Please note: I am updating this draft of The Prisoner of Arlunn. The most important change is that the main character's name has been changed from Philip to Rian.
16
Without his older brother, Rian, around—the days in the Sky Tower on Arlunn were gruesomely long. In the mornings, Rian would come down from the College about two hours after breakfast. For Kyran, this was before any of his tutors arrived. But by then, Rian had been up for four hours. Two hours Rian spent on meditation, as his magic teacher, Emmara, insisted that the key to being about to do magic was a calm and disciplined mind.
This wasn't Kyran's experience. Not that he was a magic user. But he was a magic-spawn. Had been, anyway. As a magic-spawn, his mind had merged with one of the greatest wizard's of the age. An evil wizard—there was no denying it. But still, Molan had magical powers greater than many wizards in the Seven Worlds ever had or ever hoped to have.
Kyran knew right from wrong. He knew that you shouldn't kill—usually. He knew that Molan enjoyed harming others. That was wrong. But that didn't mean that Molan's wizarding knowledge was wrong or flawed.
And Molan had never been calm.
But maybe that was part of the difference between dark magic (or blood magic) and what the Arlunni liked to call "Cyrian Magic" (light magic), as though you could neatly divide dark magic and light magic down the middle. The difference wasn't always recognizable, not to Kyran anyway. But maybe that's why the Arlunni wanted him locked up in a tower.
The Arlunni told Rian that the magical energy was disconnected or immaterial and that a mage could draw it out of the air, but it took a great stillness of mind and heart.
That could be one way to do it, though Kyran had his doubts.
Nonetheless, Rian spent a half hour each morning walking with Kyran up to the lake and back. They would talk about unimportant things. Chitchat. Kyran wasn't fond of chitchat, but he didn't mind it so much with Rian. He liked listening to the details of the College and interesting facts about the other students.
Then Rian would come back in the evening, exhausted, frustrated, humiliated and convinced that he was an idiot. But Kyran didn't believe that. His brother was unbreakable. Stubborn. He would find a way to do whatever he wanted.
Rian didn't like to fail.
For four days Rian had tried to cast a single spell, to create light in a stone. A simple spell, probably the simplest the teachers could think of. And Rian hadn't even managed a spark of light.
Meanwhile, Kyran read a book on the history of Ashilan. Chuness had been settled by Kaythan of Thune 2,000 years ago. But it wasn't until 900 years ago that the world of Jarlan was settled. While Chuness had a climate an atmosphere similar to Earth, Jarlan might have been more like frigid and without atmosphere. To build a city, they had to create a magical shield to cover it, in order to keep in the oxygen. Then 600 years ago they had attempted the same thing on Ashilan.
As far as Kyran could tell, all three planets were in the same solar system, though that wasn't such an important fact for them, since they used teleportation to get there. Rian had mentioned that one of his peers had been from Ashilan—Prince Arryk.
Kyran thought he might like to travel to some of these other worlds and see them., someday. But he had the feeling that he might just be a prisoner in this tower for life. Even Rian, ever the optimist, had agreed. Not very promising.
It wasn't so bad, for now. But years from now, Kyran might get quite frustrated living here. And what would happen when Rian finished school, if he ever did, and went back to Chuness or to Earth or wherever it is he would eventually go. Would Kyran be here still?
Not having Rian around during the day was all right. He didn't mind being on his own. And he had some teachers coming in now. Renna, the artist. She was teaching him drawing and maybe soon, painting. He liked art. You could draw whatever you wanted.
But he liked history even more, despite the fact that Professor Ilan tended to be a bit dry and full of obscure facts. Kyran kind of liked that.
It was Lord Senen that scared Kyran. He was tall and dark. He taught law and the rules of the Arlunni. Rules which Kyran must obey or suffer the consequences. This fact he droned on and on about. In fact, Kyran was sure that Senen hoped Kyran would disobey, so that he could be destroyed.
