Sederan Tales

The morning brought with it the early hustle and bustle of a large school of magic, along with the awkwardness of five people sleeping outside on campus. Rex was the first awake. She slowly disentangled herself from Asher’s arms without waking him, then sat up, leaning back on the small bench behind her. The fire had gone out, leaving her much colder than she was the night before. She pulled her knees up close to her and wrapped her arms around them.

The oddest thing, in her opinion, wasn’t simply the news that she had heard; it was the fact that she had believed it so easily. Now, having calmed down, the news seemed less like a curse and more like a missing puzzle piece. She had always been an exceptionally talented Rexelian, but it had never wavered with her being in the right (or wrong) mindset, as most other mages dealt with. Even though she was the top of her class, and had been her entire life, she still had a vast well of untapped potential. And how did her parents know before birth that she would grow to become a Rexelian?

And then there was the matter of leaving. While she implicitly trusted her sister’s warning, she knew it wasn’t quite believable. But she couldn’t leave without warning the elders. She also couldn’t leave without explaining her departure. And who would oversee the town guard?

She glanced down at Asher’s sleeping body. He had always been understanding. But how understanding would he have to be for this? Rex didn’t know the extent of her experimentation, so she assumed the worst.

Read the rest of this entry »

Asher, Arlia, Katelain, and Petra were gathered around the campfire near the Rexelian women’s dorm. The sun had long since set, and most of the Rexelians had turned in for the night.

Katelain had explained to them that the school was no longer safe, and that Rex would likely be going back with them. Asher was initially irate at this news. Anger led to accusations, but accusations gave way to questions, and answers finally made room for concern, which was the feeling held now by all four of them.

All of the questions and conversations had since passed, however, and the group had sat in silence for about half an hour.

Asher got up and took a seat next to Katelain. “So when do we leave?” he asked, breaking the silence.

“As soon as possible,” Katelain said. “I realize there are some things to wrap up first, but we have some important things to get to.” Asher seemed content with this, although he was definitely not excited. “I noticed you said ‘we,’” Katelain said.

Asher nodded. “I’m coming with you.”

Katelain nodded without looking at him. “I’ll leave that decision to you and Rex.”

Read the rest of this entry »

“No, no, no,” said Rex, waving her hands to show her disapproval. She was addressing a Rexelian student standing next to her in the training grounds. “Stance is everything,” she said. “There is no force without resistance, and you have to be prepared for that.”

“I’ve never had a problem before,” the student whined.

Rex shook her head. “Well, not with rocks!” she said, motioning toward some small boulders on the far end of the practice grounds. “You’ve never been up against an opponent who was fighting to reach you. When a target pushes back, that creates force, and you never know how much there’s going to be until it hits you.”

Asher, who was leaning against a tall wooden post, took a few steps toward them. “I’m probably going to regret this,” he said, “but try to knock me down.”

Asher instantly began running straight at the student. The student’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he quickly raised his hands and pushed toward Asher, sending an invisible shockwave of concussive force. Both of them fell over backwards.

Asher quickly jumped to his feet in one graceful motion, unfazed. The student clumsily got up and groaned.

Rex stood with one foot placed firmly in back of the other, her knees slightly bent. She raised her hands dramatically and then pointed down toward her feet, then shot the student a look that suggested that she would hit him if he didn’t practice this. The student sighed, assumed the stance, and resumed his practice against the boulders.

Read the rest of this entry »

“It’ll take about five days to reach Crater Lake,” Alenard said, pointing west at a crossroads in a densely wooded area where his group was stopped. “The trees will thin out once you get out of the these woods and there will be more towns.”

“And what’s your plan?” asked Katelain.

“We’ll reconnect with Djinly and fill her in on everything that’s happened,” Alenard responded.

“You’re sure you don’t need me here?” Petra asked.

Bertram shook his head. “We should be fine. Any questions I can’t answer can wait until you get back,” he said.

“Thank you,” Katelain said. She then turned to Petra. “And thank you, for coming with me.”

“I’ve been wanting to learn more about Sederan magic anyway, and I hear Crater Lake is the best place to do that,” he responded.

“We’ll meet up at the Prince’s Gamble in two weeks,” Alenard said.

