The archmage, p.1
The Archmage, page 1
part #4 of Journals of Evander Tailor Series
The Archmage
The Journals of Evan Tailor: Book Four
Tobias Begley
© 2022 Tobias Begley
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
To my mother, who’s been with me through thick and thin
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
INTERMISSION: Osheen
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER Eleven
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER Forty-Four
INTERMISSION: Various, Part One
INTERMISSION: Various, Part Two
INTERMISSION: Various, Part Three
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Epilogue
EPILOGUE CONTINUED
CHAPTER ONE
Spells
Nearly a week after Draven had agreed to help me keep myself human, I found Osheen, Oracle, Bridgette, Draven, Tara, and myself all sitting in the depths of Yesgol, studying the spell array.
Draven’s vaults had contained almost all of the components for the ritual that were needed, so while Osheen, Tara, and Oracle worked on repainting the massively complex array, Draven hunted down the few components that weren’t, and I worked on fixing Tara’s Archmage-level spell bottle.
Technically, that was one of the least necessary parts of the process. Draven had a half-dozen spell bottles that would be able to hold the aura repurification spell, and had already generously donated one for the cause.
But I’d been responsible for Tara’s spell bottle breaking, and I needed to fix that wrong, even if those feelings set off a bout of paranoia. After all, was I doing it because it was the right thing to do? Or was I doing it because I was becoming more like a Fae, and felt the need to balance the wrongs of my failure?
Those thoughts weren’t productive, though, so I shoved them in a little black box in the back of my head.
Sure, it wasn’t the healthiest approach, but neither was losing my humanity in its entirety.
“The trouble is charging,” Tara said. “Before, we had the power crystal from Awel Meddal to help, but we don’t have that now.”
“How did your date go?” Osheen asked teasingly, and Tara just turned crimson. Draven arched an eyebrow, and then started speaking.
“I understand that the lack of power is concerning,” he said. “Unfortunately, without anything potent to sacrifice, we’re not going to be able to get this done any faster.”
“You could contribute some of your power,” Tara sniped at the vampiric Archmage, who simply smiled in return.
“I could, but I believe it would be a poor idea. I’m already running at the edges of the council’s tolerances after the incident with Frank. Expending my power now would only invite trouble.”
He glanced at Osheen, then at me.
“Speaking of which, have either of you made any progress on your fifth Arch- Star? It would vastly simplify matters to have you two ascend now.”
“The fusion Arch- Star’s been giving me trouble,” Osheen said, shaking his head. “The problem is, even with all the pressure we’re under, it’s so broad that it feels different.”
“My attempts to make the magesight Arch- Star hasn’t been working as smoothly as I’d hoped,” I admitted. “I thought that with Oracle’s help, it would be easy.”
“I think it’s Oracle that’s holding you back,” Tara said. “You can’t pressure yourself to see magic, because you find it easier than breathing.”
“That seems logical,” Draven said. “Frankly, Evan, it may be better for you to look at the fusion Arch- Star. You’re already possessed of a powerful ability to weave together Faerie and human magic. Admittedly, your new fourth tier star does present something of a problem with using it at its full capability, but it would be easier.”
“I’ll switch my focus,” I said, nodding after a moment. “I’m not sure it will help; it doesn’t feel right for me, but it can’t hurt.”
“Excellent,” Draven nodded.
“If we could get back on track,” Tara said, “the problem is charging time. How long do you estimate before Evan’s too far gone for the ritual to work?”
“A month,” Draven said. “Though that is, admittedly, guesswork, at least to some extent. This isn’t exactly a common condition, and the last record of it – where I got the ritual you have now – comes from an instance of a particularly foolish mage binding himself so firmly to the fallen void that he nearly became a demon. Faerie magic is different.”
“Of course,” I said, nodding, though I felt my stomach twist into a knot at his words.
One month, maybe less, until it was too late.
“I can probably bleed off some of my cloak’s power to get the spell up faster, but…”
“That would leave you defenseless if Castor actually came for revenge,” Osheen said, shaking his head. “No, he’s been too quiet since his removal from the Senate. He’s got something planned, and I don’t want now to be the moment that undoes us.”
“There’s also the matter of your target,” Tara said. “Who would you go after? All of the Archmages deserve death, but it’s hard to implicate them, and even harder to kill them.”
Draven gave us a sly smile, his vampiric fangs on full display.
