Penna M. Fischer – 10/26/14 / 1
The Weaver Reborn 2
Time’s Promise
Penna M. Fischer
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 1
If she dies, a lot of people would die. If she lives, not as many people would die, but there are still people who would die.
It wasn’t the worst portent in the world that he had ever read, and he had read a lot, but it still ranked up there with one of the most dire. He had attempted to ask the Fates for clarification on just how many people they were looking at, but the Fates had refused to even see him. And that pissed him off. Everyone was turning their backs on the situation. It was bad for her, but equally bad for him.
What was more distressing is that he knew something of the impending disaster that they faced. Sort of. Well, actually – shit, he had no idea. What he knew they were going to be facing, and what the prophecies were saying just didn’t add up. The only parts that matched up was the part where she died. If she died, no one would be able to stop what was coming. But how did what was coming force her to kill things?
It made no sense.
And he needed to figure this out. Their time was running out. He didn’t have any sort of timetable to go off of – which just pissed him off more – but he could feel it trickling away bit by painful bit.
On top of all of this other aggravation, in his attempt to try to improve her situation, he had that little sinking feeling that he had made it so much worse.
Maxine was currently kneeled down in front of a Disciple. This was a new turn of events. He had went away for two weeks and when he had come back this was what he had walked in on. Sorcerer Morkoth stood beside her listening while the Disciple prattled on about what his patron Elemental’s views were on the situation. Yeah, this was going to be fixed. Immediately. He had allowed for two of these sessions by other Disciples but there was only so much he could tolerate.
“Further,” the Disciple continued, “my master believes that there should be penance paid due –“
He didn’t get any further as Remus strolled past the kneeling sixteen year old and her adoptive younger brother and took two steps up the dais where the Disciple was giving council in the small chapel standing level with the statues of the Four Great Elementals behind him. The man was dressed in a thick heavy habbit of pure white with intricate gold and green designs traced through, his cowl up over his head. He hated Disciples. He respected them as humans working their whole lives in piety to be able to serve, but he hated the idea. Elementals were supposed to be the voice governing humans. The process should go Elemental, Brotherhood of Sorcerer, and then mortals. Now it was Elemental, Disciple, Brotherhood, and then mortals. This left his brothers and sisters free to do anything they pleased simply sending a letter to their Disciple and detaching themselves completely from the matters of mortals.
He reached out and placed a hand on the Disciple’s shoulder and the man spluttered looking up at him in shock. He jerked back shouting at him. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?! I am the Disciple of Hephaestus. You will not touch me and you will stand down.”
He liked Sorcerers. They were hard workers and most of them did not get bloated heads. They worked incredibly hard for both mortals and Elementals. At the end of the day a Disciple was nothing more than a glorified secretary that was given too much authority, acting as if they were king – and apart from saying a few prayers and carrying out rituals, they did nothing to deserve that station. This Disciple was a prime example of everything so wrong with the system.
“No,” Remus growled. “You will stand down.”
“Uh, R-Rei,” Sorcerer Morkoth called out behind him. “It’s alright. I-“
“There is nothing alright about this,” he said, whirling around on the Sorcerer. He especially liked this one, actually. Morkoth was a hard worker and he cared. He also had a damn big heart and even in the face of possibly being a hypocrite he had certain values that he upheld even if some contradicted others. It was rare that a human, even a Sorcerer, could look him in the eyes and stand his ground when he was shouting at them, but Morkoth took it and sometimes gave it back. This man was a treasure and it made him want to push him that much further.
He spun back around to the Disciple. “You will leave now. Your audience with the girl is over.”
“How dare you. You have no authority in this situation. I-“
Remus grabbed a fistful of the front of the man’s shirt and yanked him forward so there was barely an inch between their faces. “I am Remus, the Elemental of Time. Do not tell me what authority I do or do not have. I am the uppermost tier presiding over even the Four and you will do exactly what I tell you.”
He could see the shadow of doubt that passed in the man’s eyes and Remus had to give the man grudging respect for that. So the man had brain enough to question and to evaluate situations. He could hardly blame the man for doubting him. Remus was dressed in his woodsman guide clothes. He wasn’t even dressed in the castle finery. He looked nothing more than a vagabond that was intruding. Probably a servant delivering firewood in preparation for the oncoming winter. “Elemental Remus?” the man asked slowly.
