Upon a Star: Karyana's Journey: Chapter 6

When one is captured, the other seeks aid. When one is freed, justice is called for.

Chapter 6

Demyan waited in his field of dreams for the two sisters to arrive.

Although the Viceroy was unable to help him directly, Demyan had been granted access to the former lord's library. The boy, not in early puberty, had scoured the hundreds of tomes that the "once powerful Lord Reveen", as the current regent quoted, had written in his lifetime. Even so, Demyan himself wondered if such a thing was possible, as many of the tomes seemed older than even the current Magemaster and Praetor, Rayvak Faesworn.

It was said that Faesworn gained his titles due to his ability as ambassador to the Fae race of the south, beyond the Shimmering Fields, known as a sea of sand where the sun would scorch the skin and cause the eyes to glimpse fleeting images of shimmering illusions, and the Mount of Eclipse, known as such for its unnatural geographical formation �" as one side basked in the heat of the Fields' torturing rays, the other was shielded from it by milder winds and cooler days.

As Magemaster, Rayvak taught the neophytes and initiates of Citadel to their first lessons in magic while picking the select few that would become the elite mages and minds of the castle city. As Praetor, his responsibility was to regulate the worships within the city to avoid any intestine wars. While the latter post was more demanding, the old man, dressed in a monk's robes, yet bearing the golden hems and jeweled staff of the higher wizards of the Order, spent more time studying and translating Fae magic, as well as the arcane lore left by the former rulers, in spells and words easier for the common folk to understand.

Still, the aged magus, in the winter of his years, was rather surprised by the recent events. Although he had heard of Vokram's latest pupil, a brash fledgeling who had immense untapped power, he was more concerned with Demyan. The boy seemed to grow more and more in wisdom and power as the days turned into nights, yet his focus seemed to constantly fleet back and forth between his studies and two girls that, in all his years as a traveling mage before settling at the world's capital of magical knowledge, he had never heard of something like this before.

The last familiar who had arrived with a message from the Order announced Vokram's possible candidacy to the title of Demiarch, the title below that of the Arch itself. It had come to Rayvak's attention that the Order had granted the ambitious mage the Rapture Sphere, but they were quite mute as to why.

What surprised him the most was when Demyan asked him how to dispel such an artifact. The relic was such a piece of magic craft that, should the boy even possessed the ability to demystify the magical weave it was created from, it would take at least a year's time to break every single ward that was on it and even there, the risk of a magical explosion was high.

Looking at the boy who was sleeping on a pile of books, the old man could do nothing more for him except conjure him a pillow and a warm blanket so the young man could rest.

As Demyan waited in the fields of golden wheat under an apple tree, with only the almost-feline Chime at his side, he noticed two shapes appear a few leagues away. One walked very stiffly and slowly, as if its mind was shrouded in the thickest of fogs, while the other took her time to brush its hands against the wavering crops, a subtle wind making the crops dance.

Chime led out a content mewling before jumping around like a jackrabbit. Demyan quickly understood. Although the creature first despaired at the sight of the two girls, now young women who were awakening to puberty, and the disappearance of its former master and creator, it had grown to accept that Karyana may not be there but that, rather than two friends it could play with, there were now three.

Kaina noticed the galloping creature and sped her walk towards the small orchard. As she neared the boy and this strange little pet, Chime leaped as high as his springy legs could and flapped its tiny bat-like wings as hard as it could to reach the brown-haired girl, who caught it in mid-flight.

"Nice to see you too, Chime." the girl said in a relieved tone, feeling more comfortable petting the mewling little beast than speaking to people of her age. Even Demyan, who rose from his sitting position to greet her.

"I'm glad you came." Demyan said, his own expression as relieved as Kaina, though the girl soon blushed and looked away for the shortest of moments before spotting Laurinya, who walked over to the two, dressed in the robes of an Initiate of the Order, which frightened her. "Don't worry. I wanted you two to be here. There's something I want to show you."

Laurinya walked over to the two and spoke in an almost monotone voice. "Hello." was all she said.