“I have a few recommendations. Since Frank died, the management of the national treasury and funds has been done by a half dozen people vying for his old spot. That’s caused several military factions to suffer general unrest, and there are currently three main factions. There’s the general military – mages who failed out of Yesgol and were drafted – as well as all of the non-mages. They’re generally unhappy because their pay hasn’t been consistent, and they’re not likely to make a major move.”
“The bulk of the army is in a weakened state?” I asked, incredulous. How could killing one person – even if he had a financial chokehold over the national budget – do so much?
“Yes,” Osheen said, nodding. “Sarai’s been complaining about it. She and Lyn are having a hellish time keeping their soldiers motivated.”
“Yes, which brings us to the two more important factions,” Draven said. “The golden fox battlemages are military elites, and they’ve got enough of a connection to the nobility that they’re well paid… generally. But there is a small core of golden foxes who are like Evan or Tara, ascended commoners. They don’t, and they’re getting frustrated. There’ve been rumors of one mage, a woman who graduated three years before you two began, trying to organize a union of normal soldiers and the commoner golden foxes.”
Osheen winced, then shook his head.
“That won’t work. Byron hates unions; she’d tear them apart.”
“She would,” Tara said derisively. “So what if we target Byron?”
“Or, better yet,” Draven said, a malicious smile on his face, “what if we target the union head? She’s made enough of a splash that it could turn her into a martyr.”
“No,” I said firmly. “She’s not in on the conspiracy, is she?”
“She’s probably aware of it,” Osheen said. “But if she’s not perpetuating it voluntarily, I agree with Evan. We’re not murdering an innocent person in an attempt to make them a martyr and incite open rebellion.”
“Fine,” Draven said, sighing. “I think that would be the best chance of keeping the military off the board, though, or at least tie them up in fighting each other.”
“I have a plan for that,” I said. “I’ve been speaking to Finnalir, Emilia, and Finn’s mom, and even a foreign diplomat from Elderglass when I’ve had the chance, and I think we may actually be able to do something.”
Draven looked contemplative at that, but nodded.
“One day, you’ll have to tell me how exactly you managed to get such odd connections,” was all he said.
“Saving Evan?” Osheen asked, and Tara nodded.
“I still say Byron’s the best bet,” she said.
<
“A fact she’s going to use to get immunity, when the time comes,” Draven said. “But I agree. She may be the weakest of the Archmages, but she’s also the most reclusive. Getting her out of her House will be hard, and breaching the defenses is… unlikely.”
“Then who?” I asked.
“Me,” Osheen said. “I cou–”
“No,” I said. “If it comes to that, I’d rather become a Faerie King.”
“Why not the most predominant of the noble golden fox group?” Tara suggested. “They all actively participate in upholding the cycle. All of them have gone after civilians and would be willing to do it again if they needed to. If we could plant evidence implicating a different Archmage, it could further splinter their faction.”
Draven seemed to consider that for a moment, then nodded, smirking.
“I like it. Edward Elide would be the person who is the closest to a leader they have. Fifty-two years old, so near moving out of active combat and into a support role, with force and life rune bonds. Four Arch- Stars. They’ve been debating elevating him to a new Archmage status, and having him take over for Trenton after the incident last fall.”
It didn’t sit well with me, but then again, I doubted that killing many people would. Frank had been a special case. I waited to see what Osheen had to say. Finally, he turned to me.
“You know some of the servants in the military. Get a report from them about Edward Elide, and see how he acts. I’m not going to agree with killing someone who’s upholding the secret reluctantly, and pushing for change, like Dormer or Eira. But if he’s like George or Jerimiah, then… If it’s what we need to do, it’s what we need to do.”
“I’ll do it,” I said. “Draven, can you get some reports as well?”
“I can,” he said, nodding.
Tara rubbed her hands together.
“Since Draven will be providing the bottle, I can actually participate in this fight.”
That was a touch concerning, but I chose not to comment on it.
“How long do you estimate the spell will take to complete?” I asked Tara, who made a so-so gesture with her hands.
“Two and a half, maybe three weeks. That gives us a narrow window of time, but not an impossible one.”
“Definitely workable,” Osheen agreed. “Draven, I assume you can use your portals to get us in and out?”
“I can,” Draven agreed, a broad smile on his face.
For a long time, I’d wondered how Draven seemed to be able to be anywhere at once, and only when he’d taken us to his manor to collect components had I finally gotten the answer – portals.
He’d riddled Paerús with portals – from the slums of the Capitol, to secret rooms of Yesgol, to trees in the deep forest, and more besides.
Each of them connected to the Wandering Path, and all at relatively the same spot – there was some imprecision with such things, as I understood them, since the walk from Yesgol to Draven’s manor had taken us nearly three miles of territory in the Wandering Path.
