Our story began here.
Love of the Lost
Amber was completely frayed. Her workload in the herbivorium had doubled with the demand for medicine and simple magic charms to detect Wild Magic. On top of that she had to assist in Katrin’s healing.
Still at least as well as Erin she had several other journeymen and talented novices to help. Some of them had shown such aptitude for the work that she suspected some were covert witches only appearing to follow the elemental path.
“Not those,” she sad to a harried novice, “I spotted some mould on them this morning. Throw them away and pick some fresh.”
Novice flushed, embarrassed she hadn’t noticed and gathered up the spoil into a wicker basket.
Satisfied, Amber did a quick check on the other stock before making sure that new growth at the back of the cave wasn’t being over-harvested. It was then that she noticed Lucy Greystoke hanging around her desk.
“Maestro can I help you?” she called over. Then seeing she hadn’t been heard she dusted off her mucky palms and crossed the cave to the more constructed end of her herbivorium. “Maestro?”
“Ah, there you are,” Lucy beamed, “And call me Lucy, of course you must.” The Green Mage adjusted her robes as she cast a distracted eye over the books on Amber’s desk. “I see you have been reading up on the Triptych.”
Amber frowned, it was an unpleasant topic and with so many novices around, she realised that she should have put the book away. But nonetheless there were no words on the cover and the only thing to identify it were the symbolic glyphs on the cover. So Amber had thought it safe enough.
“I recognise those symbols,” Lucy offered by way of explanation.
“Ah, of course,” Amber replied feeling foolish at her surprise. Lucy was after all a mage.
None of this appeared to concern the Magus.
“Have you ever considered how akin Wild Magic and Green Magic are?” Lucy asked, still smiling.
“You had better not let Dniester hear you say that,” Amber chuckled.
“Or the Grand Magus for that matter,” Lucy added conspiratorially. “But it is true. There are some overlaps, especially when it comes to herbs and such.”
“I suppose so, I do find my affinity of help sometimes yes, but then I will never be an adept let alone a magus,” Amber said diplomatically lest she be seen to compare herself to Lucy in ability.
“But your gifts lay in other directions,” Lucy beamed in her most charming manner. “By the way, did you find out anything useful about…” she coughed, “Our nasty friends?”
“I was checking if anything had ever been recorded about a similar situation to Katrin’s,” Amber said wearily.
“But you found nothing?” Lucy asked casually reaching out for the book and tentatively lifting its cover. “Perhaps a more experienced eye…? With regard to Green Magic I mean, I know you far surpass me where Wild Magic is concerned.”
“Any help would be appreciated,” Amber said enthusiastically.
Lucy closed the book and went to take it.
“But… that book is from Sejanus, he said… not to lend it to anyone without his or the Grand Magus’ permission. I…” It was so embarrassing Amber thought, sometimes these notions of security go too far.
“Oh of course,” Lucy snapped her hand away, “I don’t want to put you in an awkward position.”
“There is another copy… I am sure that if you ask… it’s just that I…” Amber blushed.
“Absolutely, I will look into that, besides, I suppose you still need this copy, I mean two heads are better than one and if… anyway the truth is being a woman I feel that my talents have been wasted rather since the attack and I just thought that I might be of use here,” Lucy pulled a face. “Oh well I’ll look into it, as I say.”
*
Tomas stretched and yawned as he walked onto the battlement above the east gate. Below him yet another army was heading east past low squat buildings. Without him asking for it, one of his men handed him a hot cup of sporitt. It was bitter in his mouth, whoever had made it had over boiled the leaves, he thought as he worked his mouth in disdain. But he had tasted worse. The soldier shrugged; no doubt he had tasted it too.
He was one of the new transfers from holding camp, an assignment that was a sure sign the last of the army would soon move. To reassure the man he was not one of those officers who lashed out at subordinates for the least thing, like foul sporrit for instance, Tomas snorted in agreement and tendered some small talk.
“Did you hear those damn witches last night? Bloody racket,” he said.
“It fair gives me the creeps Sir,” the soldier said with a shudder, “Those men… the priests as well… what is it with their voices?”
Tomas didn’t know, but he had heard that they were eunuchs, so he said, “I tend to stay out of Shadow Dreamer business.”
“Oh… yes Sir,” the soldier said quickly.
Seeing he might have put the man at unease, Tomas added, “Not for likes of you me eh, those people?”
“No Sir,” the man laughed.
Tomas took another swig. As if on cue just below him were a line of witches and Shadow Dreamers about to pass through the gate.
“Sagy-sah, sagy-say, ompoomi-da; saggy-say sagy-sah ompoomi-da,” they sang, each phrase punctuated with a bell.
“I hate that bloody noise,” Tomas spat, the sporrit splattering on the wall at his feet.