Kaina let out a sigh. "I-is she still…?" she tried to say, but her confidence still waned at the sight of what used to be her unruly sister, now acting like a living puppet.

"For now. I think I found out what is doing this to her. Have you looked at the pendant she wears?" he asked, pointing to what looked like a beaded pendant made of onyx and ivory pearls, a large spherical stone resting against her budding chest.

Kaina nodded, but looked a bit envious at how Laurinya was growing. While both girls were of the same age, the golden-maned girl now looked at least a season or two older than she did, her body having matured somewhat faster than the mousy warrior-cadet was. Perhaps it was due to all the intense training the Academia forced upon her.

Demyan walked over to Laurinya who, while someone placid, still took a defensive stance as he tried to reach for the object. "Don't touch that!" she said, though the aggressive tone was somewhat missing from her words, making them sound vapid.

The boy then looked towards Kaina. "That bauble is what's keeping her from being herself. I think there might be a way to get rid of its magic."

The brown-haired girl tilted her head. "Why not just destroy it? It would be quicker."

"But also more dangerous. If that thing shatters here, who knows if it won't just destroy her… and us along with it." the young man replied.

Kaina took a quick step back, holding Chime tightly, the little creature struggling against the girl's grasp. Noticing her reaction, she let the creature go too hastily, almost dropping him had it not been for its wings flapping away to keep it aloft. "I'm… I'm sorry!" she sputtered, losing herself in apologies.

"Just calm down and watch." the young man spoke to the girl dressed in a hardened leather armor, her arms folding in front of her chest. The tiny creature landed with much effort on Chime's left shoulder pad, letting out a mewling sound that was close to a sigh.

Demyan looked at Laurinya. "Laurinya, you remember me, right?"

The girl looked at him up and down with empty eyes. "Yes."

"Then you know you can trust me, right?" he added, to which he only received a slow nod. "Then can I see your pendant for a moment?"

The girl shook her head slowly. "Master Vokram says that no one is allowed to touch the Rapture Sphere."

"R-rapture?" Kaina asked, finding the name somewhat frightening.

Demyan looked back to Kaina. "It keeps her mind half-asleep, so she can't fight back or be angry. She's as docile as a sheep right now."

Kaina shook her head then closed her eyes. "I-I don't want my… my sister to be a sh-sheep!"

"Just watch." was all Demyan said before he cupped his hands together, arms half-extended in the direction of the pendant.

"What are you doing?" Laurinya responded in the same half-awake tone.

Demyan had studied the object over the past ten months and had been lucky enough to find a flaw in the artifact's design. Although there were wards and wards to protect it from destruction magic and any sort of physical alteration, a well-orchestrated alteration spell could easily past through almost all of the wards.

As Mana flowed from the dream-woven field into Demyan's palms, the bauble didn't recognize the coming spell until the incantation was spoken. Already, a tiny crack, the size of a pin, appeared on the surface of the object.

"Master Vokram will be displeased if…" Laurinya trailed for a moment, before her expression went from almost deathly still to that of sudden shock. "Huh? W-what?"

Kaina gasped as she could see the green light returning to Laurinya's eyes. "S-sister?" she said, hoping the golden-maned girl would recognize her.

Demyan raised his hands towards Laurinya's forehead. "Here, let me help." he said, changing the weave of the spell, concentrated on a thread and needle that struck Laurinya's forehead for a second before vanishing.

In that second, the girl saw memories of days and nights passed under Vokram's enrapturing pendant. Days of students playing pranks on her without so much as a reaction from her when all laughed at her near-comatose state. Evenings of intense studies that would have driven the sanity away from any other neophyte. Nights of restless sleep and empty nightmares. Dreams of this place… of them…

"K-Kaina… ugh… what… what happened?" she said, trying to shake the headache off. Looking down at herself, she made a scowl. "Ugh… what am I wearing? And that pendant? I'd rather be dead than wear that stupid thing for another second!"

Chime mewled as it fluttered over to Laurinya, landing on top of her head just as Kaina rushed towards her sister, catching her in strong embrace. "Sister, you're back! I was so worried…"

Laurinya looked embarrassed as Demyan let out a relieved laughter. "Get that off me!" she shouted, though it was hard to tell if it was because of Chime's position or because of the relic that still hung around her neck.