Even still, it gave him a degree of unparalleled long-distance mobility. Even if the network cost him over thirty million crowns a year to maintain – and had taken nearly fifty times as much to set up, to say nothing of literal decades of work – it was still absurdly impressive.
It felt… strange… to be able to have such advantages at my fingertips. I was just a tailor, after all.
A tailor who’d unlocked magic, true, and who was now going to become a teacher of magic, true, but in my heart, I was still a commoner kid out of his depth, drowning, surrounded by people stronger than me on all sides.
The depth of the pool was what had changed, that was all.
I was drawn out of my mind by Tara saying something about our path being set, and everyone agreeing. Draven left, then Tara, leaving me alone in my lab with Osheen.
“I don’t feel good about this,” I admitted.
“I don’t, either,” he said. “But… I want to keep you human. Is that selfish?”
“I want to be human,” I said. “Is that selfish?”
“No, but…” Osheen said, trailing off.
“If that’s not, then your desire isn’t, either,” I said, lacing our fingers together. “Now c’mon, let’s get up to the summoning array; it’s almost time for me to help Awel.”
“Do you want me to write to the Ligature while you’re doing that?” Osheen asked.
“That would be great,” I said. “I don’t trust Draven not to send a biased report to get us more on board with… murder.”
I felt gross as I said it, but Osheen seemed to understand, and squeezed my fingers as we walked.
CHAPTER TWO
Business Meetings
A gentle wind swept across the ritual circle, and a moment later, a tear in the fabric of reality opened. I leaned up and gave Osheen a quick kiss on the cheek, then stepped into the rift, appearing in the now-familiar halls of Awell Meddal’s court.
Halls… wasn’t the most apt description, though. They had no roof and no walls, and not even floors, merely grass underfoot. The only reason I could tell that this was an actual structure was the pillars of intricately-carved marble interspersed throughout the space, forming the corner points of the ‘rooms,’ and more importantly, the ritual that made Awell Meddal one of the harder-to-defeat Queens of the Court of Air.
There was a near-constant flow of wind that swam from pillar to pillar, creating an active, permanent wind ward, a ward that reduced every opposing attack to nothing more than a warm spring breeze.
It wasn’t three-dimensional, like my cloak or Tara’s luck spells, but it was certainly at the same level of complexity. In some ways, it reminded me of the ritual Draven was helping me set up – just as complex, but spread over a larger area with less efficiency, due to being an outdated design.
That wasn’t why I was here, of course. I was far from being a master wardsmith, and even if I was familiar with three-dimensional spells, I didn’t possess Awell’s own familiarity with wind magic.
No, the bolt of lightning that crossed the space in an instant and turned into the shape of a short young woman was the reason I was here.
“Lady Mellt,” I said, bowing slightly. “Pleasure to see you again. How does your ascension to Lady of Storms go?”
“Thanksthanks!” she said cheerfully. “Same to you. And good! I’m confident in being called a Maestro of Storms now, but not a Lady yet, so I’m still a Lady of Lightning for now. Hopefully by the end of a mortal year!”
I nodded my agreement, and Mellt wasted no time in pulling out piles of papers from her satchel.
Mellt was the best enchanter in Awell’s court, and I was the best human enchanter that Awell had easy access to, so a significant portion of the time I’d sold to her had been spent working with Mellt.
Faeries didn’t have as easy of a time creating versatile enchantments as humans, since their magic was limited to what aspects they had dominion over, but Mellt was taking essentially the same approach as me – tossing in magic from other worlds to help her overcome the flaws of her own native magic.
She was just approaching it from the opposite side of things. Rather than using human magic with Faerie aspects mixed in, she used Faerie magic with human aspects mixed in.
“Let’s take a look,” I said, taking the papers from her and scanning over them. They seemed to be designs for something rather like my own staff, but instead of using material from the court of land to make a glass sphere, the enchantment would be woven in flows of air that laced through holes within the wood of the staff.
It was an interesting idea, and would let her fit more functions in, but instead, she’d gone with cramming in more power.
“Why more power?” I asked. “You could achieve that using the Tracktath method, just like I did in my own staff.”
“True,” Mellt said, “but! But but but! That loses the efficiency that my own runes have over yours, so this brings in my power more directly.”
I considered that, then pulled out a pen and began to make marks.
“I see the advantage,” I said, “but how about we flow the Tracktath method’s output through your own power runes to re-aspect it using something like the stained glass spell set? That should get you the best of both worlds…”