Just then one of the priests turned and looked up at him. His cold dead eyes drilled into Tomas’ own and the officer fancied that a piece of his soul had been taken. He shuddered.
“Why do we need these creeps just to have a go at the Easterner swine?” the soldier said oblivious to Tomas sudden discomfort.
“Shut up you fool,” Tomas rasped.
He was relieved only once the column moved on through the gates and on towards the Central Plains.
*
Far to the east in the Central Plains coastal city of Glanthros, the richest man in the world reached out for a date with pudgy fingers dripped with gold rings. His hand hung over the fruit bowl like a man poised over a chessboard, before plunging to snare its prize.
In the background a gang of admirals pored over sea charts and maps moving coloured flags and little wooden ships. Xerses, still toying with his date, knew little of such things, saving for the fact that the fleets of Challis were the key to his wealth.
He was a large man with a soft look of self-indulgence. He lived for his comforts and above all respect. Despite his superior wealth, the Eastern kings and princes continued to look down on him and his kingdom. Well he would soon explain to them their error.
He glanced at his favourite concubine Talia and smiled. The girl dropped her chin onto his arm and gazed back of him with unrestrained adoration. Her eyes seemed to say, ‘You will show them all.’
“How goes your little plans over there?” Xerses said without taking his eyes from the woman.
The babble of conversation ceased and all eyes turned to regard their king.
“Majesty, the new ships you authorised are ready, but many of the crews are mercenaries, our own manpower…” Commissary Admiral Darius Han explained.
“There are some issues integrating the foreigners into our regular forces your majesty,” First Admiral Mykonos Milan put in quickly, irritated that a junior admiral would speak out of turn.
“I don’t want to hear about problems, I have promised our new allies that we would crush Pandoria and those Precips upstarts before they can be reinforced by their allies from Timbre,” Xerses said angrily.
“The Timbre fleet has yet to leave port and anyway is far to the south,” Admiral Milan assured him.
“There must be no mistakes,” Talia cooed under her breath, “Do not permit them to fail you.”
“Spare me your complacency fool. How soon can my fleet sail?” Xerses spoke angrily even as he gazed affectionately into Talia’s eyes.
“Everything will be ready for our attack. Have no fear majesty,” Admiral Han assured him.
Talia smiled broadly at this news.
*
Amber was just finishing up for the day and was considering if she should call in on Katrin. Heaving a sigh she cast her gaze around the cave for any stragglers.
“I’m closing up here, anyone left working back there?” she called out.
There was a cough and something moved. Only it wasn’t towards the back of the cave, but nearer the door. Amber reached for a glow globe and shone it that way.
“Have you got a minute Amber?” Tabitha asked.
“You gave me a start, I didn’t see you standing there,” Amber gasped clutching her throat.
Since the demon had attacked, Amber had been more fearful than most about its reappearance. It didn’t help that she had now found a rich vein of research about the Triptych and what it was capable of.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to… I guess we are all a bit jumpy at the moment,” Tabitha winced.
“How is Katrin? I haven’t had a chance to see her since this morning,” Amber asked.
Tabitha winced.
“Nor have I really, I called just after you left. I think the master would be shouting the place down if there had been any change,” Tabitha said forlornly.
Or tearing it apart, Amber thought grimly. She liked Tabitha’s optimism better.
“It is about Katrin that I wanted to see you. Well in a way,” Tabitha said meekly.
“Is there something wrong?” Amber frowned.
Tabitha nodded.
“I… I…” she sighed, “Mr Dniester said I should talk to you.”
“It looks like you are,” Amber suggested.
“Oh Amber,” Tabitha wailed and in a blink she had tumbled into Amber’s arms.
“I think you had better tell me all about it from the beginning,” Amber soothed.
*
Katrin lay unmoving on her bed while Fear sat in silent vigil. But his attention was wavering.
Patterns, patterns everywhere, he thought like a man drunk, his ober-mind not so tightly under his control now as the two entities that formed the magus phased in and out of synchronicity.
Of course it was just a psychological trick; a discipline that protected the fragile emotional Fear from his hard powerful persona. But the man was at the end of his tether now and his mind was going places it could never have reached before.
“Perhaps its the gods,” he giggled as he gazed at invisible patterns like a man on hill mushrooms.
Never had the patterns come so easily to him. In fact he could not shut them down if he tried. The whole room around him was a cascade of all four elements… no five, he amended.
“But there aren’t five elements,” he cackled joyfully, his eyes were manic now.
His ober-mind regarded the display dispassionately even as the man fell apart. The four elements were in perfect harmony, shimmering like northern lights, defining everything in the room but himself and the woman laying comatose on the bed.
But here the fifth element kicked in. Katrin and he were made of it. Not an element though, he considered. I have seen this before, he mused.