“Do not waste my time asking me to repeat myself.” He released the man, shoving him back. “I said leave. Tell my brother, the Elemental of Fire, that I have listened and reviewed his bullshit complaints and our answer is no. The Weaver will not do penance of any sort. She will not beg for forgiveness and she will not be commanded by him.”
The man staggered back a few paces, his eyes widening taking him in. Then he bowed and left very quickly, scampering down the dais and rushing out.
He stomped down the steps and grabbed her arm, jerking her up non too gently. “And you,” he growled. “What the fuck are you doing?”
She gasped in pain and shouted a protest at him, scratching at his hand. “What the hell do you mean I am doing?!” she screamed back.
Dear stars there was nothing mortal about this girl’s actions. A normal mortal would bow, stammer, postulate, and just generally be as polite as possible. From the moment that he had met this girl she had done none of that, giving him back whatever he dished out at her. It was her best quality in his mind. He loved mortals and he loved it most when the fire of defiance was in their eyes. Not that he was going to admit that or make it any easier. “You are the Elemental of Time,” he shouted at her. “What the hell are you doing bowing to a Disciple?!”
“Uh, Elemental Remus –“ Morkoth attempted to step in.
“Did I give you the impression that I was talking to you, Sorcerer?” he said, glaring at him.
For a moment, fury and indignation lit the Sorcerer’s blue eyes and he stood a little straighter. For a moment Remus almost thought the man was going to explode right back at him – hoped for it even on some level. The Sorcerer caught himself, though, tightening his jaw and backing up. Well… at least the light of anger hadn’t left. That was something.
“Stop being a bully,” Maxine snapped.
Fresh pain stabbed his heart. The girl had spoken the words, but it was not the girl’s voice that he had heard. How many times had Drakkar said that to him? I’ll stop bullying when you start stepping up and banging a few heads together.
“I’m asking you why the hell you are bowing to a Disciple. I thought I taught you better than that.”
“I was going for polite. I’m not exactly it the best of positions to argue here. They’re speaking on behalf of Elementals that are yelling at me. You managed to get me out of being forced to go to Terrisma but the tradeoff is that now no one knows what to do with me.”
Yeah, I know, he thought. That little sinking feeling came back to him. “I don’t give a damn if Hephaestus himself showed up, you don’t bow to anyone. You’re the Elemental of Magic, girl. Act like it. Otherwise these people are going to run all over you.”
He looked back up at the Sorcerer. “These meetings with Disciples ends now. She will no longer be seeing them.”
Morkoth gaped looking from Maxine to him again. “Forgive me, Elemental Remus, but I do not see how that is going to solve the situation.”
Remus jabbed a finger towards the dais, “And how was that solving anything?! How dare another mortal think that he can speak to her in that fashion.”
“They are speaking on behalf of their Elementals, Lord Remus. To not see them just screams defiance.”
“Then let her be defiant. She does not answer to other Elementals.”
“She’s the Fallen One –“
“She’s the Elemental of Magic! She stands at the top of the hierarchy no matter what her Fallen status is. It is time they remember that. I will not allow her to waste any more of her time with this.”
“But if the Elementals take offense and start showing up –“
Remus couldn’t resist an evil smile. “Then that works out even better. Those assholes would then have to acknowledge her existence. They have turned their backs on her and refused to meet her. They cannot have it both ways. They cannot determine her to be mortal and then make demands of her.”
“Hey!” Maxine’s shout suddenly broke in between them. “This is my life, don’t I get some say in all of this?!”
He whirled on her. “If you have something to say than say it! You’re right, this is your life – start speaking,” he growled.
She flushed bright red, anger seeping into her eyes, her fists tightening at her sides. “I do not wish to be demeaned any longer by these guys, either, but I do not want to challenge the Elementals, either. The idea here is to calm everyone – not add fuel to the fire.” She looked up at the dais and then back at the door and sighed, raising her eyes skyward before she turned back to them. “How about a role switch? I shouldn’t be bowing to these people, you’re right. Just… question, Elementals, do they send Disciples to talk with other Elementals?”
“Of course,” Remus answered. “We are frequently busy or sometimes relations are so poor that it’s best to avoid face-to-face interludes.”
“W-well… what would you do if that Disciple was meeting with you?”
He smirked thinking that he was catching her drift. “Easy. The roles would be switched. I would be the one on the dais and he would be the one kneeling before me.”
“Then that’s what I’ll start doing. I’ll make it clear that I am the Elemental of Magic and I’m not going to be bullied. I’ll listen to them and deal with their requests. This way it pleases the Elementals without making my life miserable… sort of. Now, will you release my arm? Between you and Amar I swear it’s going to be black and blue.”
