Conquest's Influence - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hunched over his mixing table, Kelan created replacements for his spilled toxins. He measured and remeasured each ingredient placing them in separate test tubes. He labeled each tube by type using a variety of symbols. The process was hypnotic for him to the degree that missing a meal wasn’t unheard of when he had his head lost in his work. From the other room he heard someone enter the shop. Kelan dismayed the interruption, but customers were the people that put food on his table. He set his work aside and walked to the front.

Inside the door was one of the noble mages, Terrence Solven. Kelan knew who Terrence was, but the two of them were not acquainted. Terrence was one of the younger noble mages, which made him that much more impressive to the community, since he could hold his own with any of his other colleagues. Terrence nodded to Kelan when he entered the room. “Are you Kelan Droch?”

“Is there something that I can help you with?” He knew why Terrence was there, but decided to play the ignorant shop owner.

“Not in the manner you expect. The reason I'm here is because you’re one of the chosen people to be on the Elder’s extended teams. The selected mages are to meet at the Light Institute at sundown.”

“What will we be doing? The Elders mentioned an aggressive search party at the city meeting.”

“Once everyone is together, the Elders will explain. Until then, I would prepare to have your shop closed for the next little while. This is going to be your new full-time job.” Kelan furrowed his brow. “Don’t worry, you’ll be compensated for your time. If you’ll excuse me, I have other people to see today.” Terrence turned around and walked out the door.

Kelan returned to his work bench wondering what they would be putting him up to that required so much of his time. It was a passing thought while he refocused on his work. Satisfied with the day’s productivity, Kelan finished mixing his batch and cleaned the table to get ready for his new job.

*

Outside the massive Light Institute, Kelan reveled in the architecture. It was similar to its dark counterpart, with a few nuances. In front of the institute stairs a large fountain stood in the shape of an ivory angel holding itself in her arms, crying water into the basin. The image always shook Kelan since this was the only fountain in the entire city that cried. It seemed odd to him for it to be in front of the institute.

Both institutes had stained glass adorning the windows on the main floor. When the sun shone, the central common area glowed with countless different colors. The masonry on the building was the best in the city since the institutes were the cornerstones of Augurya. They housed both the students studying there and the Elders as well. In each basement elaborate catacombs stretched inhabited by the deceased.

Kelan walked around the fountain and up the massive set of stairs that led to the large iron and wood door. Gold trim traced the door with a golden sun inlaid in the center. He saw children playing outside on the steps during his ascent. They kept themselves out of the way of approaching mages. Kelan expected they’d been pre-scolded for getting in visiting mages ways.

The institutes were the primary source of education for young minds. Men and women also convened to discuss news, events and share ideas. Instead of practicing religion and putting faith in something intangible, they placed it in the comfort of knowing the reason and composition of their world. At a young age, children learned to respect order and balance and place their faith in them.

At puberty, young men and women gained the ability to use magic, but being so new to it, they lacked the ability to control it. Genetics specified which class of magic they had an affinity for, and in turn which magic they studied. The community had a responsibility to help teach and influence each child. During puberty, they attended the corresponding institute their family belonged to and lived there for the first five years of their education. A new mage unable to control their emotions and powers was too much danger for the rest of the city. After five years of education, the students moved back to their respective homes and travelled back and forth to classes every day. The institutes taught children to handle their magic as well as other subjects including the natural world and arts.

Once a child’s education was complete, they had a choice of what direction they wanted to take their studies; Kelan having chosen to learn toxicology. Not every student had a choice though. The most gifted students continued their training and education to become gendaros. Then, once a gendaro, the conditioning began to someday become nobles and Elders if they were lucky. Not every noble mage became an elder, but every single one had the capacity to do so.

Inside the institute, a large group of people stood in the meeting area. Some of the mages who knew each other engaged in quiet conversation, while others waited alone gawking, wandering and waiting for the meeting to begin. Students moved around on the higher walkways, running and staring at the conglomeration of strangers in their school and home.

At the opposite end of the building, Kelan spotted the nondescript doors to the catacombs. He always found it macabre that the catacombs were underneath the same building that children went to learn. Entrance was restricted to all the young mages, but that never stopped any of them from trying. Kelan had never been down there himself, but stories about it ran through the classes and dorms. He always enjoyed the ghost stories people came up with when he was young, and still did today.

In his own conversation, Terrence noticed Kelan and walked over to greet him. “Thank you for coming. There are too many people here to worry about introductions. The meeting is just getting ready to start.” He was a direct man and based on their minimal interaction, Kelan gauged he was someone who didn’t enjoy wasting time.

With everyone accounted for, the entire Elder council came out from their wing of the institute. The white mages on the council were Gregary Silith, Claude Brandell, Joseph Stills and Hared Logar. Hared Logar was the oldest of the light Elders. He and the eldest dark Elder, Talik Vendra stepped in front.

The remaining noble mages stood attentive, scattered in the crowd. Six nobles were in charge of all the gendaros in the city. The dark side held Terrence Solven, Arred Cleeve and Darren Estra. The light side consisted of Yorin Ekrim, Lionel Oved and Will Silith. It was rare for families to have both high ranked noble mages and Elders in their bloodline, since being a gifted child seemed to be a random occurrence.

Before the meeting could commence, teachers withdrew the children from the area. Numerous door lock clicks echoed to ensure privacy to the council and its members.

To get the attention of everyone in the hall, Elder Logar cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming today. As mentioned in the meeting yesterday, we gathered you to help us find any additional threats to Augurya. You are to keep this assignment in the strictest of confidence.