Kyran had a sense for people and what they were thinking, though not necessarily what they were feeling. And Lord Senen's thoughts towards Kyran were dark and negative.
It displeased Senen that such a being as Kyran existed at all. But then, a lot of people seemed to feel that way, including one of the guards—named Lask. Kyran didn't deliberately read people's minds, though he felt he could ... if he really wanted to. Lask's thoughts towards Kyran were so loud and so negative that he could feel them hovering over him even now, as the broad, short bearded guard stood, bored, next to the tower door.
It wasn't just that Lask felt inconvenienced at having to stand for an entire shift at the door—it was that his hatred of the magic-spawn emanated from him every moment he entered the room. For the most part, Kyran had managed to ignore the guard. It should be comforting to have someone there with him. But Kyran couldn't help having black thoughts towards this guard and towards Lord Senen.
Still—killing people was against the law of the Arlunni. One mustn't kill. Of course, the Arlunni could kill—if they wanted to. But that wasn't considered evil.
The hatred fueled inside Kyran and he felt his eyes turning red. So he stood and took five deep breaths, as his brother Rian had taught him. Let it go, Rian always said. It's not worth it. Of course, Rian had gotten into many fights at school over words with classmates. So, maybe his methods didn't always work.
But the nightmares were getting worse.
That night, Kyran fell asleep and dreamed that he trudged through a horrible desert where huge skeletons, the size of dragons, rotting on deep, rocky canyon floor. His hands were chained. He was a prisoner in a long line of captives being herded through the desert, thirsty, hungry and beaten. Then something come after them. They ran and their captors whipped them to go faster. They heard the snarling of some ravenous beast behind them. Terror welled up in him. They would die. Their captors would leave them to the beasts.
Finally, when they had no way to outrun the animal, they stopped. The captors cut loose the rearmost prisoner and pushed him towards the animal. A claw grabbed him and pulled him back behind a rock. His scream was cut short by a crunching of bones.
Nauseated Kyran threw up. Someone hit him hard across the head. "Stay alert!" And they began running again.
Kyran woke screaming. Someone stood over him and grabbed him by the throat. Just for a moment, Kyran glimpsed the murderous thoughts in his head. Kill him. No one will blame you. Slit his throat!
Kyran thrashed around, shouting and trying to break free—his mind scrambling to separate dream from reality. "Shut up!" the man shouted at him and backhanded him hard across the face.
Stunned, Kyran stopped struggling long enough to realize that he was back in the tower in his bed. It was Lask who held him by his shirt. Did he mean to murder him?
"What is wrong with you?" Lask demanded.
"Let me go!" shouted Kyran.
With a grunt, Lask let him go, stepping back a pace. "Then stop screaming, you freak!"
Kyran's felt his eyes go hot as a rage broke free inside him. The magic-spawn in him spotted the tendril holding the man's life force. Kyran readied himself in case he needed to grab hold and drain it out.
Seeing Kyran's eyes go red, the guards eyes went wide. He drew his sword. "Gods of Meriya!" He meant to strike. Kyran could see it coming.
But he mustn't kill. Killing was wrong!
Before the man could make a move, Kyran reached into his mind and immobilized him with a thought—for just a few seconds. Then he scrambled off the bed and into the corner.
"Leave me alone!" shouted Kyran. By then the guard had recovered. He backed away from Kyran.
"Demons take you," the man muttered as he withdrew and put his sword away.
For a long time, Kyran stood shaking in the corner. Finally, he fell to his knees and began to sob.
Take deep breaths. Keep it in control.
Slowly, he calmed down. He climbed back into bed and lay there, fighting sleep for as long as he could before it took him again.
* * * * * * * * *
The next day, Kyran had a different guard, Lars. The guards rotated each day though there were three that seemed to be the main ones: Lars, Raden and Lask. But Lars gave Kyran no trouble and stayed near the door, so Kyran began to relax.
The tutors came and went. All passed relatively smoothly.
When Rian arrived for dinner, which would be soon—it would be five days since his brother had left the tower. Five days of school for Rian.
