Upon a Star: Karyana's Journey: Chapter 1, part 4

A Chapter by Sebastien B.

This section introduces another antagonist: Vokram Niros, a high-ranked wizard from the Order... whose ambitions point towards the Chosen.

Ailyn tried as best as she could to dry Karyana's hair while the little girl kept trying to do the same with the tiny, horned and winged creature that was
struggling out of her arms. "Hey, come on!" the girl spoke while her own hair was being dried from the rain.

While Rauz looked at her from his seat in the Desteen's house's living room, he wondered over what he saw less than an hour ago. First was that trapped bottle the burly booze-bag tried to pilfer, then that summoned abomination, the disappearing mage, and how Karyana not only tamed, but caused a complete polymorph of one of the most deadly and wicked beasts alive into... he wasn't even sure what the tiny creature, which was shaking the rest of the rain from its tabby coat like a dog before mewling like a newborn kitten, was supposed to be.

Eridric looked at a bottle of spiced wine he still had from his cellar, one of the few bottles he had told himself he would never sell. The bottle itself was distilled sugar sticks from the "Old Country" - the familiar way he spoke of his birthplace. The once-traveler was born in Nycava, a small island to the south-east of the port city of Gullreach. He wasn't too fond of speaking of his home, for he had to flee it when the former ruler, Caius Earthsworn, was executed for treason to Lady Asuna's teachings. That event caused an all-out civil war, of which Eridric had no news of since his forced exile.

Ailyn was actually one of the very first women that Eridric met on the continent, back when she was working as the handmaiden to an old shopkeeper named Vadeq. The elderly man had died with no heir, so he left her with the task of keeping his shop, a task that proved too much for her. In the end, it was Eridric's knowledge of commerce and a good amount of bravado on his part that allowed both of them to sell the crumbling commerce and leave Rimscar for more fertile fields.

"So... Rauz." Eridric spoke, pouring a tin cup full of the brown liquid for the young alchemist. "Do you mind explaining what happened in words I can comprehend?" he said, putting the cup in front of the man.

"I wish I knew." he said. "One moment, I was examining what was left of that wizard's clothes... the next, that beast sent me flying." he said. "And when I came to, all I heard was the shouts of the crowd, then those... words she spoke."

Eridric let out an irritated sigh. "You're a mage, for All's sake!" he said angrily. "And you were her mentor! You must know what were those words!"

Ailyn looked back at her husband while Karyana was changing into dry clothes. "Calm down, sweetheart. And try not to drink so much..." she answered back before putting the wet towel in front of the fireplace to dry. She tried to not make such a fuss about it, as she had seen more mages in her lifetime than her husband, but such power at Karyana's age was unheard of.

Rauz looked at the cup but didn't bring it to his lips. Instead, he simply looked into it. "My mentor..." he said, stopping for a moment to think. If the spell still affected this world, he knew he had to avoid saying the name of his Magelord. "My own mentor told me of words of power. Such words could only be taught to those who had an innate knowledge of magic, and even so, it would take years for a single person to fathom the full meaning of such words. Also, speaking the word isn't enough to cast it; it must be called out with force and conviction."

Eridric swallowed a mouthful of liquor before Ailyn took the bottle from him. "Are you saying that Karyana... is some sort of witch or sorceress?" he asked, expecting the worse.

"Hardly." he said. "I do not know of her birthright, but considering she not only tamed that beast, but transformed into... this...", he said before looking over at the tiny creature who was running around, chasing a field rat. "...you of all people should know. Do you think there is any malice in her?"

Ailyn sat down at the table after the bottle had been corked and placed back in the cellar. Karyana was all but a bad child; energetic, cheerful, generous... with a slight disaproval of rules, but it was simply because of her age. "We raised her with all the love parents could give to their child."

Rauz smiled before pushing the cup towards Eridric who had finished his own. "Then I doubt she would become a witch. The word 'sorceress' has been ill-used in the past, but she is not of such age as to be granted such a title.

"Then... what are you saying?" Eridric asked worriedly.

"If I may, I would like to further her training in the magical arts. Perhaps she could become greater than any of the magicians that journeyed here for the contest." he replied, dodging the question.

Karyana quickly ran over to the three adults, holding her strange pet in both arms. "Look, daddy!" she said proudly, as the tiny creature was now wearing a bright red ribbon around its neck, its brimming eyes showing curiosity.

Ailyn brought a hand to her lips, stifling a giggle, while Eridric looked at it. "Say... where did that rat go?" he asked, hoping it hadn't fled into the seed shack or the tool shed.

"He ate it." came the girl's response as the odd feline licked its white paw.

The farmer plopped down onto his chair's headrest and let out a sigh. "At least it'll take care of our rodent problem." he replied in a semi-tired tone.

Moments later, a loud knock was heard at the door. The little girl put her pet on the ground and ran up to the door. "I'll get it!" she said, the tiny beast scampering behind her, trying to catch up.

Eridric rose from his seat, stretched for a moment and walked towards the door. Noticing Karyana was still a little too short to reach the handle, he gently moved her aside before turning the handle.

