Mages of Buldoun (Aether's Revival Book 5) Read online

  Gregory finished washing just after Egil left. As he filled a tub with hot water, he glanced at Rafiq. The crocodilian eurtik grinned, his one eye glancing at the magi. “Sorry,” Gregory said. “I was just wondering how that can be comfortable for you.”

  “Because of my tail?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It is why I sit as I do and do not recline as Magi-killer tried. I’d prefer a pool that I could float in, but this is still sufficient.”

  “Do you dislike the task you’ve been given?” Gregory asked after he got into his tub.

  “Not at all. I asked for it. The chief was told to provide someone for this task. When we— the archivists— were told, I volunteered.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, Gregory, you’re a good person,” Rafiq said. “You have only ever been respectful to all of us. You have shown that you don’t care for what blood a person has, but only about who they are. Have you not understood how rare that is for a magi?”

  “My entire clan is like that.”

  “Yes, and before you and Yukiko joined them, how far had they fallen?”

  Gregory was silent for a few minutes, considering what Rafiq had said.

  “When people fight against society, society pushes back. People in power don’t handle threats to their power well at all,” Rafiq said into the silence. “The great clans have a vested interest that things continue as they have. You would do well to remember this in the coming years.”

  “Doesn’t it bother you?” Gregory asked softly.

  “Of course, but what I think will never change the empire. It will take someone who is willing to suffer to even attempt the change you seem to consider. We’ve all heard snippets of your views inside the archive.”

  Gregory jerked a little.

  “None of those who work there would say a thing. After all, we might hold similar views.” Rafiq’s lips pulled up to show a stilted smile.

  “I guess that’s true,” Gregory snorted. “Maybe that’s why…?”

  “It is good you don’t finish that sentence,” Rafiq said, standing up. “We cannot go against what is required. There are still ways around things, if one looks at them sideways.”

  “I’ll do my best to do so. Thank you, Rafiq.”

  Rafiq shook his head. “All of us thank you, as well, Gregory. All of the enslaved at the academy know who you are. We know how you acted during your two years inside the walls. We just hope that you won’t become different in your time outside of them.”

  “I will change,” Gregory said, “but I hope only for the better.”

  Rafiq laughed as he grabbed a towel. “Something we all wish for. Oh, and I happen to have copies of the next few journals, when you are ready for them. I was given them so ‘others who wish to learn’ may do so.”

  “I owe her a debt,” Gregory said.

  “She believes you will see it paid back in time. We all do. Have a good soak, young magi.”

  “I’ll see you for dinner, Rafiq.”

  Left alone in the room, Gregory thought about everything he’d been told. Rafiq all but confirmed his belief that Sarinia and the archive had been helping him. When they were told one of them needed to accompany Gregory, Rafiq had even volunteered to leave his life behind.

  And all of them believe I can cause change to happen. Will they believe me later when I declare myself? Does she suspect that, or is she just hopeful because I was kind? Gregory continued to ponder as he soaked.

  ~*~*~

  When he finally got out of the tub, another thought came to him. How did Mindie do in the bath? As he dried off and got dressed, he hoped she’d been alright. He knew Yukiko and the others would try their best to make her comfortable, but maybe he’d made a mistake by even asking about bathing with her.

  Finally dressed, he left the bathroom to find the women stepping out of theirs. “We still have an hour before dinner, don’t we?”

  “I believe so,” Yukiko smiled. “Shall we play cards?”

  “That or bones would be good,” Gregory said. “I also have a little bit of news about next year. Egil told me a snippet about it.”

  “Our room is large enough for everyone,” Jenn said.

  “I’m not good with gambling,” Mindie said.

  “Neither am I,” Clover smiled. “We’ll learn together.”

  “Yes, learning helps the mind,” Ling grinned.

  “I can help. My father played a lot of bones,” Roshana said. “He was a merchant guard for years.”

  “Four of us can help the three of you who haven’t played much,” Yukiko said.

  Mindie bowed her head. “I’ll try, but I’m on the spirit path.”

  “Maybe we can take the time to explain one of the things that makes our clan truly special,” Jenn said, taking Mindie’s hand. “Come with me, Mindie. There are some things you haven’t heard yet.”

  “Okay?” Mindie said questioningly, letting Jenn lead her away.

  Roshana, Clover, and Ling were right behind them, chatting amiably. Yukiko touched Gregory’s arm, stopping him from following them. He gave her a questioning glance, but she shook her head, touching her ear.

  When the others were farther away, Yukiko spoke softly, “Mindie was afraid when she joined us. I asked her why, and she broke down, explaining that it was all her fault you didn’t bathe with us.”

  Gregory winced.

  “No, wait,” Yukiko said. “We talked and, after a while, she relaxed. It took some time, but we explained the full story about the previous bath, about how you would never wish to lose a friend. That got her crying. We held her until she stopped. She isn’t ready to be seen by you yet, but… she’s hopeful.”