Allowing a small smile to escape he released her. She pushed the hood back scowling. Another new thing that he hated to see her in. It was a plain black robe with a hood and a heavy chain around her shoulders that draped down over her chest. It was a ridiculous way to mark her as the Fallen One, but the identification had to be clear for those that wanted to avoid her.
She sighed and turned around rubbing her arm. “Well, that was fun hour.” She then looked up at him. “I-I’m sorry, Remus, I know you were waiting here for me to take me to do more magic training, but…” she looked down at the floor, “do you mind if we skip it today?”
That surprised him. A lot. As the embodiment of magic there should be nothing that she enjoyed more than using her element. Normally she couldn’t wait to get to the classroom before she was already casting a spell of some sort.
“Uh, alright,” he replied, not able to contain his surprise. She gave him a small half smile, turned and started for the door.
Morkoth looked up at him when she had left and bowed also turning away. “She’s absolutely miserable,” he said softly. “If it weren’t for that attempt on her life while you were away I’d suggest taking her out somewhere for some fun, but I don’t dare. Besides, it’s not like I can just let her go visit the shops in the city. Who would even want to have her in their store?” He winced and bowed again. “S-sorry, I shouldn’t be complaining.”
“Don’t apologize, Sorcerer. I understand how you feel. If there were something that I could do – I’m doing what I can to think of it.”
“I suppose I should thank you just for staying around,” he said with a gentle smile. “I know she didn’t give you a choice about meeting her, but you’re the one who is still around. I think even she is surprised by that.”
How could he leave? That was no longer an option. He was invested now. More importantly, if he were being absolutely honest with himself, he liked her. She reminded him so much of Drakkar and while at moments it was almost too heart wrenching to bear, it was refreshing. She was like Drakkar, but still so much her own person. The combination was amusing.
Then, of course, was the fear. He was such a damn coward. He had still not talked to her. Not even told her what he knew, what she had triggered… Damn himself. How could he leave? There was no hope now. A part of him was glad that he had been too much of a coward to kill her, but now he just felt he was getting pulled in ever deeper with no way of escape.
The two of them were about to leave when the doors burst open and a guard bowed low to Morkoth. “F-Forgive my intrusion, Sorcerer-Minister Morkoth, but I have an urgent announcement.”
“What is it?” Morkoth asked, some small panic in his voice.
“We have just received word from the Magician’s Court. A new Sorcerer has just been identified. He is on his way.”
Morkoth’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Thank you. I will be there immediately.” He cast a brief look in his direction. “Yet one more worry to contend with,” he said before going out the door.
Chapter 2
The nurse bent over and plunged the needle in his arm. “This is the last test, I promise,” the magician said from behind his desk.
Steven barely listened readjusting himself just slightly to get a good look down the nurse’s blouse. He was signing his life away, who knew when the last time would be that he would get the joy of looking down a girl’s shirt. He was allowed, he thought without a trace of guilt. No one would could hardly blame him.
The woman rose back up and turned, pouring his blood into a nearby vial full of some strange yellow liquid. She corked the top and gave the vial a hard shake and turned holding it up for them both to see.
Blue.
Both the magician and the nurse put on a false, stretched smiles, and nodded to him. “That makes it official, then,” the magician said, rising up from his chair. “Congratulations, Steven Taircart. You are indeed a Sorcerer.”
Congratulations? What was so great about this? He was now forced into a life of magic that he didn’t want and hated with a passion. He was now about to be shipped off to some far away island named Terrisma, forced to become part of an elite group known as the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. He faced a life of ridicule and fear from the common man and a life filled with responsibilities that he could hardly ever imagine would be placed on his shoulders. Sorcerers were powerful magical beings. They were rare and they were placed in seats of power. Forced to act between the common man and the powerful angelic beings known as Elementals.
He was given thick brown robes and asked to change discarding everything and leaving it behind, wrapping a blue sash across his body that would identify him to everybody: a newly awakened Sorcerer. The most dangerous of people. Not yet in control of his powers.
And they had a right to be afraid he thought miserably. He had almost killed at least twenty mine workers. Thinking he could hide his secret he had went into the mines as he had done every day for the last two years, but this time something happened. Magic was completely shut off – not only their lights but also the spells that funneled air down into the shafts. By the time they had realized that the air was gone it was nearly too late.