On the other side of the door was an elderly man who wore a steel head-brace over his mostly-bald head, a monocle and greyish robes that reached down to his feet, one hand holding a walking cane. "Good afternoon." the man said politely, though his tone seemed more atuned to the higher crust. "I am Vokram Niros,
observer and task-mage of the Order of the Manaweave. May I come in?"

Karyana backed away from the door as the older man entered. Eridric looked back at her. "Kary, would you please go play outside for a moment?", he asked politely, which surprised her a little.

"Why?" she asked, before the kitten-like creature scampered out the door. "Hey, wait for me!" she said, running after it.

Rauz got up from his seat. "I'll go keep an eye on her." he said, looking back at Ailyn. "If it starts raining again-"

"Actually, I wanted to speak to all of you." replied the semi-bald mage before pulling himself a seat.

---

Pison's body laid shackled and spent, broken and repaired so many times, he had lost count. "Urgh..." he spat, a spew of blood splattering on the cold, marble floor.

Xelnos had not finished with his punishment. That was the only certainty. Still, the Aspect of Destruction had left his realm for some "important" matters. Probably something that had to do with the civil war that had taken place in Bejem, a city far to the east known for its order of dragons and its council of tribes related to every type of gemstone in known existence.

The mercenary had actually enjoyed the benefits of many targets in the outskirts of Bejem, but was never allowed entrance into the fortified city. Still, he did know of the fall of the Emerald House, one of the most prosperous and important tribes in the keep. It was said that the House's downfall started when its former leader turned out to be a Lord Dragon - one of the lesser-known, yet most powerful dragons on Demierth -, and that he had sired an offspring from a maiden of the Pearl Covenant - a tribe known for its powerful warpriests and healers. Although the mother had vanished in the chaos that sprung when the entire Gemstone Conclave - the ruling faction of the empire-city - was disolved, what truly drove the city to war was the uprising of Marthys, half-brother of Emperor Kynen. Having taken the throne in a military coup, the demi-Lord had sought out to eliminate his sibling's bloodline completely, though the daughter of the two tribes had all but vanished.

Pison relished in the destruction of such pillar of human magnificence, even though another tortured soul had now picked up the white-hot torture tools that were handed to it by a bloated demon that seemed more to crawl than to walk away from the scene.

Before the mercenary could register the pain of the first series of strikes for the searing-hot blades, he noticed his shadow had reappeared on the ground. Had Xelnos known that the mercenary was more cunning than he looked, he might have simply destroyed the demonic pawn and scattered his ashes over one of the
many boiling pools of lava and blood.

The shadow spoke in a raspy echo. "She... was found."

Pison made a pain-filled smile, to which the tormented soul saw as a bluff before continuing the torture with more passionate strokes, as if the soul of the man the mercenary had gutted for no reason except a handful of coins wanted to make him experience every moment of pain his racked mind remembered before its life was taken from the world. "...and?" he simply asked.

The shadow pooled around the blood to make a makeshift mirror. As it did, he saw the blurred image of a young girl, barely five, playing in wheat-grass fields. The girl in question had black hair and a face that radiated serenity and innocence, its blue eyes brimming with energy.

"You didn't destroy her?" he asked, even as blood smeared the shadowy mirror as the crimson ichor bled down on the ebony surface. "I told you to-"

Before another word was spoken, the picture in the mirror changed to reflect the events of the Mage Master's contest. Pison loved to steal the powers of mortals he destroyed and use them to haunt other mortals. The summon of a manticore - a being of pure rage and darkness - was a cunning idea, for the beast was an absolute man-killer. And yet... a feeling of dread made a shiver go up and down his spine as he saw how the beast was not only tamed, but changed into a minuscule mockery of its former predatory magnificence.

"There's no doubt about it..." he said before the tortured demon dislocated the shadowy form's head from his shoulders with a noose of red-hot chains. "I found her."

---

"Are you out of your mind?" Rauz shouted, slamming his fists against the table.

"The child needs a proper tutor." Vokram responded, wiping his monocle with his sleeve. "She could be the greatest discovery in magic of the century!"

"Master Rauz was doing a proper job before you came around." Eridric replied, not liking how the overly-dressed wizard spoke. "Besides, Karyana has received constant tutoring of his part for the past seven seasons!"

The half-bald mage tapped his cane against the ground. "You do not understand. Our scholars want to know how this could be possible. No child has ever-"

"So, she's just an experiment for you?" Ailyn replied, not as irritated by the man's lack of tact. "Just a field of study? She's only a girl! She needs her parents!"

"Please reconsider, Master Niros." Rauz added. "She would be in the best of hands with those who love her. That would be selfish to simply take her away."

The older mage frowned. "You do not leave me with any choice." he said, getting up. "That girl's actions today will be spoken of soon, and she may be in even more danger than she is now."

While Ailyn let out a gasp, Eridric slammed his own fists on the table. "You come in here, try to barter the life of our child, then make threats? What did your damn Order ever see in you?"

Vokram let out a frustrated sigh before leaving. "You're letting a diamond in the rough go to waste!" he shouted before slamming the door.