  “I’m a little confused by what that means.”

  “We explained that you would be happy to join us, but only if everyone was comfortable. None of us wanted her less than comfortable with everything. I believe she’ll ask before the tournament is over, but at this point, just plan to bathe with the men until then.”

  “She doesn’t have to force herself,” Gregory said.

  “We all know that, but she also wants to be seen as an equal. She has her hopes and dreams as much as any of the others, dear one.”

  “Our life is complicated, isn’t it?”

  Yukiko smiled, touching his cheek fondly. “A little, but we’re willing to accept the small bumps if it means harmony later.”

  Gregory touched her hand on his face, giving her a gentle smile. “Thank you, my heart. I won’t say a word about it again. When she asks, I’ll do my best to not stumble or be awkward.”

  “Thank you, dearest. Come now. Let’s help our friends learn even more.”

  “Do you think she’ll try for all three paths?” Gregory asked softly as they headed down the hall.

  “Of course. She’s seen our growth and trusts us. The only question is will she believe enough to throw herself into it?”

  Gregory thought about that question as they climbed the stairs toward the rooms. What does it take for them to walk all three paths? Darkness has to agree, but what else? She said I have to want them beside me... but how hard do they have to strive to really achieve it? He knew that just being told had to be hard to accept, yet all of their friends pushed to try it with just their word it would work.

  Walking down a hall behind Yukiko, Gregory hoped Mindie would be as understanding. He always liked having her near them. Mindie felt like an old friend, and he was sure he knew why. The thought of her rejecting what they said and leaving caused his chest to tighten a little. Taking a deep breath, he hoped she’d be willing to try.

  Chapter Four

  Mindie was hesitant to accept that all of them were working on all three paths, but she didn’t deny the possibility. She looked thoughtful, then promised to try what they were doing. She truly did want to be equal to them, even though she was afraid she’d fail. With their explanation done, they moved on to dice.

  The dice games went slow, as they did their best to explai
n to the three who’d never played how to do so. By the end of the hour, they’d been shown how to play High Point and Dice Pass, the easiest of the two variants they’d been taught.

  Mindie relaxed as the games went on, smiling and laughing along with the others. Roshana sat beside her during the games, always ready to help explain things. Gregory was amused that Yukiko had done the same for Ling, and Jenn did for Clover, leaving him to explain the base game.

  ~*~*~

  Entering the private dining room, Gregory bowed his head to Elder Lightshield as he took a seat. “We hope we aren’t late, Elder.”

  “No. Dinner should be here in a moment. You all seem in high spirits.”

  “We were playing dice,” Yukiko explained.

  “Ah, a good thing,” Egil said. “Your men will use that as their biggest stress relief, but be prepared for the conflict that comes from it.”

  “My father said that it’s vela upfront or no game for a reason,” Roshana said.

  “Smart man,” Egil nodded. “A good rule to institute for your men, too. If they start accepting debt… things can get ugly.”

  “We’ll take your advice to heart, Armsmaster,” Jenn smiled.

  “Dice with the men? Goodness, that was ages ago,” Hemet sighed. “Have you also been playing cards?”

  “We’ll be touching upon it during the trip,” Gregory said. “I know that officers and other magi prefer it.”

  “They do,” Rafiq joined the conversation. “The game called Trade and Barter is a favorite, from what I understand.”

  “Yes, it is,” Egil agreed. “I always preferred dice to cards, but you will end up playing cards on and off, so it’s best to at least be familiar with it.”

  A knock on the door cut off their conversation and, a second later, the staff of the inn brought in dinner. Everyone but Egil had identical meals— bane fowl spritzed with lemon, butter, and seasoning, served over rice. On the side was a serving of charid seasoned the same way as the fowl. Egil had a thick steak with charid on the side.

  There was hardly any talking as everyone focused on eating. Gregory felt just the slightest hint of aether discomfort, and he could see Clover and Ling eating slowly, as the meal was right on the edge for them.

  “Well, that was delightful,” Lightshield said once he’d finished. “Breakfast is at sixth bell, and we will be leaving at seventh. I wish you all a good evening. Hemet, shall we retire and finish our discussion?”

  “Yes, Linus, that sounds good to me,” Hemet said as he rose with Lightshield.

  Rafiq stood up, as well. “I have things to see to. I will see you all in the morning.”

  “Hmm... I know there is at least one dice game in the taproom,” Egil said. “I can always use more vela.”

  A minute later, it was just the younger magi in the room. “Should we try the game with him?” Jenn asked.

  “I…” Mindie started, then hesitated. Seeing them all waiting for her, she tried again, “I am willing to talk about healing, if you’d like to hear more.”

