Skwyr Court

AbsoluteUnderstanding

Aonva tried to keep her breathing level as she approached the west tower. She clutched a summons from Lady Emgard in her hand. Despite the explicit note “You are not in trouble”, Aonva couldn’t stop herself from imagining everything that could possibly go wrong. She tried to organize her mental library, but even that couldn’t stop her anxiety from running rampant.

She turned into the corridor that led to the door. Flashes of two years ago came to her mind, the time Roshil had picked the lock. Even though Roshil didn’t break the rules so blatantly anymore, Aonva still worried about her.

“Apprentice Aonva.”

Aonva jumped. She’d been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Lady Emgard standing next to her. She stood at attention.

“Apologies, My Lady!” Aonva shouted louder than she’d intended.

Lady Emgard smiled at her, and she felt calmer. Her anxiety eased up somewhat, although it never left entirely.

Lady Emgard unlocked the door and led her through. Then she opened the second door and beckoned Aonva inside.

The chambers were decently sized, certainly bigger than any apprentice’s. Lady Emgard led her through a sitting room into a room covered with books. Lady Emgard pulled up a chair and motioned for Aonva to sit.

“Welcome to my study,” Lady Emgard said. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Aonva didn’t think she’d ever be comfortable in Lady Emgard’s study. She doubted most masters had ever been inside, but here she was, a third year apprentice, invited by Lady Emgard herself. She wanted to read every book she could see. Which ones hadn’t she read? She wished she and Roshil had figured out their book reading spell.

“I brought you here because the court has recovered something of great value. Umkanokseh helped us find it, and now, I’m sharing it with you.”

Lady Emgard took a book from the table beside her and handed it to Aonva. It looked new, although slightly worn. Aonva leafed through it. The ink still glistened. This book had been written recently.

“The original, which we put away for safekeeping, was written by a man called Veran. He was somewhat eccentric, but he had a fascination with dragons. One dragon in particular, which was why we’ve spent a lot of time tracking him down. There aren’t that many dragons in the world, but even so, they don’t know much of one another’s lives. They mostly keep themselves to themselves, rarely even speaking with humans.”

“Thank you so much for letting me speak with Umkanokseh!” Aonva blurted. “I know I didn’t say much, but it was a privilege even seeing her. That was amazing! I… I still don’t know what to say!”

Aonva closed her mouth before she rambled on and embarrassed herself even more in front of Lady Emgard.

“It wasn’t my decision, it was Apprentice Roshil’s. Without you, I doubt if she would’ve spoken to Umkanokseh at all. And this,” she motioned to the book, “might not have entered our possession.”

Aonva trembled. She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a few squeaks.

“The council has already read the book you now hold. It has a lot to offer, but I wanted a fresh set of eyes on it. You are in a unique position, Apprentice Aonva. You’re clever, and you put pieces together that the rest of us don’t. That’s why I’m letting you borrow that.”

“Thank you,” Aonva squeaked.

“You’ve earned it. I think you’ll find it quite captivating. I certainly did. There are, however, a few rules.”

Aonva looked up from the book that she’d already started reading. Her first impression was confusion, but she was sure if she kept reading, everything would start to make sense.

“First, you must show this to no one. This includes Master Kaernin and Apprentice Roshil. The former has been informed that you have something in your possession that he’s not allowed to see.”

Aonva nodded, hoping she could keep it a secret. It would be easy enough not to show it to either of them, but she was worried she’d start on another panicked ramble.

“Second, do not discuss its contents with anyone apart from me. This specifically includes Apprentice Roshil.”

That would be tricky. Aonva loved talking to Roshil. She was the only person who always listened. When Aonva got excited, Roshil would be excited simply because Aonva was.

“I… Roshil might be…”

“Turn to page 15, and you’ll see why I say this.”

Aonva turned to page 15 and started reading.

I found him. After all this time, I found him. Valignatiejir, the great dragon of fear. I stayed far away so he wouldn’t sense me. Records of him date back centuries, millennia. There’s no telling what he can do.

Aonva looked up at Lady Emgard.

“It’s all like that. Veran was obsessed with Valignatiejir. It goes back decades. You may learn a lot about him, but you may not speak his name when Apprentice Roshil is near. Only take the book out in your room or in here. If you are having trouble, talk to Lord Grund. You may tell him about the book.”

Aonva looked down at the black book. An imprint of a dragon’s claw adorned the cover.

“Valignatiejir was the dragon that hurt her, wasn’t he?”