Demyan walked over to the emerald-eyed girl. "I wish I could do it, Laurinya, but those wards are really strong. I was able to decipher one of them, though, and it's said that if you ask someone of magic nature to remove it, and that person does, only then can it be taken off."

Laurinya broke from Kaina's hug and grabbed Chime, placing it just under the Sphere. "So you're telling me I gotta ask someone to take that blasted thing off me and they gotta say yes? Why don't you do it-"

Before she could complete her sentence, she felt a tug against her neck as the cord of the necklace was stretched. "What the?" was all she could say before noticing Chime's with a length of the object in her mouth, pulling as hard as it could. "Chime? You want to do this for me? I've been nothing but a pain for you!"

Chime looked up to gaze into Laurinya's eyes for a moment before continuing to pull. "Heh… yeah, that's it. Keep it up, and I'll fish you a nice big salmon!" the girl replied, feeling a mixed pool of emotions: guilt, relief, anger, happiness… All that would come out was a single tear that fell from her cheeks onto Chime's forehead.

The little creature was startled by Laurinya's sudden display of emotion that he pulled back too hard and fell out of her hands, landing on all fours like a cat, the object having snapped off, a pair of black and white beads falling into the tall wheat-grass under the apple tree.

Laurinya picked up the little creature and snuggled it. "You little devil, you! Come here!" she said before scratching it behind the ears, making Chime's tail wiggle around.

Kaina wiped a tear from her eyes. "My sister's back… this is so great!" she said, looking back and forth at Demyan and her golden-maned sister.

"I wish it was that easy…" the boy said, passing a hand in his unkempt hair. "We may have taken if off here… but it'll have to be taken off outside."

Laurinya looked back in shock. "Are you saying we have to do this every damn night? What kind of life is that?"

Kaina looked worried. "But what if no one wants to take it off for her?"

Laurinya thought for a moment, then let out a smile. "I know how!" she said before looking back at Demyan. "What if I make up a story right here, right now? If that old crusty-faced haggard left me like that even when I sleep, he must've had reasons right?"

Demyan scratched the back of his neck. "Hmm… maybe he tried to make you study even when you slept for real. That would be like force-feeding a duck to make 'foie gras'."

"Wha-what? You're not making any sense…" Laurinya retorted. "If he thinks he can stuff me like a pig before it's put on the spit, he's dead wrong… with the emphasis on dead!"

Demyan shook his head. "That's what I tried to say…"

Kaina looked at her sister with concern. "B-but… how are you going to make it… um… how are you going to… convince them?"

Laurinya made a mischievious grin. "All I need is Chime, some fish, and a bit of coal dust…" she said, remembering an old folk tale about the Nightwatcher itself.

----

Vokram was mortified as he stood in front of the Court of Sorcery, the judge and jury of the Order. In the plaintiff's seat was his pupil, though she was hardly recognizable, as her outfit looked like some beast had mauled her. She even showed scratch marks and bite scars he had never seen before, and the fact that her face was stained with ash made him dread for her well-being.

So did the Order.

It started only five nights ago. He left her to rest, making sure she would continue studying while her conscious mind slept through the night. When morning came, it looked like a demon had trashed her room. Every book and scroll was burned or touched with flames and ash, while small footprints unlike any he had ever seen were strewn across the floor. The bookshelves and bed were smashed and the smell of brimstone and oxidized air made his nose twitch.

Whatever had entered the room had come in and out of the window without anyone noticing it, left the place battered and broken, and had left, leaving her scarred and even scared.

Every night, she was moved to a different room. Yet, even in the most well-warded ones, without any windows and guarded by night-watch, the result was always the same; the rooms ended up in total disarray without any proof of what had happened.

That was why Rayvak himself was summoned to the Court. Though Demyan seemed a bit eager to see him leave, stating he wanted to surprise him with 'a special gift' when he came back, the old magus knew that the boy was honest enough not to touch any restricted books or relics that were deemed too fragile or dangerous to wield.