  “Yes,” Yukiko smiled. “That would be good. We can use the hour after dinner to talk about our magics. Greg spoke about his all day today.”

  “I’m very interested in healing,” Gregory said.

  “Okay,” Mindie smiled as she got to her feet.

  They returned to Gregory’s suite and settled in around the table. It took a little longer, as Yukiko had gone to get some tea for them first. Once they all had steaming cups of mint tea, everyone sat and listened to Mindie.

  Mindie was clearly nervous, but she cleared her throat, “I’m not sure what you might have heard during your aether classes. I’ll start at the beginning for me... Healing is about helping the body repair damage. We have limitations on what we can do by ourselves.”

  “Like my burn?” Yukiko asked, her fingers briefly touching her face.

  “That was a bad case,” Mindie nodded. “We had to use a few alchemical aids when treating it.”

  “Why?” Clover asked.

  “Let me work up to it, please?” Mindie asked. “We’re taught first how to repair minor injuries that break the skin, mostly scrapes or the least of cuts. As a novice, this is nearly the limit of what we can do. In the second half of the novice year, we push on to muscles, as most cuts aren’t just skin, but muscle damage, as well.”

  Everyone stayed quiet, focused on what she was saying.

  “Now, muscle damage is a broad category,” Mindie said, relaxing as she spoke about something she loved. “There are many muscles in the body, and they all work similarly but differently from each other. As you would expect, it takes more aether for me to repair muscle than it does skin.”

  “Does the muscle include the tendon and ligaments?” Roshana asked.

  Mindie blinked at Roshana, then smiled. “No. Sorry. Not many non-healers understand the intricacies of the body.”

  “My grandmother helped healers in Limaz before she came to the empire,” Roshana said softly. “She told me a lot about the body.”

  “Most of what we know about bodies came from Limaz. There aren’t many who know that outside of people who study healing.”

  “Because of Mortum. His priests prepare bodies before they’re cremated, so they’ve studied the workings of the body for centuries.”

  “Exactly!” Mindie beamed at Roshana.

  The others all grinned at the two, then waited for Mindie to continue.

  “Oh, right. Sorry,” Mindie blushed lightly. “It’s not until apprentice year when the healers show us more. That’s when they teach us about ligaments and tendons. These are the parts that help your muscles work. They connect muscle to bone so, if one is cut or ruptured, it can be debilitating. Oils and unguents don’t work on them, as they are deep inside the body. Only potions or a healer can help fix them.”

  “Ligaments attach bone to bone, and tendons attach muscle to bone,” Roshana interrupted gently.

  Mindie’s smile grew wider. “Yes. That’s very true. It’s not until initiate year that they teach us about cartilage and veins.”

  “Cartilage?” Gregory asked.

  “It’s the fibrous tissue around joints and ribs,” Mindie explained. “Most bruised ribs are damaged cartilage. Same with most nose damage.”

  “I had an injured knee at one point and had some cream applied to help fix it. Would that have been cartilage?” Gregory asked.

  “If a cream fixed it, then yes,” Mindie nodded. “If it had been bone damage, you would have needed a healer or potion.”

  “Sorry for interrupting. Please continue,” Gregory smiled.

  Mindie brushed some hair back from her face. “Yes. Uh... oh, bones. Bones are some of the hardest things for us as healers to help with. Minor breaks— or fractures, as they are called— are easier than full breaks. Full breaks can sap a majority of aether from a healer. We normally stabilize the person, then send them to the healing hall... or did. Now that I’m outside the academy, I’ll have to do even more by myself.”

  “I’m sure the clan will help,” Yukiko said.

  “Rhea made me take a lot of healing items with me,” Clover said. “I think Elder Lightshield has most of them.”

  “Oh, that would be what he gave me,” Mindie said. Her hand touched a necklace mostly hidden behind her magi rank disc. “He gave me this necklace and told me that it contained healing items to help.” She pulled the necklace out fully to show it to them. It had the clan emblem on it— a shield with an aether flame.

  “Hemet made that a week ago,” Ling said. “I was unable to help him. Spatial enchantments are advanced.”

  “We got off track again,” Roshana smiled.

  “Right,” Mindie coughed, looking down. “I’d barely learned about artery damage before Jenn’s duel in the arena with Magus Erichson. I’m glad her body had already started healing, as that made it easier on me. I’m sure I can do it, but alone, it would take a good portion of my aether.”

  “Thank you. I always breathe easier when
you’re there to heal us,” Jenn smiled.

  “It’s what I love doing,” Mindie replied.

  “Did they cover organs with you?” Roshana asked.

  “I was learning about them, and I have a book to help me study more,” Mindie said.

  “I have one you might like to read,” Roshana said. “It came from Limaz with my grandmother. It was her journal of what she learned.”

  Mindie sat forward. “Really? You’d let me read it?”