Kyran read for awhile about the islands of Ashilan, small slivers of land on which they'd built cities and small farms. All covered by domes to keep atmosphere in and the terrible heat of the planet out. The islands weren't separated by water, but something else, some other element.
Just then, the door opened and Lars let in Rian. Immediately, Kyran forgot his problems and hurried over to see him.
"Rian!"
"Kyran!" he smiled but looked haggard.
"How are classes?" asked Kyran.
"Fine," said Rian, which was good because it meant that Rian hadn't gotten into deep trouble fighting at school.
"How did your day go?" Rian asked as they walked back towards the table.
My guard wants me dead. My teacher Lord Senen wants me dead. But he didn't say that. "Fine," said Kyran. By age ten, Kyran knew you were supposed to lie about these things. And he didn't want Rian to worry.
Rian smiled wryly. "So we're both fine. Good." Kyran grinned. He loved how Rian understood him. It felt so good to have a friend in this lonely place.
"I've been reading up on the history of Ashilan; it's quite interesting," said Kyran. "It was settled about 600 years ago and is all islands. They cover them with an artificial shield to keep the air in."
Rian smiled and nodded, but he was faking his enthusiasm—Kyran could always tell.
"Your friend Arryk is from there," said Kyran. "He's the Heir of Ashilan."
"Yes," said Rian but from the way that Rian said it, he was not really a friend. None of them seemed to be. He slumped down into a chair.
"Have you heard anything about mother?" asked Kyran. "Shouldn't she be here soon!"
"I'm sure that she will be," said Rian, using his somber, big-brother face. Sometimes that meant he was lying. "She just had to pack some things and settle some loose ends."
Kyran considered this silently.
Dinner came and they walked down to the lake and talked about anything but school and Arlunn. When Rian was with him, Kyran felt calm; it was almost like being at home--better in ways, because he didn't have to go to school.
But he began to feel anxious as the evening wore on. His dreams had gotten worse again, though he didn't want to tell Rian. He'd just want to move back to the tower, and that would only make things worse for Rian at the College.
They evening up tot he balcony when they got back. It gave them a little more privacy from the guard who stood at the door.
Rian dropped onto his bed and sat there silently.
"So?" Kyran asked Rian.
Rian groaned. "I can't do it," he said miserably. "I tried for five hours today and I still can't do a simple magic spell. I just can't do it. Maybe there's something wrong with me."
Quietly, Kyran considered this. He'd always worried that he himself was broken because he wasn't like all the other kids. He knew how Rian felt, but he didn't believe it was true of his big brother. He walked over to stand in front of Rian.
"Stand up," he said.
"What?" said Rian, puzzled, but he complied, out of curiosity.
Kyran had the ability to see magical energy and life force; whether that was because he was a magic-spawn or some skill he'd inherited from Molan, he wasn't sure. So, he held his hand up to Rian's head and felt the different auras and their intensities, drawing his hand down in front of Rian's shoulders, then his chest, all while Rian held still, watching with a puzzled look.
He stopped over Rian's stomach. Here there was a knot of various energies, in various colors. His hand actually touched a tendril that connected to Rian's life force and got back a sweet tingling of energy. He stopped his hand there, mesmerized, remembering on Earth when he had drawn the life force out of so many--and how good that had felt. Heady, energizing. All he had to do was grab hold and pull ....
"Kyran," prompted Rian, a little fear showing in his eyes. Kyran dropped his hand, guiltily, and sat criss-cross on the floor.
"I don't think anything's wrong with you. I think you can do magic. You just need to learn how."
Rian relaxed and sat down next to Kyran. "I've tried!" he insisted. "Nothing works." He sat there like a dejected child.
"Did they give you some stones?" asked Kyran.
Rian pulled pulled his amulet out from behind his shirt. "Yes," he said. And from his pocket, he pulled out a rock, that fit in the palm of his hand, and set it on the ground.
