does possess magic? Odds are she knows you're her father. She's probably been told you raped her mother, which, you basically did," he said.
Denith cringed. He had a point. What made him think that Gwen would even let her daughter anywhere near him? They probably both hated him. Besides, they ran a large estate that brought in a large amount of money. If they decided to strike out and stop paying taxes, Aderos would be in some major trouble. Yet, if they did not ask for help, they would be in even more trouble.
"Please Szeth, I need you to go. I fear that if I go, the answer will automatically be no. I need you to put your feelings aside for the good of the kingdom. It's not her fault she was born. You don't have to like her, but we need magical aid. And my daughter is the only person I can think of who might be able to use magic. We need her support," he said.
Szeth sighed. "Fine. I'll go, but not for you. I'm doing this for the kingdom."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suri stood in the field watching the slaves work. She felt a slight twinge of guilt watching them toil through the endless rows of field. They grew much food on their plantation but they also had a portion of it that was part of the Grate Mines. They owned nearly half of the mine and so by default, whatever precious gems were hidden beneath the ground. Suri didn't often visit the mines, she didn't feel the need.
The slaves were rotated between working the fields and mining for agate. Agate was a type of crystal that had certain magical properties to it. The user would be granted courage and strength aids in awakening their inner self for receptiveness. It also protected and warded off evil, kept away bad dreams, and cured insomnia. A triangular one was good for intestinal problems and made the wearer agreeable.
The crystal grew in clumps in the Great Mine; the only place where it grew. Because it had magical properties, it sold for a high price; not to mention its rarity. Suri's family mined a fair amount, but most of it went to the king. He then used it to keep Aderos's economy running smoothly. Though her family was paid well, they rarely got to keep any of the precious crystals.
The fields were a whole other matter completely. They kept what was needed to feed the family, slaves, and provide housing and clothing for the slaves. Then they sold the rest to be put in the market. Suri smiled to herself. Her family's food sold for high prices because they stayed good for longer than other peoples' products. No one knew why, they just wanted what Suri's family produced.
Of course, Suri and her family knew why their food stayed fresh for longer periods of time. It wasn't something they wanted to announce to the world though. Suri was able to wield time magic. By manipulating time, she could slow the decay of food or even stop it all together. She didn't completely stop the decay of the food she sold because she didn't want people to suspect she had magic.
However, her family was able to store food for a long amount of time because she could stop it from going bad. She could also stop time if she wanted to sleep in. When she got older, she would stop time only around herself to make her age less quickly. Suri wouldn't do that yet; she was still young and had no need to to that.
Her mother on the other hand frequently had Suri freeze time around her. Stopping time wasn't the only thing a time manipulator could do though. She could also speed forward time or rewind it. Suri didn't even have to do it around everything. For example, in the winter, she could speed time up around areas with ice around it to when the ice would melt.
Suri's mother had told her that her magic was powerful and that she should never reveal she had it to anyone. Very few people were born with magic and even then, it was weak magic. With the amount of power she had, Suri would be targeted be dodgy people if they ever found out how useful she could be. If she were to be kidnapped, Suri could do a lot of damage.
That was also why her mother had stressed religion so much on her. She wanted to protect Suri from the evils of the world and make sure that Suri's heart remained forever pure. If it ever got tainted with evil, then there would be nothing that could stop her from demolishing everything in her path.
Suri had to be careful, and it was a burden. Sometimes she faltered under the weight of her responsibilities, but Zeriff was always there to support her. She was glad that he was there. She wasn't always very confidant in herself, but being around Zeriff always boosted Suri's self esteem. He understood what it was like to have magic, for he himself possessed it.
Granted, it wasn't nearly as powerful as Suri's but Zeriff had magic none the less. Zeriff had the ability to heat things up a little bit. It wasn't usually enough to make fire, but if he concentrated he could. Usually he used it to comfort people. For some reason, actual warmth was always calming. Suri was especially glad for that.
