Categories > Original > Fantasy > Finatchia Origins: The tale of the Thorgiaden

The Lone Master

by per-anders_staav 0 reviews

In a world still young an empire has been founded built on the science called magic. How many of the empires inventions can be war related before of the rest of the world should be concerned? Two t...

Category: Fantasy - Rating: PG-13 - Genres: Fantasy - Warnings: [V] - Published: 2016-04-23 - Updated: 2016-04-25 - 2801 words

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Finatchia Origins, The Tale of the Thorgiaden

Chapter 1 The Lone Master

That the master of lore would need help from somebody like her seemed strange. Not that she was incompetent, quite the opposite. Her many travels had made the name Hantilia spread to almost every race that could be found, but their destination was not one of those. Why had Lord Fasroth not chosen one of her people that had studied their destination, the Impedia empire?

Most living beings found her 6123 years of age very old, born before the first nation had formed, but at the moment she didn't feel old at all. The presence of lord Fasroth walking in front of her made Hantilia feel like a young adult in the presence of a respected elder.

The rumours said that even the oldest dragons didn't know the age of Fasroth. His tower on Elrochia had been standing for ages when the dragons first came flying over Elrochia. On one occasion when Fasroth seemed in a good mood, a few of Hantilia's people, had asked about his age and got the reply that he didn't bother counting anymore.

Hantilia noticed that Fasroth had started to walk faster, she was already some distance behind. "I must not fail his faith in me," she thought and increased her pace to keep up.

He was dressed in a simple grey robe, dark hair falling freely down on his shoulders. Pointed elven ears, high cheekbones and blue eyes with a piercing gaze completed the image of elven grace. Just like herself he blended well with the high elf part of the population in Impedia. On the other hand the citizens of the Impedia empire should have been able to notice that their clothes weren't of high elvish design if they had paid them attention. It was clothes made for an adventurous life, and thus made in more durable cloth and without the kind of decoration that high elves preferred.

"/Perhaps the reason for the citizens lack of attention is that that they mostly are of this new race called humans/," Hantilia reasoned.

"Who is this person you wanted to visit before we visit the human emperor?" Hantilia asked when she reached the elven Lord.

"The emperors own chief spell researcher, Ozgoth. He is one of the high elves who didn't leave for the country Fazik when Fylizia called the elves to join her there," Fasroth answered.

A frown could be seen on Hantilia's face when she heard the answer. She did not like the elven contacts with the goddess Fylizia. Two thousand years back Fylizia had sent her invitation to every elven people except Hantilia's. Hantilia was not angry that the Ht'lians had not been invited. Fylizia and many other gods had come to them in the beginning to recruit them as worshippers and all of them had been told the Ht'lians wanted to mind their own business. In fact she and her people found the idea of elves worshipping gods stupid from the start.

"What gain is there to follow the will of some god?" she wondered. "The less educated races may think the so-called gods created them but elves should know better," she concluded and then put the matter aside. There were more pressing questions.

"Is Ozgoth the one who filled this city with all these magical inventions?" Hantilia asked.

The city of Impedion, the capital of Impedia empire was truly filled with small magic gadgets all over the place. Statues that kept the desert heat outside the city, pots that kept flowers blooming without the need of water, buildings and streets that cleaned themselves of any dirt, the list just continued on forever.

"Some where developed by his pupils but Ozgoth made all the important ones," Fasroth answered. Nothing in his voice hinted what he thought but Hantilia sensed that he didn't like some of the inventions.

They were approaching the imperial castle. In front of the gate was a stone square, the ground was polished until it looked like a mirror. Hantilia let her gaze drift over the square to look at the reflection of the great white towers that was hovering over the city. With their beautiful mosaic ornaments they were a work of art. "/I bet nobody did decorate them by hand, someone did use a spell to make the arcs so perfect/," Hantilia thought.

Fasroth had slowed down his pace when they approached the gates and Hantilia did the same. In the doorway Impedia soldiers stood waiting. Shining bronze armour and swords made of iron. They paid Fasroth and Hantilia little attention. Perhaps they seemed unimportant due to the fact that the only weapon they had was Hantilia's dagger.

"/I guess they would change oppinion if they knew how sharp the dagger Fasroth lent me is/," Hantilia observed.

The soldiers was questioning every person that wanted to pass the gate. Hantila had been told few of the reasons why Fasroth had brought them there, only that there was risk for some kind of catastrophe. Thus she decided to leave the task of explaining their mission to him.

"/Why would they let us in without questioning/?" Hantilia wondered confused as the thought came up that the soldiers would make an exception just for them. Weirdly this was just was happened. The soldiers barely looked at them before they motioned them to enter. Fasroth gave Hantilia a fast smile and they where inside.