And it was Rayvak who was interrogating the golden-haired girl.

"Place your right hand on the Codex of the Order, raise your left hand. Do you swear to speak the truth, and only the truth, as demanded by Raemu and the Court of Sorcery?" he asked Laurinya, whose eyes seemed as lifeless as before.

"Yes…" came a monotonous response.

Vokram tried to keep a stone face, but the fact that one of the members of the Arch, who was also the ambassador to the southern Fae and councilor to the Viceroy of Citadel, was interrogating his pupil, made him nervous. Even when he ordered the girl to forget what happened during the last few nights.

"Now, then. Will you please tell the jury what happened to you during the past five nights?" Rayvak asked, pointing to the crowd of mages and initiates that had gathered to watch the audience.

Laurinya shook her head. "Master Niros told me to forget."

The entire crowd replied to those six words with a flurry of shouts and scowls, to which the Arch, sitting as grand judge, forced to silence with a strike of his gavel. "Order in the court!"

Vokram knew he had made a capital mistake. He did tell her to forget, but he had not told her to keep quiet about it.

"Then, what exactly do you remember? What memories do you have of the nights before." Rayvak asked.

"Nightmares…" she spoke in the same monotonous voice. "I was studying a tome of conjuration and recited a spell…"

"And what happened?" the old man asked.

"Something appeared… the Nightwatcher."

At those words, everyone in the room panicked. The Arch had to hammer his gavel again and again. "Order! Order in the Court!"

"The Nightwatcher…" Rayvak stated. "Let the Court take note that Vokram had granted access to one of the Order's forbidden tomes of lore, and that the conjuration spell, cast by this initiate, caused this incident."

"I object!" Vokram shouted, raising from his seat. "I possess no such spell!"

"Then perhaps, you could explain this. Please examine Exhibit A."

A monk entered the room with what looked like the tattered remains of a grimoire, several pages ripped from it. The Arch motioned the monk to approach and hand him the book. As he examined it, his face grew somber.

"It seems this book was borrowed from the Archives a full month ago and never returned." the judge noted. "The date of collection is passed by a whole week."

Reyvak turned back to Laurinya. "Do you know what the Nightwatcher is, child?"

Laurinya's response was a droned lecture. "The Nightwatcher is said to be a creature born nightmares. It is said that it only appears when someone's dreams are disturbed by unnatural forces, and will act violently towards the source of the disturbance."

Reyvak nodded. "A very… by-the-book response, wouldn't you say? As if she was told how to answer."

Vokram raised his arm up again. "I object! This was simply meant as a private class. Mageweaver Seyvin may speak for me on this one."

A member of the jury rose. Mageweaver Seyvin was a woman in her early thirties, wearing the colors of the Mentors, the teachers to the more gifted students. "I would recognize these words anywhere, for I was the one who wrote this chapter. Whatever sorcery she is under, it seems she is less of a child and more of a construct!"

This accusation rose another wave of shouts and rowdiness until the Arch intervened. "Magemaster Reyvak, please let this child answer freely."

Reyvak winced at the words, then noticed the amulet around Laurinya's neck. "Your honor, I have an exhibit I would like to show you. A sudden… inquiry."

The Arch motioned the elderly mage forward. "It is not like you to bring un-testified items before me."

"Perhaps, but this may add 'illegal use of a magical relic' and 'illegal use of magic on a student' to the list of possible accusations." he noted, pointing to the amulet.

The judge nodded as Reyvak returned to Laurinya's side. "Laurinya, is it? Would you please tell me when you have received this amulet?"

"I object!" Vokram shouted. "This is not why this trial is in session."

"Perhaps it is. Let the Jury be noted that the child is wearing a damaged version of the Rapture Sphere."

Vokram sat back down, unable to comprehend. 'Damaged?' he thought. 'How is that possible?'

Laurinya stared blankly at the elderly magus as he continued. "Laurinya, would you please allow me to take this from you?"

For a moment, the old man could see a spark life glimmer in the girl's eyes. "Yes."

