Ch 51: The High Council & The Old Man In The Village

The arrival of the High Council and the arrest of the Sorceress Astasha had kept the angry mob from tearing the castle apart to find her, but it had not stopped the people from demanding answers and retribution. A multitude of folk had gathered at the palace entrance, some curious, others furious, and all had been promised by the recently arrived Highest Sorcerer that they would be appeased soon enough.

If the War Room had been deafening the previous evening, it was the exact opposite in the Magical Archives Library, where the High Council had designated their occupancy. Not a soul dared to speak unless asked. The Advisory were all present (save Astasha of course, who was locked away in a cell in the tower under the watchful eye of the High Council’s water sorcerer), as were the King and Calder.

The Prince’s Captain had been there, but Josnen had sent Talib away when he was unable to contain his loathing for Sorcerer Terrin, who he continued to swear vengeance upon should his treacherous actions, as he called them, lead to an otherwise avoidable outcome that would risk the wellbeing of his majesty.

Much to Errant’s surprise, Calder had stayed silent. In fact, he hadn’t spoken a word since sending Talib to fetch him and the King to the stables, and vowing to Astasha that he would make sure no harm came to her. After the Highest Sorcerer had ordered her to be held on charges of treason, she was taken away, and the Prince had followed as far as he was allowed, before disappearing for the remainder of the night.

Now Calder stood, his eyes staring dead before him, his lips tight, arms crossed. To the High Council, he was just a child brooding over his failure to get what he wanted. But Errant knew the young man better than that. He was cunning, and calculated, and his silence was to be feared more than his temper.

The High Council had no power when it came to the King and his son, but as sorcerers, the advisory had had no choice when Alaric had ordered each of them to be read, Astasha included. He had requested to be allowed to perform the ritual on the royal family as well, but Josnen had been firm in his refusal. The Authentication Ritual was to ensure the completion of a Prince’s quest for the throne, not to pry into a ruler’s private affairs. There were things the High Council didn’t need access to in the King’s mind, and if they didn’t have the information they needed from everyone else, the knowledge he and Calder had, would do nothing further to aid them.

Alaric sighed with audible exasperation as he looked around the room. “We are not the enemy.”

“And neither is anyone here.” Responded Josnen.

“Your majesty, we have accused no one here of being such.”

The King locked eyes with the Highest Sorcerer. “If that were true, my fire sorceress wouldn’t be locked in a tower.”

The remaining members of his advisory dared a glance between the two men clearly vying for power. But Alaric didn’t miss a beat.

“The Sorceress Astasha has openly broken not only her vows, but laws that govern every kingdom from here to the Silver Sea. She shall be given her chance to plead her case, but there are larger and far more pressing matters to address.”

“If I may Highest Sorcerer,” only Helia would dare to interject. “Matters that Sorceress Astasha is essential to solving.”

“We see things differently, Sorceress.” Responded Alaric. “As far as we can tell, your fellow fire witch is not the key to fixing our problems, but has rather been the cause of them.”

“Then you are blind, or at least choose to be.” Retorted the red head. “If you wish to place blame, it rests on those responsible for cursing the poor child since her birth!”

“Then help us to stop them! But do not let yourself be fooled Sorceress Helia, the actions of all of you have only served to aid them.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Errant stopped her. “Helia!” His look and tone which usually would have been stern, were cautionary instead. He turned back to the High Council. “While I do not wish to offend, you have not offered us the opportunity to provide you with our aid further than giving you access to the memories each of us have of all that has happened.”

“And the information we gathered has been fairly useful, but there is one person whose experiences would make a vast difference in helping us determine a course of action.” Alaric’s gaze turned to Calder.

The Prince, however, still refused to speak, or even acknowledge the Highest Sorcerer, his eyes remaining ahead, unwavering.

“My son has declined to agree to have his memories violated again.” Spoke the King.

Alaric was loosing patience. “Then order him to your highness or we are battling an enemy in the dark with an arm tied behind our back!”

There was silence for a moment as once again, the two men in power weighed off against one another.

But when Josnen spoke next, it was clear he had also ran out of patience, his voice starting in almost a whisper and growing to the full strength of it’s authority.

