Today me, Zachary, Michael, Johnathan, Julia, and Rachel arrived at the capital. It’s smaller than I thought it would be. I know Portland is bigger but, even taking that into account, this place feels small and shabby. To be honest, it reminds me of the Citadel, in that everything here is old, about to fall apart, or both.
When we arrived, Michael was deeply moved. He said he’d never seen a place as nice as this. Zac said he spent a lot of time here until the head of guards kicked him out. He doesn’t think it’s all that great. My impression is that this was once a great a noble city, but as the country started to outgrow the need for a king, it’s fallen off of everyone’s priority list. There’s something great about this city, beneath all the grime and decrepitude, but it would take a strong person with a passion for change to really bring it back to its glory days.
Johnathan says he used to live here. I wonder, how would he like the Citadel. It’s the oldest place in the entire kingdom, or so I was told, but as we’ve walked to the capital, I couldn’t help but notice how out of place it is. When you look at pictures of the Citadel from a hundred years or so ago, it looks almost identical to what it’s like now. But even when I got to Portland, I was struck by how different it was from the pictures in my history books. I remember hearing that the Citadel was once the place every mage tried to enter, it was where all great magic was performed. When artifacts began to get traction, power was drawn elsewhere, but the mages of the Citadel were able to hold their own against the changing tide. But now artifacts have gone out of fashion.
I remember a visitor to the citadel telling the enchantress “This place is dead. It would be better for everyone if it was gone for good.” The enchantress was furious. I thought he was just dumb, as most outsiders are, but even the Capital has changed more than the Citadel has. My biology teacher once said that everything, dead or alive, is subject to change. When will the Citadel change?
***
Tomorrow, Johnathan, Rachel and Julia are going to meet the king and queen to ask if they can stop the assassin that’s harassing Rachel. Zac says he’s going around town looking for wallets to steal. I’m not proud of relying on a pickpocket, but it’s hard to make ends meet just by making charms. No one wants to pay that much for them. I promised Zac I’d look after Michael.
My plan is to look around the capital for any news about the Enchantress. I know she’s after me for something, and she apparently went after Michael for some reason. I know she’s related to the queen’s sister, and Johnathan think’s the queen is connected to the Assassin that’s after Rachel. I’m guessing she’s plotting to usurp the throne in some way.
The enchantress always complained that nobody outside the Citadel took her seriously. At the Citadel, if we were ever rude to her for any reason, she would curse us. If you were lucky, you got turned into a toad. If you weren’t, you would feel total unending pain for three days. Outside the Citadel, nobody cared about her. The elders wouldn’t let her curse guests, and she knew that if she cursed anyone from the outside without very good reason, the queen would execute her. She hated that. She was the one in charge of the Big Book of Knowledge, the one artifact that the Citadel held claim too, an artifact that was built before most of the other artifacts were. It’s powerful, but so unstable that no one who isn’t from the enchantress’ bloodline can use it. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. When I was about five, she lost her ability to use it, and now she can’t even touch it without getting burned. As time has gone on, she’s kept her position as leader of the Citadel, but has lost influence. In fact, last month, just after my thirteenth birthday, one of the teachers forgot to bow to her. You’d have thought Armageddon was coming based on the spell she let loose.
So, I’m guessing she’s going after people to show that even without the Big Book of Knowledge, she’s a major threat and everyone should take her seriously. I don’t honestly think that’s going to work. She’s a mage, but from what Julia told me mages fell out of fashion almost two hundred years ago. Any magic you could want is done by computers these days.
I need to learn more about life outside the Citadel. I was told when I was little that since I can’t cast spells, I could never be a proper mage. Julia and Rachel both say that not only have they never cast a spell on their own, they don’t know anyone who has. And they’re related to the owner of a Magitronics corporation.
Zac says he doesn’t know much about what normal people do. He hasn’t even gone to school in years. Michael says his teacher told him that raw magic was dangerous and if we saw anyone performing it, they should tell an adult.
My first memory involving magic was me accidently blowing up a wall in one of the dormitories. I can’t cast a spell, but I channel magic like crazy, and when I was very little, I was prone to accidents. Not minor accidents either. I melted books. I set tables on fire. I cause rooms to be filled with horrible voices. But when I blew up the dormitory wall, it was the last straw. The elder’s banished me to a tower high above everything, and said I could only come down for meals, schoolwork, and to study in the library. I still live there today, even though I’ve figured out how to control my magic. I learned that if I channeled magic into something, and then used it for a spell, I could set of my magic in a way that was harmless. But that wasn’t enough for the Elders.
I wonder what my life would have been like if I had been born outside the Citadel. My accidents would have been a lot more dangerous for normal folk, and there wouldn’t be anyone who knew how to manage my problems. Maybe Julia’s aunt could have gotten me something to do the same job as my notebook. Every time I feel magic surging, I pull it into my notebook, and at least once a day I look through it for a spell to cast and then cast it, somewhere where nobody will get hurt. Ironically, all my practice writing, and casting spells has made me one of the best spell casters in the citadel.
I need to make more charms for tomorrow. I know Zac says no one wants them, but I’d like to have at least a little bit of honest money in my pocket. If I have to become a thief to survive, I will, but I don’t want to go that route unless I’m desperate. Mind you, I was perfectly honest, but the enchantress’ awful husband still stole all my money. I guess that means I shouldn’t steal. I don’t want to stoop to his level. Ever.
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