Lost Mage 3

Kale was ordered to make sure I stayed put that night, so we both spent a sleepless night talking. As much as I wanted to dislike this gangly soldier, I couldn’t help but find him enjoyable to be around. He had grown up on a secluded mountain with his father and his brothers. Kale had been the youngest of four, and as the youngest he had to work extra hard to gain his fathers approval. “I might not look it, but I am actually very strong, I would train for hours so that I would be the best, I wanted my father to know that I was good with an axe, that I could cut down trees faster then the others.” He paused for a moment and looked up at the sky. “But my father never really appreciated it, so when I heard about Lord Drake I thought maybe in him I would find a man who would appreciate me. So I went in search of him, and I found city after city burned to the ground in his wake, and I didn’t feel badly about it, because he is fighting for a just cause.” I plucked at a few blades of grass. “What is his cause… you know I have never been told.” I asked Kale. I got another funny look, before Kale started to tell me. “His mother fell in love with the King, She fell pregnant, and she assumed that they would be wed, but instead the King ordered her killed, you see he didn’t want to share his power with anyone, not a queen not a child. She ran away, and gave birth to Drake, Drake grew up under his mothers wish and directions on how to claim his rightful seat as King of the Land, and so now he is fighting for it.” Kale shrugged. “It’s a lot more in detail then that, but it that’s the condensed version.” I realised suddenly that I had never really been very involved with anyone, I had only ever really thought about my own life, or that of the people close to me. I wondered what Kale had been through, and what he had seen. I suddenly wished I had longer to see life through other peoples eyes, to understand why people do what they do. “And what happened when you found Lord Drake?” I asked trying to shrug of the emotions that were flooding me. “He asked me why I wanted to join, I told him my story and would you believe it, he told me he understood the hatred and the disappointment of an uncaring father.” Kale looked far away, lost in the happiness of finding someone who cared. 1

I spent a lot of that night wondering about Lord Drake, about how it would have been for him having grown up fuelled by the hatred of a mother for his father, to spend your childhood in hiding from the man that was supposed to support and love you. And to live not as the son of your mother, but as the tool of her revenge. I thought so much on it, that by the time the sun started to rise, I had not thought of any way out of proving my mage abilities. 2

It wasn’t long before I was summoned to Lord Drake again, this time though, I knew I would not be walking back out of his tent. Lord Drake sat on a large chair that had been set up. He looked like a king, and now I understood a little why he was so arrogant in his power. “Mage Ella.” He said, his tongue rolling slightly on the ll’s in my name. I saw his swords were strapped to his back. I also noticed no one else was in the tent, I would die unnoticed by anyone except the man who made the blow. 3

“Show me your power.” He stated simply. 4

Kale nudged Edna lightly in the side. “Do you think the tent will survive? Mage Ella is going to demonstrate her powers for Lord Drake.” He said. Edna glanced at the tent and wondered about it for a while. “She is a strange one all right, she is so scared all the time, and she shows no appreciation for Lord Drake.” Edna didn’t like weak people, and she thought Ella seemed a bit weak, always glancing around nervously. “Well unlike us she was forced into service.” Kale always was more thoughtful about things. Edna elbowed him roughly in the ribs. “Don’t get all mushy and caring on me Kale, we have towns to attack, and they always have the chance of surrender.” Edna said, things were so black and white to her, sometimes Kale envied it. 5

I looked everywhere but at Drake, my heart was beating too fast and I was trying to come up with an escape but to no avail. He was getting impatient. Suddenly he was before me, one of his swords out of it’s sheath, he had it pressed against my throat. I looked at the blade, and I wanted to cry and beg for my waisted life, but in the end it would not change his mind, better to go out with some honour. “You are not the Mage are you?” he asked, his eyes a fiery blue. I didn’t answer, there was no point, he knew now. 6

“You think I am going to kill you?” His voice was surprised. I looked at him hoping to see some kindness there, but he was still full of anger. “You do know that there are worse things then death don’t you?” He lowered the sword from my throat and pulled me towards him. I was inches from him now, his hand wrapped around the collar of my dress. “You are not to leave my sight from now on, I will think of something to do with you, but until then you will serve me as I intended you to do.” He let go of me and turned around, picking up his horned helmet he threw it at me with such force that it knocked me to the ground. “Polish it!” He nearly roared the words as he stalked from the tent. 7

I felt tears run down my face, and a grin that I couldn’t get rid of. I was alive! I didn’t care what he did to me, I was alive and suddenly life looked so beautiful. I hummed to myself as I began to polish his helmet. I would find a way to get back to my family. What could he throw at me that would be worse then death? 8