“That said, we don’t know much about the man we have in custody, or what kind of group he belongs to, if he even belonged to one in the first place.” Shocked whispers and gasps flowed through the crowd. Everyone came there expecting more substantial information. It was unsettling that the Elders had little insight.

One man in the crowd yelled out. “Why are you having such a hard time getting information out of him?”

Elder Logar rubbed his brow and spoke to the man who asked. “We’re a peaceful community and we plan on keeping it that way. We’re not going to reduce ourselves to torture or worse to gather information. For all we understand, this man is working alone. We should take solace in the fact that nothing has happened since his capture.”

This time a woman in the crowd shouted an inquiry. “You mentioned if there are more mages like him they could be living in the city among us undetected. How do you plan on vetting these people if they’re undetectable?”

Elder Vendra responded to the query. “That’s not an easy question to answer or a problem with a simple solution. All we can do for now is have our gendaros, nobles and yourselves patrol as much as possible to deter something from happening again. We think keeping a close watch over public areas is our best bet right now.”

Another person in the crowd piped in. "Where is the subdued man?”

Elder Logar looked over to Elder Vendra then back to the man asking the question. "We can't tell anyone where he is. I assure you we are holding him under the tightest security."

That wasn’t good enough for the man. He stepped forward out of the crowd to address Logar. "How do you expect us to find more of these 'things' without us understanding as much as we can about them? If you have to hide him, what else are you hiding?”

Elder Logar stepped back to return the floor to Elder Vendra. Vendra saw tension in everyone’s faces and eyes. “You all have as much information as we do. The last thing we need is a mob of people going after the best lead we have on the matter. That is enough on the subject.

“To return to the subject at hand, everyone will be reporting to the noble mage that informed them of their inclusion to this committee. Groups will be small, and communication regular. Each group will be led by a noble mage who will inform the Elders of everything you do and see. The light mages will be looking after the city, while our dark mage teams will be taking care of the outskirts. Tomorrow morning we'll meet back at this institute and start scouting for anything we can find. This task has the potential for danger and you must take your safety into consideration.” As quick as they started their speech, the Elders walked out of the main hall together, leaving the confused and skeptical people behind. They ignored the additional exclaimed questions, not wanting to fuel the masses indignation.
This was Kelan’s best chance to meet with his grandfather. He followed the Elders out of the hall, halted by one of the gendaros. “I need to speak with Elder Droch. It may hold pertinence to the matter.”

The gendaro left the room returning a short moment later. “Follow me.”

Pictures and sculptures that looked older than the city decorated the wing. Paintings of oil and acrylic lined the walls of the hall in gold and silver frames. On pedestals, sculptures of people and animals led Kelan and the gendaro to the Elder’s quarters. When they arrived, the gendaro knocked on the door, opened it and let Kelan enter. His grandfather sat near the fireplace in the parlor with the other dark elders.

They sat in a semicircle drinking tea and discussing something Kelan couldn’t make out from where he stood. To gain their attention, Kelan stepped further into the room.

The first person to notice Kelan was his grandfather. “I’m surprised to see you here, Kelan. What business do you have with us? Is there something about your assignment you don’t understand?”

“Something happened yesterday you should be aware of. On my way home from the meeting in the market, I saw a crow.”

Chuckle were the return on Kelan’s statement. Elder Droch sat back in his chair listening to Kelan’s story with a disapproving look on his face. “Crows are common in the city, Kelan. What about the crow bothered you so much?”

“It wasn’t the fact it was a crow. This bird had features different from any other I’ve seen. His left wing had a bright scarlet feather. I felt like it was watching me walk home.”

Before dismissing the information, Elder Droch considered what his grandson was trying to say. “It’s common for animals to observe people wander. As far as the feather goes, genetic abnormalities pop up in people and animals all the time. You may be shaken by the recent events and news.”

“I understand that. This was different because the bird followed me and continued to surveille me. I can’t explain it, but I had an odd sense. I had to chase it away, just for the sake of making myself feel better. What if this bird is a spy? After what I saw at Ataraxia, I’ll believe anything.”

He didn’t enjoy having to put on faces, but Elder Droch still hid his annoyance with concern. “I doubt these people have enlisted the help of brilliant birds. Go home and get some sleep, Kelan. Start tomorrow rested. Being paranoid already doesn’t give me hopes for your performance on this team.” He showed Kelan out with a pat on his shoulder.

Once Kelan left, sternness surfaced on Elder Droch’s face. The warmth of his chair did nothing to relax him.

Elder Quanta remarked. “This doesn’t bode well for our search party if they already know we’re coming.”

Elder Vendra agreed. “Maybe this is a matter best spoken of in our own quarters. There’s no knowing who may be listening to our conversations here.”

“This is no secret matter. The other Elders need to hear this as well when we meet them next.” Droch looked around the room pondering his next statement. “I wonder how many people besides Kelan have had a similar experience.”

“More important, how many other watchdogs might be in the city?” Elder Quanta sipped his tea watching the contents of his cup.

“You’re focusing on the wrong details Philip. I don’t care how many damned birds there might be in the city. What bothers me is this one has decided to target my grandson.” Elder Droch turned to Vendra for a response.

“I don’t hold any more clues than you might Marek.”

“Both you and Logar know more about this island than anyone else. You can’t expect me to sit here believing you don’t have any inclination to what’s happening.”

“Calm down Marek. Whoever is responsible must have been planning it for a long time. This wasn’t a random act of violence. All we can do is wait.”

The three Elders finished their tea without another word, lost in contemplation about how to protect the city. The cracks from the fireplace were the only sounds to break the silence.