Lady Emgard stared at her with a gaze that could see into her soul. Aonva quivered with terror.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to speak out of turn! I just… Roshil won’t say, of course, but after hearing the name from Umkanokseh, who didn’t explicitly say it, but the way Roshil reacted I thought it must’ve been him.”

“You didn’t speak out of turn. It was Valignatiejir. Read the book, and it will answer most of your questions. I hope it proves helpful to you.” She got to her feet, if a little shakily. “Do not stay up all night reading it.”

Aonva got to her feet. “I won’t, I promise.”

Lady Emgard showed her out. Aonva carefully put the book in her bag before leaving.

“Thank you, My Lady.”

“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Apprentice Aonva. Please, take care of yourself.”

“I will!”

Aonva left the west tower in a slight daze. She’d barely left the corridor when she bumped into Roshil.

“Hello!” Roshil beamed at her.

Aonva smiled back. Another great thing about Roshil: She was always happy to see Aonva.

“Everything okay?” Roshil asked.

“Fine. Lady Emgard… um… had an assignment for me.”

“Great! We can work on it tomorrow. Unless you wanted to cut curfew.”

“What? No! We’re not going to cut curfew!” She looked around to make sure no one had heard Roshil say that. “Don’t say things like that!”

“If we’re not cutting curfew, then we need to get going, because it’s almost curfew.”

“Right.” Aonva hadn’t realized it was that late. How long had Roshil been waiting for her?

“What’s the assignment?” Roshil asked as they started walking to the north tower.

“Oh… um… I’m not allowed to say.”

“Oooh! Secret assignment!”

Aonva nearly laughed at how excited Roshil looked. It was good to see her friend happy after seeing Umkanokseh a few weeks ago.

“Yes, I guess so.”

#VolumeFour #AbsoluteUnderstanding

It’s both awe inspiring and terrifying watching him work. Nelaro Court is in flames. He’s methodical in his destruction. Could it be that he grows stronger with each pass? Or is it that the flames burn hotter? Perhaps that’s what he wants them to think. Believing all is lost. There is no hope of salvation for them. Nelaro Court, in all its majesty, has fallen to a single dragon.

No! Wait! Something struck him! He falls through the air, spiraling down. Another bolt of some kind hit him, and another. Could they have killed him? After thousands of years, is the great Dragon of Fear dead?

I’m saddened by this possibility. My whole life tracking him down, and it’s all over. What is my life without him? There’s nothing left for me.

No! He lives! A blood chilling roar, and V is back in the air. He destroyed their weapons. They don’t stand a chance against him now.

It is truly a thrill to watch him work. I may be one of the only people to recount this historic event. How lucky am I to bear witness to one of V’s greatest triumphs!

People are trying to flee the court now. I almost regret not being closer, but I must maintain a safe distance. I find that I’m a little jealous of those who were in Nelaro Court to bear witness first hand to his awesome might, while I stayed at a distance.

But he won’t allow too many survivors. When they run, he widens his circle of destruction. He only allows some to escape, to tell of the horror. To tell of the day V destroyed Nelaro Court.

Aonva rubbed her eyes and checked the time. Curfew ended soon. She’d been up all night reading and rereading the book. Veran knew everything about Valignatiejir. Although “obsessed” didn’t begin to describe him. He worshiped the dragon.

Her own notebook was a mess of copied information and jotted down questions. Rubbing her eyes again and yawning, she turned to the last page of her notes. The book had mentioned several familiar names, but there was one name she hadn’t heard before: Lapurela. It was the name of a tribe Valignatiejir had destroyed about seven years ago. Next to it she’d written “Roshil?” and circled it.

It had to be. If it was, then Veran had been there. He’d sat in the safety of the woods and watched Roshil’s tribe, her family, burn. Further backing up this theory were the last few paragraphs.

He’s as thorough now as he was with Nelaro Court, more so. It is truly magnificent to behold. He swoops down out of the night, burning tents to ashes.

That mage. Was she in Nelaro? No, she couldn’t have been, or she’d be dead already. What did V call her? Prenowla. I can see tattoos all over her. They look arcane, like carvings on a mage’s staff. She must think she’s so clever, but she’s no match for him.

She tries spell after spell, creating walls of force, firing bolts of magic, but she doesn’t stand a chance. There’s a man with her. She tells him and two children to run. The girl slips out of her father’s grasp and clings to her mother. It’s almost sad to see these ill-fated people.

V attacks the family, and Prenowla becomes enraged. She unleashes a volley of spells on V, sending his own fire back on him, uprooting trees, and grinding rocks against him. He falters in the air, then crashes to the ground.