“Although you are not supposed to,” Fear chided himself in a conspiratorial tone bordering on hysteria. “Shhhh,” he added, putting a drunk-like finger to his lips, although there was no one to see.
It is the Wild Magic, he realised. It defines all anima, all that is not bound by the elements. He had observed it before, but had been too afraid to try his hand at manipulation. Besides it was forbidden.
Looking now more closely than ever and free of emotional distractions his ober-mind studied the phenomenon.
Fear giggled again, but his mind ignored the fool.
It is the glue that binds us to the elements, he realised and with the deftest of touches he disentangled a loose hair down into its elemental patterns.
Then he turned his attention to Katrin and looked deep inside her. Something was wrong, very wrong. Black tendrils of… he brushed them with his mind, clearing some of them.
Fear sat up the manic expression gone from his face.
“Maybe I can…”
*
“You foolish self-pitying brat,” Amber scolded as she brought the short wooden paddle down hard across Tabitha’s exposed bottom that lay uppermost and vulnerable across her knee, “As if we don’t all have enough to do. What did you think you could do?”
The growing sting in her behind had grown to blaze now and it was all Tabitha could do not to cry. Not that she didn’t deserve it, but tears now would seem another indulgence to add to her crimes.
“You troubled Dniester with this nonsense, I cannot believe you. It would have served you right if he had given you a repeat of that day. I have a good mind to send you back to him,” Amber said angrily, the paddle emphasising her displeasure. “Just you wait until Fear hears about this. How do you think he feels? Have you once considered that? What are you even doing here?”
“I’m sorry,” Tabitha wailed, no longer could she hold back her dacrylic self-indulgence and tears poured from her eyes.
It felt good to cry, although she hated herself for it. She was convinced that she didn’t deserve any such relief.
Amber well understood Tabitha’s feelings; she herself had felt much the same just days before over the incident with the witches. In the fall out from Tugaal’s attack and Meredith’s intervention to try and save Katrin, all talk of a hearing for her behaviour had been ignored. But Amber could not shake off the lingering doubt that her breach of the Pandorian Barrier had weakened it somehow and had allowed the Beast entry in the first place. She too would love a spanking to make it all better, but life at the extremes was seldom like that.
Nevertheless, Tabitha’s reaction and guilt was as foolish as it was pointless. What was done was done and there were better things to than console the girl. On the other hand she was young and if this short cut worked then what the hell? And hell was just about right, Amber mused over the matter with a grim determination.
The paddle had turned Tabitha’s bare bottom a clean even red now, giving it a russet glaze that more than justified her howling. Too bad for her that they were only just beginning.
“Do you remember the last spanking you had? Believe me it will be a fond memory by the time I am done. This spanking will compare with a Dniester caning before it’s over,” Amber promised.
It was an exaggeration of course, but for one undergoing a spanking, such distinctions were fairly moot.
“I’m sorry,” Tabitha wailed. It would be her sole and miserable response for a while yet.
Amber spanked until her arm was weak from exertion and she could scarce hold the paddle. Her anger had triumphed over technique on this occasion, but still, maybe it had done them both good.
“Right you,” Amber barked, “Go and stand in that corner while I go and see if I have any devil root left.”
A thoroughly miserable Tabitha couldn’t help clasping her tail as she stumbled for a bare space of wall. It was where she had stood once before.
“I see,” Amber sighed as she returned with the ‘medical’ roots. “I said the corner, if you can’t obey a simple instruction then we can begin over I think.”
Tabitha was going to be one little girl who would think twice about seeking a consolation spanking from her, even if it took all night, Amber decided as she took the sobbing witch back across her knee and started in again with the paddle.
*
The corner was rapidly the worst place Tabitha had ever been. The second spanking had lasted a week packed in a night and she seriously doubted whether she could sit down. The tears had long ceased to be cleansing as the devil root inserted firmly in her fundament had taken on all the properties of a hot poker.
She was finally sorry. Sorry she had run. Sorry that she couldn’t help. Sorry about the whole damn thing. She was even sorry now that she had come to see Amber. There was nothing she could have done. She knew that now.
“Amber please,” Tabitha hissed through gritted teeth, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to waste everyone’s time. I couldn’t do anything. I see that now.”
“That’s good to hear. I am glad you have finally got things clear. Just imagine how much clearer they will be in… oh another hour; especially if I decide to spank you again for good measure. Especially if I employ this other root as well,” Amber sighed.
“Ooh, how do I keep getting myself in this mess,” Tabitha wailed.
“If you really want to make amends…?” Amber let the words hang.
“I do, really I do,” Tabitha groaned.
“Then you can stand in for Katrin as monitor,” Amber said.
It is time she learnt some responsibility and giving her that job is worse than spanking her.
“But I… I couldn’t… you don’t understand,” Tabitha gasped.
“I think I do,” Amber said in a tone of finality.
To be continued.