Carefully, Kyran tried to collect the wisdom that he possessed about casting spells and explain it. "It's not enough to just say the words. It's like you have a mage hand--an invisible hand--that you must use to reach out and touch the object you want to manipulate." He stretched out his real hand towards the rock. "Toli drinat!" he said as his invisible hand snapped out and touched the rock. The rock burst into a fiercely glowing light.
Rian was clearly impressed but a look of jealousy crossed his face, though he quickly got it under control.
"So, imagine that you have an invisible hand and reach out and touch it," said Kyran.
He watched while Rian tried over and over again without success. "I can't!" he said in frustration. But Kyran wasn't sensing any connection between the magical energy he felt and his brother's actions.
"Don't just imagine the invisible hand. It's real; it's inside you. You have to find it first, then control it, move it around. Wield it."
"Is that part of the reason they have us meditate?" asked Rian.
"I don't know," admitted Kyran, "I've never meditated."
"Figures," Rian said bitterly. But he set about the task of meditating. Kyran waited patiently. He was good at being patient. Minutes dragged by as Rian struggled to find the hand. Kyran didn't interrupt him, though he didn't think it could really be this hard. Still, Kyran was convinced Rian could do this.
After quite a long while, Rian stopped. "No, I just don't see anything."
"Maybe I can show you," said Kyran, he moved closer to his brother.
"How?"
"I could go into your mind."
Worry showed on Rian's face for just a moment, but then he shrugged. "What can it hurt?" Kyran assumed he was worried about the influences that Molan had on him. They moved together so that they were sitting cross-legged in front of each other. Kyran took Rian's hands in his so that each hand was locked with one of Rian's.
"Relax," said Kyran. "I've never done this before. I mean ... I, myself, haven't." He didn't complete the thought. Molan had, though. This, Kyran remembered vividly as a very painful intrusion, where Molan took over his mind in a violent manner. "Close your eyes."
They both closed their eyes. Kyran tried to remember how it was. He failed to find the memories he needed. Cautiously, he probed deeper into the forgotten knowledge Molan had left. Memories returned of how to do a mind link. Slowly, he began the process, entering into Rian's mind. Rian immediately flinched, and a wild panic began in his mind.
Calm down. I won't hurt you, Kyran spoke into Rian's mind.
Flashes of memory came from the time as Molan's magic-spawn, the mental connection, the telepathic communication, but with it came a trace of the dark mindset of the necromancer, his attitudes and old sentiments. Kyran froze, not wanting to awaken those things in his mind. Carefully he untangled his thoughts from those old memories and moved away from them.
"Kyran!" shouted Rian.
It's okay. Relax, said Kyran, telepathically.
I thought I felt something ... I don't know ... dark.
I have it under control, thought Kyran. Relax your mind.
I didn't know we could speak into each other's minds. This is cool.
Gradually, Rian relaxed as Kyran pushed farther into his mind, looking for the invisible hand and how to show it to Rian.
As he went deeper, their minds drew closer together and mingled so that Kyran could see some of Rian's memories of the other students at the College and how they harassed him. But before he could stop it, some of his memories opened up to Rian, including his nightmare the night before and the guard hitting him and drawing his sword with a thought to attack him.
"What?" Rian's mind drew back suddenly and it felt as if he'd hit Kyran. Painfully, their minds reeled in separate directions, ripping apart. Kyran found himself lying on the floor. Rian was sitting up looking disoriented.
"What the hell was that?" Rian shouted.
His loud voice hurt Kyran's tender head, still-ringing from being ejected from Rian's mind. He groaned.
"I just saw ...." Rian paused, composing his mind. "Was that real or a nightmare?"
Kyran pulled himself back into a sitting position. "I didn't kill him!"
"Answer me, Kyran," said Rian, assuming his big-brother authority voice. "What did I just see?"
"I had a nightmare," he said meekly. He didn't want Rian to get up in arms about the situation with the guard. It would only make it worse.
"I saw Lask hit you—was that a dream?"
Kyran stared at him.
"Was it?"