Just like at Nelaro, he gets back up. No one can stop him. No one. Not this woman. V kills her as her husband and son hide, but the girl has escaped again. He laughs as the girl runs to her mother.

He’s taking the girl. Why is he taking her? Some sort of trophy, perhaps? This is new.

Aonva had already read the passage five times over, but it still infuriated her. That was Roshil, Oshal, and Daylarl. Her friends. More of a family to her than her parents, and Veran was happy that their lives had been ruined. He was a horrible person.

She rubbed her eyes again, then closed them for a moment. She’d learned a lot about Valignatiejir that night. And more about Roshil’s old life. Aonva wished she could’ve met Roshil’s mother. The woman was amazing. She’d read about Prenowla before. Hundreds of discoveries were linked to her. It was going to be hard not to talk to Roshil about it.

Her identification orb went off. Aonva picked her head up from her desk. She tried silencing the orb, but it went off a minute later. She sighed, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then stood up.

After trying to stretch out and work the stiffness out of her joints, Aonva got ready for the day. The lack of sleep was evident, but she forced herself through her routine. Even as she got ready, thoughts of the book danced in her head.

She still didn’t have an answer to the question “Why Roshil?” What had Valignatiejir hoped to gain by cursing her? Was it just a matter of branding his “property”? Or was there something more?

Umkanokseh had said Roshil had a piece of dragons’ magic in her, that it was changing her. Veran mentioned on occasion when Valignatiejir cursed humans, but didn’t know much about it either. In that regard, he wasn’t much help.

Aonva dragged herself out of her room. She ran through everything she needed, convinced that in her sleep deprived state, she’d forgotten something. Unable to think of anything else, she left her room.

“Good morning!”

Roshil’s mood in the morning varied from day to day. It was easy to tell when her heart wasn’t in it, but today, she seemed genuine. Of course. She was always happy to see Aonva.

“Morning,” Aonva said, fighting the urge to yawn.

“Did you sleep okay?” Roshil’s cheer turned to concern, enforced by a furled brow.

“I was… I’m fine.” Aonva remembered Lady Emgard’s instructions. She’d already mentioned the assignment to Roshil, which she wasn’t sure if she should’ve done in the first place, but she didn’t want to say anything more about it. She hoped Roshil wouldn’t ask too many questions. She figured the others were safe. Sirshi wouldn’t care, Oshal would pick up that she didn’t want to talk about it, and Kurgm would leave it if she said as much.

Roshil looked like she wanted to ask, but she decided against it. Even then, a frown occupied her face. They walked to the great hall in silence.

Aonva found herself wanting to comfort her friend. To tell her how sorry she was about what had happened to her all that time ago. But she kept her mouth shut. She couldn’t say a word about the book. Even the name of that dragon upset Roshil. Even part of it had sent her into a fit two years ago.

So Aonva said nothing. For her friend’s sake, she said nothing.

#VolumeFour #AbsoluteUnderstanding

Aonva recited word for word what she’d written. Master Kaernin, as usual, said nothing. If she got something wrong, he’d let her fail. If it would go horribly wrong, he’d stop her before things got out of hand.

Not this time. The ball in front of her moved up exactly two feet. Then it moved to her left, then her right, then back. With only a word from her, it stopped. With another word, it started again. One final word, and the ball floated back to the ground.

She grinned, excitement flooding her. Spells requiring input were harder to get working, but she’d done it. A smile from Master Kaernin was all the encouragement she ever got, but it was enough.

“It worked! It actually worked!” She started explaining it, but Master Kaernin held up a hand to stop her.

Aonva collected herself, taking a few deep breaths. She was progressing, and that was the important part.

Words and images from the book flashed in her head. She’d been thinking about it all day. The urge to tell someone had nearly overwhelmed her. But she’d stayed quiet. So far, so good.

Master Kaernin gave her another assignment, then had her recite the rules of magic.

“Rule One,” she recited, “Command the effect with absolute desire in the arcane language. Rule Two: Absolute desire requires absolute understanding. Rule Three: Don’t waste words.”

After a nod from Master Kaernin, she was free to go.

She’d received a message from Lady Emgard at breakfast. Once again, she was to meet her in the west tower. She was also to get more sleep in the future.

Absolute desire requires absolute understanding.

She stopped walking. Absolute understanding. If you wanted power over something, you needed to understand it. Power over nature? Understand nature. Power over humans? Understand humans. And if you wanted to understand humans, you had to study them.

First, you needed something to study. Someone to study.