“I grow weary of sorcerers thinking it is their place to tell me how I am to rule my kingdom. If I recall, you are but advisors to those in power. You may govern your own kind how you please, I may not agree with it, in fact, many of your rituals and ideologies are downright barbaric in my opinion, but that is your right and your place. In this land, especially in the palace, however, I am King, and I will not fucking tolerate any further demands.”

Anyone else would have cowered in the wake of the King’s outburst, but the Highest Sorcerer simply tilted his head and said “I apologize, your majesty. I suppose I just do not understand… if Prince Calder wishes to protect his people, to help us find where the enemy is lurking, where this, Forest of the Damned is, and destroy those responsible for his, condition, so that he may rule this land as a proper King, what is there to hide?” His eyes returned to the Prince who finally met his gaze.

This was the moment Cal had been waiting for. While the sorcerer had tried to goad him into showing his hand, he had in fact given up his own.

His plan had worked.

The High Council didn’t know about the sacred stone, which meant, they hadn’t been able to read Astasha when they tried.

He had to fight not to smile at his success. He kept his eyes locked with the Highest Sorcerer’s for just a moment longer and then turned and left the room.

It wasn’t that he thought the High Council was corrupt, but Cal didn’t trust them. From his understanding of how one came to have a place amongst the five of the most powerful sorcerers in the land, they had each sacrificed everything in their lives for the position. There was no room for emotions on the council, no room for family, or friends, or love. Therefor, no matter what way they approached it, they would never fully understand the bond between he and Tasha, and he knew the first thing they would do once they had all the information they needed from her, would be to perform the extraction ritual.

But it also meant they would never understand the lengths he was willing to go to to protect her.

Calder was a militaristic man. But he was the best at it because he could see every moving piece of the enemy’s advances, and strategize to counter them before they even executed their actions. It was because of this that he had determined, even if he and Astasha were eliminated, this dark mage never would have put all of her eggs in one basket. There would be contingencies in place if one of them were to die. No, the only way to truly defeat this enemy, was to destroy her. And to do that, he needed Astasha with him.

What the Prince really needed, was time. He needed Tasha safe while he found a way to calm his people and convince his army and the High Council to help him get the two of them close enough to do whatever it was they had done in the clearing and against Cordelia. Whatever that blast had been, he knew it worked as a weapon against the demons, and hopefully against this dark mage as well.

But if the council knew where the forest was, they would find their own solution and have every reason to remove the very power from Astasha that could be the means to end this once and for all.

That was when Calder determined he needed to keep them from reading her.

Over the years of his youth, the Prince had gotten to know many of the townsfolk, one of which, was a wind sorcerer named Ellis, who ran a small shop selling ancient trinkets. After Astasha had been taken to the tower, Cal and Talib had snuck out of the castle and down to the village to call upon the old man in secrecy.

The surprise on his face when the heir to the throne had come knocking in the middle of the night was a sight to behold, but they wasted no time with pleasantries. Calder needed to learn how to use the power he had gained to create a barrier, a protective shield like the one Astasha had tried to use to protect him when he had stepped in front of Cordelia’s attack. There was no way any of the sorcerers at the castle could help him, and so he put his trust in an outsider.

He was grateful Ellis hadn’t asked too many questions. And while neither of them seemed sure it would work, he spent the entire night teaching Calder how to harness his energy into a protective shield of sorts.

There was no knowing if he would succeed in his plan as they left at sunrise, but he had to try. Once back at the castle, he locked himself in the chambers he had shared with Astasha, and focused on their connection.

He could feel her, feel her acceptance of the defeat she faced, and the tinge of fear no doubt of what she knew was to come. He focused on his love for her, his determination to save her, the beauty he saw in her, and the feeling of each wonderful moment they had spent together. And then he gathered all of the energy he could summon, built it into a little bubble protecting all of those things, and with all of the willpower he could muster, sent it all to the woman he cherished above everything.

Now, as he made his way away from the library, he allowed himself the smallest of smiles.

Talib was waiting for him, and his face lit up with curiosity and worry. “Well?” He asked.

“It worked.” He responded. “Now let’s get her the fuck out of that tower.”