"No."
"Did he draw a sword on you?"
"He ... I—"
"No," said Rian. He stood up as though he would march right down and find Lask and punch him.
"Stop it," said Kyran. "Just—sit down."
"Unacceptable," said Rian. "I won't put up with this."
"Sit down!" urged Kyran, afraid that Lars would hear their conversation.
Angry, Rian plopped back down on the floor next to Kyran. "I'm going to talk to them," he threatened. "I'll talk to Genesse."
"You always make it worse when you do that," said Kyran.
"How can it get worse?"
Kyran could picture ways in which it could get worse. They both sat there for a moment. "I handled it," said Kyran. "I stayed cool."
"Yes—yes you did," said Rian. "It just shouldn't be this way!"
"I know."
But what could they do? Nothing. They were stuck here. The Arlunni weren't going to let him go. Prejudice against Kyran was high—maybe everyone felt the same way that Lask did.
"We should take deep breaths," said Kyran.
At this, Rian laughed until Kyran began laughing too. Finally, they did manage to calm down.
"Want to try again?" asked Kyran.
Now, Rian hesitated. Then he finally nodded. "Okay."
They settled back down on the floor and Kyran took his hands. Then he entered into Rian's mind. It was easier this time. He worked to keep his mind clear of his own memories as he went deeper into Rian's mind, past the layers that were there.
Just relax, he told Rian.
Can you see it? Rian asked him, referring to the invisible hand. Finally, Kyran found it. Here it is. He showed it to Rian, who concentrated hard to remember how to locate it. Carefully, Kyran withdrew. It took a few moments to readjust to the real world. He looked at Rian, who still had his eyes closed.
"Have you got it?" asked Kyran.
"I think so," said Rian, concentrating heavily.
"Then try casting."
A moment later, Rian pointed his hand at the stone. "Toli drinat!" he shouted. He opened his eyes but nothing had happened.
"Shh!" urged Kyran quietly, nodding at the door. "I'm not sure magic is allowed in here."
Rian nodded. "Nothing!" he whispered in frustration. "No fair!"
"I didn't really feel any stirrings of magic," said Kyran quietly.
"Nor did I," said Rian. "I didn't really feel anything, but I really thought this would work."
"Maybe you haven't tapped into any of your magical energies yet," said Kyran. "Otherwise, I think I could have sensed something."
"How do I do that? Is that something I get from meditating and filling an imaginary pool with water ... or whatever they said to do?"
Kyran shook his head. "No." He scooted in front of his brother and took his hands. "Again."
Rian sighed. "All right." He closed his eyes and let Kyran take his hands. Slowly, Kyran went into Rian's mind. The path was becoming familiar now. Rian only flinched a little this time as Kyran moved deeper and deeper. He searched around. From inside Rian's mind, he could see the strands of power and life force. If he were acting as a magic-spawn, he would draw these out into himself but why couldn't Rian use them himself? Surely, that was the way to cast spells.
Look at these energies, Kyran showed them to Rian, brought his attention to them. Try drawing from these. Can you see them?
Yes, came the response. I think so.
This time, Kyran stayed in Rian's mind, watching Rian try to gather up enough energy for a spell. Now cast it, using the invisible hand, ordered Kyran.
Rian cast it, saying the words out loud. Kyran exited Rian's mind quickly to see the result.
The small stone near them began the very faintest glow.
"I did it!" said Rian, standing excitedly. "I felt something this time. Not anything big but I think I can do it."
Kyran beamed. "Said you could, didn't I?"
"Yes," Rian tousled his hair. They glanced down at the guard, suddenly wary again. "I should get back," said Rian morosely.
Kyran nodded. "All right."
"Tell me if they harass you," said Rian in a low voice. "I want to know."
"I will," said Kyran. Maybe he lied. Maybe nothing bad would happen and it wouldn't matter.
They said goodnight and Rian left.
Kyran slipped into bed and stayed awake as long as he possibly could before slipping into dark dreams.
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