Aonva nearly ran through the corridors to the west tower. She passed Roshil on her way.

“Aonva!”

“Can’t talk, Roshil! I need to see Lady Emgard!”

She got to the west tower corridor, but no one was there. She shifted her weight between her feet, her mind racing.

He wants power. They nearly killed him at Nelaro Court. Prenowla nearly killed him. He wants to stop that from happening ever again.

Someone cleared their throat behind her. Aonva spun around and stood to attention.

“My Lady, I have something!”

“Keep your voice down.” Lady Emgard walked past her and unlocked the door to the tower.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry!” Aonva whispered.

She followed Lady Emgard into her study. She waited, somewhat impatiently, for Lady Emgard to settle in. Once they were both sitting, Lady Emgard asked her about what she’d found.

“When Valignatiejir attacked Nelaro Court, he went down. Veran thought for a moment that they’d killed him, but then he got back up. This happens again when Valignatiejir attacks the Lapurela Tribe. Prenowla brings him down, but doesn’t kill him. The first question is, why attack the tribe in the first place? I think the answer is that he was trying to recruit Roshil’s mother. He nearly lost at Nelaro Court and doesn’t want that to happen again. He can’t use magic directly on humans because he doesn’t understand us. When he tried finding someone who did, she refused.”

She pulled out the book and her notes. There was no need for either, but she wanted to be prepared.

“Master Kaernin taught me that the fundamental rules of magic are ‘Command the effect with absolute desire in the arcane language,’ and ‘Absolute desire requires absolute understanding.’ Valignatiejir can’t use magic on humans directly because he doesn’t understand us. When Roshil’s mother refused to help him, he did the next best thing: he took a human prisoner to study her.”

Aonva panted, trying to catch her breath. She was certain she was right. She couldn’t remember being more certain of anything. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.

“Well done putting together who Prenowla was. I expected nothing less of you.”

“Thank you, My Lady.”

“Your final conclusion is the reason I entrusted you with the book. Lord Grund came to the same conclusion after reading it. I wanted to see if you, the only other person who might know her better, agreed.”

“I’m certain of it, My Lady.”

“I can see that on your face. I also see that you were awake all night reading. I’m sure you’ve learned a lot more, but you need rest. Go back to your room and get some sleep before dinner.”

Aonva was never one to argue, especially with Lady Emgard. She packed up her books and stood up.

“We’ll meet tomorrow to discuss the rest of your findings. I look forward to hearing what else you have to say.”

Aonva felt embarrassed from all the praise she’d received.

“Thank you, My Lady.”

She left, still thinking about the book. Veran was a horrible person. How could he watch innocent people dying and rejoice to be in the presence of the thing that had murdered them? Never mind his obsession with Valignatiejir, a dragon that lived on fear.

What if he really did? What if—

“Aonva!”

She nearly walked into Roshil, who was standing at the end of the west tower corridor.

“Hello, Roshil. Were… what were you doing?”

“I was waiting for you. I thought we could go work on that spell to read books?”

Aonva wanted to spend time with Roshil, but she was exhausted. Lady Emgard herself had ordered her to rest.

“I need to get some rest. Maybe tomorrow?”

Roshil’s smile faded away. She visibly shrank.

“Oh. Okay. Tomorrow, then.”

“I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Okay.”

Aonva headed to her room. She wished she could tell Roshil everything, but it was too dangerous. The last thing she wanted was to upset Roshil.

Glancing over her shoulder, Roshil was sulking. Aonva wondered if she hadn’t already upset her friend.

#VolumeFour #AbsoluteUnderstanding

Their table was quiet at dinner. Oshal was the only one who tried to get anyone to talk, but no one else was in the mood. Kurgm wasn’t at their table, and Nourd didn’t have questions at that particular moment.

Aonva was worried about Roshil. She usually had something to say, but today, she was silent. Was she upset that Aonva hadn’t had time for her? Roshil hadn’t responded to her brother’s prompting, so Aonva didn’t want to keep prying.

“Roshil, would you like to work in the library?” Aonva asked after dinner. She smiled, hoping it was enough to cheer up Roshil.

Please don’t be my fault. Please don’t be my fault.

Roshil shook her head, avoiding Aonva’s gaze.

“I can’t. I have work to do in the forge.”

“Maybe tomorrow?”

“I’m busy.”

Roshil turned and walked through the crowd of people.

Aonva watched her go, her heart sinking. She’d only put off Roshil for a day. She wouldn’t have thought it’d be this bad. But then again, they were best friends. Roshil didn’t really have anyone else. And Aonva hadn’t been able to tell Roshil why she couldn’t talk to her.