“Alright,” Katelain said. “I’ll have Rex with me when I come back. See you in two weeks.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Katelain awoke to some minor commotion next to her. The sun had just risen, but Petra and Bertram were already up. Each had picked over the clothes from the attackers the night before and found something to wear over their distinctive Ardellian military outfits. They had also found a stream and filled a pot with water.

“Well,” Alenard said, “we’re all still alive. That’s step one toward a good partnership!”

“Petra, I have to know,” Katelain said, still slightly groggy. “Why do Ardellians hate Sederans so?”

Petra sighed. He did not turn to face her.

“Good morning, Katelain,” Bertram said patronizingly.

Read the rest of this entry »

The pair of former lieutenants stayed well outside of town until long after dark, their men gone ahead of them to deliver the bad news and gather up a few days’ worth of provisions. The hours were mostly silent as the weight of their decisions began to sink in. Two entire lives’ worth of aspirations, gone in a day.

After the moon had risen, they decided it would be safe to go and wait for their support—probably the last support they would see for some time. As they neared town, Bertram’s curiosity compelled him to speak.

“So what now?” Bertram asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Petra responded. “Lay low for a few days, maybe find a small town to start over.”

Bertram nodded silently. He hated not knowing where he was heading. He turned over various scenarios in his mind. He had always been a soldier, save for the time he was training to be one. He had no other trade. He was at a loss as all of the scenarios he constructed in his head ended badly.

Bertram sighed heavily and slumped his shoulders. “But what will we do?” he asked.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Alright, men, this is no picnic, but we’ve done this before,” Bertram’s commanding voice sounded amongst the small group of men. There were, counting Petra and Bertram, three vormunds and five elites—a small fraction of their squads, but more than enough to take out a group of neutralized mages.

The vormunds had a proud and stately demeanor. To be most effective, Accians had to be sure of themselves. Justice did not second-guess itself. Soldiers selected for the program were selected on this criteria above all others.

The elites were just as confident, but had a look of excitement about them that stood in stark contrast to the vormunds. Though they were selected for their fighting skills, each viewed combat as a challenge, and each loved the challenge. Fighting was not a game to them—it was much more serious—but it was clearly sport.

Read the rest of this entry »

Most armies in the world were ragtag groups of makeshift soldiers, forced away from farming or trades to pick up sword or spear for their king. In short, while there were many soldiers, there were few warriors.

In the Ardellian army, this was not the case. In the Ardellian Empire, fighting was an art and a science. The best philosophers thought about war. The best inventors made weapons of war. The best artists were blacksmiths. And the best athletes were the most respected, for they were Ardellian soldiers.

Ardellian soldiers were not simple men. All were educated, and intelligence was highly valued. There were the men with baser pleasures, but the best soldiers were men of a higher caliber, and being a great soldier was one of the highest aspirations for most Ardellians.

So great was the Ardellian might that most armies knew from the start that they could not stand up to them. Many of the Ardellian Empire’s conquests were peaceful surrenders. The wars that did break out were often incredibly brutal—so much so that many Ardellian soldiers came to see war as inherently brutal.

The war with Sedera was brutal, but such brutality led to a quick surrender after only a few years of fighting. The brutality did not end as abruptly. Ardellian soldiers seemed to bear a special grudge against Sederans, and this was no secret to either side. The reasons for this, however, remained a mystery to Sedera.

Read the rest of this entry »

The bloodied pair managed to reach the outskirts of town without being seen. Only after they stepped outside of town and paused underneath the last lamp post did they feel comfortable talking.

Katelain looked over at Alenard. “How did you—”

“A woman in armor practically invites me into her bed without any coaxing,” he answered. “I knew something was wrong. She kept asking me back to her room, but I convinced her to head to mine. You saw what happened after that.”

Katelain shook her head. “Of course they knew. It’s not like this was a covert operation. I suppose there was only so long it could go on.”

“Did we find anything of value?” Alenard asked, pulling out the pouches he had grabbed. “Looks like only coins in mine.”

“Anything of high importance would have been elsewhere, seeing as this was a trap,” Katelain said, pulling out what she had found on Boese. She opened a larger pouch to produce few documents, rolled tightly and tied together. They must have been directly related to the trap for him to be carrying them on him. Katelain carefully untied the scrolls and rolled out the documents. She studied the first page for a few moments before shifting through the rest of the pages.

“What is it?” Alenard asked.

“Dossiers, on both of us,” she said. “Looks like they knew you served the Deleons.”

Read the rest of this entry »