---

Karyana slept in the shade of her parent's apple tree, the kitten-like creature resting peacefully in her lap.

Stopping to wipe his prominent forehead, Vokram looked over to the tree. "If they won't take coin or word, perhaps they will understand better with a display of force." he thought to himself before tapping his cane, turning to the direction of the sleeping child.

In the girl's dream, she was sitting in a circular room, a marble table before her with a large grimoire opened to a page near half of the book. Next to her was her tiny pet, while on a table to her right was that young boy, a visor resting on his table. In front of the two was an elderly scholar, with a beard so long it was tied in knots to avoid getting stuck in the large book he was holding with one hand - quite a feat for his skinny form.

Turning to the boy, she waved at him with a wide smile. "Hi." she said. As she did, the winged tabby scampered towards the boy's seat, letting out a playful meow.

The scholar turned to look at Karyana. "Dear girl, was it this?" he asked. "I do not remember giving you permission to bring pets to class."

"Sorry, mister Scyens." she said, looking down. "He came along..."

"It's alright. I like him." the boy replied before picking the creature up and scratching it between its horns. "He's really friendly."

The Planar of Knowledge drew a sigh. "Well, as long as he behaves. Now, does it have a name?"

"Umm..." the girl hesitated, not sure what to answer.

"How about Chime?" the boy said. "He looks a little like a chimera, and his meowing sounds like a little bell."

Scyens scratched his beard. "Yes, yes. Now do you want to learn how to cast a teleportation spell or not?"

Both children nodded slowly and answered. "Sorry, sir."

---

As Vokram examined the girl, he adjusted his leather gloves. "I can't let such a discovery go to waste..." he said. "She's coming with me, whether they like it or- what?"

As the oblong mage looked at her, he noticed that she was raising her free hand up, her palm facing him. "Is she sleeping? So why is she... wait..."

Taking a moment to kneel down, he examined the girl's lips. Although it was only a whisper, he was sure she was... chanting?

"Kelfae a'amare yamen'sii..." he heard her say once, twice...

Before the third time was spoken, he found himself surrounded by rings of light, followed by a bright flash.

---

"Well... I am quite surprised, children." Scyens spoke, looking at the open books that rested his own desk, having disappeared from Karyana's moments ago. "It only took you three tries, and you were able to displace the book and phase it back without a single page missing."

The boy had actually displaced the book over his own head the first time, which caused Karyana to giggle. However, her second attempt hadn't been very successful either, as it had reappeared inside out and on top of the Planar's head.

"Now then, take the next hour to study the next three pages of your books..." he said before replacing the books where they first were in a simple flick of his wrist. "...and I'll see you next time."

As the elderly Planar vanished, both children looked at each other before bursting in laughter.

"That was fun, Kary!" the boy said. "He looked so goofy with that book on his head."

"Thanks Meddy." she said. "And I like your name idea."

The young boy shook his head. "You got my name wrong again. It's De-my-an." he said, exaggerating the phonetics of his name, which made Karyana laugh.

"You're funny." she replied. "I like you."

Both children giggled for a moment before Chime mewled. Demyan looked at the little creature. "Can he come with me? I want to show him to Mommy Val and daddy Rik."

Karyana pouted. "He's mine!" she said, folding her arms.

The boy got up and walked over to her. "How about a trade, then? I got something you might like." he asked before putting the bat-winged kitten down.

Before the girl started to mope, she noticed the boy grab something from a pocket in his noble boy's coat, and hold it out for her to see.

"Whoa..." she said in awe as she held out her hands. The object that fell in her hands looked like a tiny rock, but it shone as bright as a star in the night sky. "What's that?"

"Make a wish." Demyan answered.

Karyana closed her wish and placed her hand on the stone. "I wish that... that we'll be friends forever." she said after a few seconds of thought.

As her wish was granted, the stone changed shape and formed into a pendant. The item was the size of a coin, but the shape was that of a crescent moon with a five-pointed star with a small emerald etched in its center. "This will be our symbol of friendship." the boy said. "Let's hope we meet one day."

---

As Karyana's dream ended, Progeny touched the surface of the mirror, making it ripple and fade just as Scyens entered the Divine Council's hall.

"She is growing skilled for such a young mortal." the Childlord spoke before examining the new reflection in the mirror. Vokram appeared in it, his clothes seemingly having been turned inside-out and upside-down, the result of the children's first attempts, the mortal losing himself in explanations in the face of his superiors as to the state of his clothes.

"Quite, my Lord." the elderly Planar answered. "Also, the boy seems to show the same innate skill and knowledge."

Looking away for a moment, the boy let out a sigh. "Yet, already there was an attack on her life. Mortals do not understand her very existence." he commented. "I fear Xelnos may have a hand in this."

Scyens shook his head, which made his beard twist around like a disheveled rope. "There were dark forces, but not him. Perhaps he is using a surrogate."

Progeny looked back at the mirror, which now showed Karyana, sleeping alone under the tree, the pendant looking too big around her tiny neck. "I fear that darkness will come for her soon... and she will not be ready."

prev chapter