The castle was perhaps even more luxurious than the city. Fasroth paid the beautiful art little attention and guided them forward.

One their way people paused when they saw their foreign clothes and made polite greetings but Hantilia had trouble answering them since she had this nagging feeling in her mind that she was missing spotting something important. Luckily Fasroth handled the people greeting them with such ease they could continue without much delay.

The castle was huge but Fasroth didn't seem to hesitate about what direction to chose. Finally they were there, and Fasroth raised his hand to knock on the large doors. The doors opened before he could touch them.

The room was very luxurious, but it did in truth take some effort to see this. It was covered in piles of scrolls and books. In the centre an lone high elf was busy looking at a scroll spread out on the table. A dozen of small objects were moving around the scroll in complex patterns. Hantilia studied their movement, fascinated.

He was clothed in an expensive silver-coloured robe. Short blonde hair and hands that had not been hardened by hard labour. Hantilia recognized the symbols on the robe, she had seen books with the same insignia. It indicated that he was the famous Ozgoth. A name that none of the educated would fail to recognise. No-one else could claim the same expertise knowledge in the new art called magic.

"Seems to be very much effort to avoid getting ink on your fingers," Fasroth commented after a while when they got no reaction.

"When you write with your own fingers you can do only one thing at the time but with these writemarkers you can work simultaneously on as many places as your mind can focus," Ozgoth replied. "Now when I have satisfied your curiosity on these simple items you may perhaps address mine instead. What is your business with me, Ozgoth, scientist of the Impedia empire?"

"This lovely lady is Hantilia of the Ht'lians who has agreed to be my companion on this journey. Myself, I go under the name of Lord Fasroth of Elrochia," Fasroth said.

"I have heard about you. You are called the lightbringer, aren't you? The rumours say that you are older than any other of the elven people," Ozgoth said.

"/Lightbringer, that is the name we gave to Fasroth when we went to meet the firstborn elves of other kinds than ours/," Hantilia remembered.

"Impressive piece of knowledge you have. The title lightbringer has not been used for the last couple of thousand years," Fasroth said as he made a formal bow.

"Are you so obsessed with your own master of lore title that you have forgotten that others can know things too?" Ozgoth asked. Hantilia frowned when she heard his words. If Fasroth cared for the insult or not could not be seen, he remained silent waiting.

"I assume that you have not travelled from Elrochia to speak about your title. What is it you want?" Ozgoth asked. His well-sounding voice did remove some of the bluntness of the statement but the tone was still irritated.

"Rumours travels far, and I have started to get a little worried about your latest invention," Fasroth replied.

"Why so? It is my greatest discovery yet. The Thorgiaden can channel the energy hidden in the mountains in the east and let it be used safely," Ozgoth answered.

"The things hidden in the mountain range are not be toyed with," Fasroth replied.

"Are you speaking about the wheel of balance?" Ozgoth asked and continued with a proud tone in his voice. "I can assure you that my device will not affect the wheel, or its imposed limits on the gods use of power."

"/The wheel of balance, isn't that the artefact the gods made themselves so that they can not misuse their powers/," Hantilia thought.

"You are right about that. Your device can't affect the wheel in any useful way but that is not what I meant. What are your intentions for the artefact you made?" Fasroth asked.

"Close to two hundred servants trained by me provide the magic needed to run the devices of Impedion and this is only the capital. We are reluctant to spread the inventions to other cities because of the needed upkeep of magic. The Thorgiaden will remove this burden since it will give us the needed energy without making people have to work day and night to meet the demands," Ozgoth said.

"The peoples in the rest of the world don't require magic to live their daily life," Hantilia commented, but the other elves ignored her.

"That is the assignment you got from the emperor, but haven't you thought about other possible uses of the Thorgiaden?" Fasroth asked.

"I see what you mean," Ozgoth answered. " The energy directed from the Thorgiaden could be directed at any point, so it could be used to inflict damage."

"Aren't you worried about this?" Fasroth asked. "The energy present is enough to level a city with a single blast!"

"It is not my problem. The emperor asked me to build an energy source for our city and I have done just that. I am just the inventor," Ozgoth replied.

"You mean that you have no responsibility if Thorgiaden is used to hurt people?" Fasroth asked.

"Is the smith responsible if a sword cuts down a child?" Ozgoth asked.

"Why ask the question?" Hantilia wondered surprised. She was on the way to answer affirmative but kept silent when Ozgoth contined to talk.

"Besides, the emperor has asked the priests of Mar'raz for guidance and they say Mar'raz approve the idea," Ozgoth commented.