Aonva hung her head. Surely Roshil would be okay, right? What if she wasn’t? Aonva didn’t want to go back to the way things had been last year. The two of them never talking. Aonva having no friends.

“What happened?”

Aonva jumped at Oshal’s voice. Her friend smiled apologetically.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. Roshil’s been upset. Do you know why?”

“She’s not supposed to work in the forge after dinner. But… I’ve had an assignment from Lady Emgard, and it’s taken so much of my time, and I feel like I don’t have time for anyone else.”

“Then perhaps you shouldn’t be working so hard.”

Aonva jumped again. She wondered why people had to keep sneaking up on her as she stood to attention.

“My Lady! I promise I haven’t said anything about it to anyone!”

Oshal frowned at them.

“I think I should go back to my room,” he said. “Good night, My Lady. Good night, Aonva.”

“Good night, Apprentice Oshal.”

Oshal followed the crowd to the north tower. After it thinned out, Lady Emgard spoke.

“I’m sure there’s no need to worry, just as I’m sure you will anyway. When Apprentice Roshil arrives at the forge, she’ll talk to Lord Grund, who will set her straight. When he does, I’m sure she’ll want to talk to you.”

Aonva gazed down the corridor.

“I don’t know, My Lady. Roshil didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“She’s only upset that you worked too hard. Much harder than you needed to work, I might add. I wasn’t expecting results until at least next week.”

Aonva looked back to Lady Emgard, who smiled back at her.

“Apprentice Aonva, being hardworking is a commendable trait to possess, but one mustn’t let one’s work be all-consuming. I understand that I’m not the only one asking something of you. If you feel overworked, or even if you don’t have time for your friends, I will think no lesser of you for speaking up.”

Lady Emgard nodded down the corridor. “This is twice, I believe, that you’ve done this. Allowed the work you do for Apprentice Roshil to limit the time you have to spend with her. Next time you find that happening, take a break. Spend time with the ones for whom you care. After all, it’s for them that people like us work so hard.”

Aonva nodded. She forgot that sometimes. Learning more and more about dragons, she loved it. But it wasn’t as much fun without Roshil with her.

“Thank you, My Lady.”

“It’s the pleasure of wizened people, such as myself, to share our wisdom with those who have time left to use it.” She motioned down the corridor. “I believe they’re waiting for you.”

Aonva bowed to Lady Emgard, then started off to the forge. She tried rehearsing what she was going to say, but nothing sounded right.

She stepped through the door to the forge. None of the fires were going. No sound of metal hitting metal. But there was Roshil, sitting with Lord Grund.

“Right on time,” Lord Grund said. “Emgard said you were on your way.”

After some prompting from Lord Grund, Roshil stood up and walked over to Aonva.

“I’m sorry,” Roshil said. “I should’ve realized you had something important to do.”

“And?” Lord Grund’s voice boomed through the forge.

“And… it upsets me when you push me aside for work. I want to work together, and I didn’t understand why you couldn’t tell me. I should’ve trusted that there was a good reason.”

Aonva was a little startled. Roshil rarely opened up this much about her feelings.

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have worked so hard. I get caught up sometimes, and I forget about what’s really important.” She smiled at Roshil, but quickly looked away. “Who’s important.”

For a moment, neither said a word.

“It was about the dragon, wasn’t it?” Roshil asked.

“I… um… I’m not supposed to say.”

“It’s okay. You really don’t have to. The way you and Master Grund have been talking about your work, or not talking about it, I can tell you’re avoiding the subject. There’s only one subject people avoid around me.” Her gaze fell to the floor. “Thank you for whatever it is. I don’t know exactly what your secret assignment is, but I know you’re doing it for me.”

Roshil lifted her head and they smiled at one another. Aonva was glad she still had her best friend. She couldn’t think of anyone that meant more to her.

“Great, we’re all friends!” Lord Grund shouted, startling Aonva. “Now get out!”

“We’re going!” Roshil shouted back.

“I can’t believe you yell at him like that,” Aonva said, glancing over her shoulder as they left.

“We do that all the time. It’s how we talk.”

Aonva found herself laughing with Roshil as they walked back to their rooms. Her and her best friend. The person she understood most in the world. The more she thought about it, Roshil was the only one she really understood. She knew more about Valignatiejir now. It wasn’t enough yet, but she’d keep searching for a way to stop him. To keep Roshil safe.

Whatever it takes. I’ll keep her safe.

#VolumeFour #AbsoluteUnderstanding