As Reyvak removed the artifact from around her neck, her previously glassy eyes shimmered emerald green. "Ugh… hmmm… what… where am I?" she said, looking confused.

Reyvak raised an eyebrow. "Laurinya, child, what is the last thing you remember?"

The golden-haired girl looked around, then down at herself. "Huh? Why am I wearing this? What's going on?"

The crowd became restless. "Please answer the question." the Arch spoke.

"Huh? Oh… um… last thing I remember… I have such a headache… um…" she replied, hesitating for a moment. "The last thing I remember… I think it was someone putting something really heavy around my neck."

"Would you be able to point who it was in the crowd?" Reyvak continued.

Laurinya nodded for a moment, then looked around the room before pointing at Vokram. "Him."

The accused man got up. "Your honor, I was given specific instructions to use the Rapture Sphere to teach that child discipline. You even signed the authorization."

The crowd started murmuring. "Do you have the signed authorization with you?"

Vokram took a quick look in his satchel. "Yes, your Honor, it's… wait… Where is it?" he said, his tone building in panic.

Laurinya cut in. "Your Honor, would this be the document?" she said, pulling a loose page from the first exhibit.

The Arch took the note the girl handed to him, and examined it. "The signature is correct… but the terms of office state that all magical relics must be returned within one week's time after the certificate is signed… and it seems that this letter is over a year old."

The crowd soon burst into another fit of shock that muted Vokram's words, but not the Arch's gavel.

"So, child, from this document, you are telling the Court that this man has been stripping you of your liberties for over a year now, and it was the Planar of the Night's sentinel that attacked you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" she replied. "I'm supposed to be… nine years old!"

Rayvak looked back at the girl. "You appear closer to eleven." he said, before looking back at the jury. "Take note that the child has no recollection of the past fifteen months since the date marked on the certificate."

The Arch raised his arms, to which the crowd went silent. "It seems the accusations are stacked against you, Vokram Niros. You are being accused of misuse of a magical item, magical misuse and misconduct to your own pupil, theft of magical relics and of teaching a neophyte illegal magic."

Vokram rose and looked at the jury. "This child was a danger to us all! Had I not used the Sphere, she would have continued to bring harm to the Order's finest!"

The Arch looked back at the accused. "Perhaps, but stripping her of nearly one year and a half of her life to do it, and Raemu knows what else you might have done... these accusations do not account for correct conduct within the Order!"

Vokram sat back down as the jury huddled together. Laurinya looked on with curiosity as the crowd murmured. No one could see that she was smiling.

Minutes later, the jury turned back towards the court room. It was Seyvin herself who rose. "Your honor, the jury has reached a verdict."

A monk handed a piece of paper to Reyvak, who then handed it to the Arch. Adjusting his glasses on his bony nose, the old archmage and judge spoke.

"On the account of Vokram Niros vs. Laurinya Val'kyr, for the accusations noted by the court, we find the defendant… guilty of all charges."

Vokram raised and looked at the court. "You wouldn't dare! This child has the potential to be the greatest mage of all Demierth! You can't take her from me!"

It was Laurinya's turn to act. Placing her palms, thumbs and pinkies together, she spread her other fingers and closed them like a bear trap. Immediately, Vokram's lips shut closed, which the surprised mage was unable to open.

"Vokram Niros, as punishment, you are hereby stripped of your titles and privileges, and your status as member of the Order of the Manaweave will be revoked. All of your possessions will be reclaimed, and you will be sent to Wizardbane Prison for ten years."

Laurinya turned to look at the Arch and rose her hand. "Your honor, may I make a suggestion? For the time I lost, would I be allowed access to his possessions? If permitted by the Court, of course?"

The Arch took a moment to think. "Laurinya Val'Kyr, you will be given exemplary status in the Order, and will be allowed access to Vokram's office, but all of his possessions will be cataloged and accounted for. Consider your rank raised from that of Initiate to that of Mage."

Laurinya smiled mischieviously. 'I'm not through with you yet, old man…' she said, looking at the defeated Vokram.

Author's Note

Any and all comments, reviews, critiques and views are welcome.