"Mar'raz, that is the god that founded the Impedia empire and made the plans for this, the magic city of Impedion," Hantilia recalled.

"I don't care what some god thinks! It is just to follow your conscience! Do you like the idea that your invention will hurt people?" Hantilia asked. This time they did listen to her.

"I am scientist who makes inventions. Inventions that mean we don't have any famine or sick citizens. It isn't like I work for some great evil, so what is your real complaint, lady?" Ozgoth asked. From the look in his grey eyes he found the objections offensive.

"Any evil done with the aid of magic developed by you is your responsibility," Hantilia stated.

Ozgoth just looked at her shaking his head. It was Fasroth who finally spoke after a long silence.

"Perhaps you think the emperor wants the Thorgiaden for peaceful intentions, but surely there are some other inventions that are clearly designed for war. What about your ultimate battle field magic Crel Gala, the big fire? If rumours are correct it can be used to burn down whole armies. What peaceful uses are there for such magic?" Fasroth asked.

"I made it just out of curiosity if it could be done and it gives us good protection," Ozgoth answered.

"Protection from what?" Fasroth asked with a dry tone in his voice.

"From the people of the rest of the world. They are jealous on how rich we are. Now when they know we have Crel Gala they don't dare to attack us," Ozgoth answered.

"What protects the other peoples from Impedia if you start using such spells in an attack?" Fasroth asked.

"Why should we attack? They have nothing we want," Ozgoth answered.

"You obviously think this is the truth so let us return to the true topic. I don't trust the human emperor with the possible weapon you have given him. He or some successor may be tempted to use it," Fasroth said.

"You may think so, but Mar'raz has faith in the emperor; he is a god if you have forgotten. I suggest you should return to your desolate tower and continue to do nothing, everyone will be happy then," Ozgoth said with his voiced filled with sarcasm.

"Thorgiaden must be dismantled before it is used. I ask you to follow me to the emperor and pledge the case," Fasroth countered.

"Why should I waste my time with this because you have become obsessed with this so-called problem? I don't think there is any need for dismantling my discovery," Ozgoth stated.

"I don't ask you to do my task. You would only be there to answer questions about how Thorgiaden works," Fasroth replied.

"Still, my presence would indirectly support your claim that there is a danger, wouldn't it?" Ozgoth asked.

"Have you not been listening? The energy in the mountains are dangerous to tap in themselves. Also even if the current emperor doesn't intend to use it as a weapon there will be more emperors following him. Humans live very short lives. Can you really trust that there will not ever be any mad emperor?" Fasroth asked.

Ozgoth sighed and turned his attention back towards the scroll on the table.

"I can't believe you are ignoring us. Lord Fasroth is the most ancient loremaster in the world. How can you just ignore his educated opinion?" Hantilia asked with an angry voice.

"It would not matter if he was old as the world itself," Ozgoth answered without turning, "I judge people after their actions and the opinion from an old man who lives in a remote tower for thousands of years without doing any research or work doesn't matter in my book."

"Hantilia there is no use. The proud high elf won't listen to us," Fasroth said.

"Fasroth, your knowledge and power is huge. Show him some of your magic and he will listen to us," Hantilia said.

"You think the old man can do any useful magic? Even if he has the power he has no skill or training in how to use it," Ozgoth said without diverting attention from the scroll.

"If you two fought he would surely win," Hantilia said, conviction filling her voice, "Ozgoth, you may have discovered more things about magic than anyone before you. Reduced long rituals to short chants, but I have seen Fasroth do the most marvellous things. Severed legs had been reattached and items been created out of thin air."

"I hear you but do not believe you," Ozgoth answered.

"Why do you think yourselves so superior just because of your research program for magic?" Hantilia asked, "The other peoples do also have magic. When something can not be solved in other ways they will make a magic ritual to do the deed but only then."

"Your barbaric magic lacks purpose and direction," Ozgoth retorted. "I know the worth of my magic after testing it in combat. I fought with the dragons when the emperor wanted them to leave his empire. Have you or Fasroth ever fought a dragon?" Ozgoth asked.

"Why should we? The dragons are our friends; they often come to Elroch to trade riddles with master Fasroth," Hantilia replied.

"Hantilia, there is no use. He will not pause to consider if he could be wrong," Fasroth said and put his hand on Hantilia's shoulder.

"Old elf, you does seriously believe you got more power than I, don't you?" Ozgoth asked laughing.

Fasroth didn't answer him but walked towards the exit. Hantilia followed with her gaze locked on Ozgoth. He was at least looking back now but the determination in his eyes told that he would not change his decision.
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