Wielder's Awakening (25 page)

* * * * *

Blaize smiled as Traven flew past him and down the road with his cloak flapping wildly behind him.  Blaize urged Flame to go a little faster so they wouldn’t get too far behind the young man and his lively horse.  Soon he would be in Calyn once again.  It had been a while since he had been there and even longer since he had been a soldier in an army.  It would be fun to be surrounded by other fighting men for a while.  He would also enjoy the comfort of a warm barracks during the winter.  Maybe he would even end up marching for the borders of Balthus to quell the ragtag army being raised there.

Blaize’s smile then left his face as he thought some more about what had just happened.  He didn’t understand what had occurred during the practice fight, and it was troubling him.  At first, Traven had been fighting like the newcomer to sword fighting that he was.  Then he had begun to fight like a veteran.  Blaize had been pleased at how well Traven was doing but was shocked when he began to fight harder and still couldn’t strike Traven.  He had begun to fight with all his strength, and he still could not gain any advantage over the young man until he finally pulled a difficult trick to end the fight.  He couldn’t believe that Traven had been able to withstand his attacks.  He knew he could have ended the fight faster if he had been using two blades like he was accustomed to, but the point remained that the boy had withstood him.  The young man had seemed as though he was almost in a trance as he stopped all of Blaize’s advances and then attacked back just as fiercely.

He didn’t know what to think of it.  He was unquestionably excited for Traven.  He was very proud of the young man he had taught, but nobody should be able to become that good so fast.  Traven was definitely an extraordinary young man.  While he was fighting the boy, he could almost swear that the stone Traven always wore had been glowing brightly under his shirt.  Blaize wasn’t sure what had happened during the fight.  However, he was sure of one thing as he watched the back of Traven far ahead; there was something very special about the young man.

15

Wraith glanced back at the burning houses of the small farming community.  He had thought about bringing a few of the thieves that he had gathered but had decided against it.  He liked working alone better anyway.  He could move much faster and quieter by himself.  The bandits that he was leaving behind would continue to make trouble until the royal army came and disposed of them.  Meanwhile, Wraith had more important matters to take care of.  He had wasted too much time in the last few farming communities and was sure that the two men would reach Calyn before he caught up to them.  He cursed himself for not catching up to them sooner, but they had been moving quite fast and had left a day before him.  Besides, it really didn’t matter.  He would have fun roaming the largest city of Kalia in search of the young man.  He had never been to Calyn, and it would be interesting to see.

It would take a while to find the young man, but Wraith was a patient man and would find him in due time.  He would keep an eye on his seeker stone and have fun with the unsuspecting inhabitants of Calyn while he waited for it to change from black to red.  He grinned as he thought of it.  While he waited for the stone to turn from black to red, he would turn the black of the night into the rich red of blood.  Wraith let out a soft but malevolent laugh as he poked his horse with his boots and headed down the road toward Calyn.

* * * * *

Kadrak glanced up from his desk as the flap to his tent opened, letting in the cold air from outside.  One of his servants set a plate of food down next to him and then left.  Kadrak pushed the plate of steaming food off to the side.  It brought to mind yet another problem facing the camp.  Kadrak’s army had grown much larger than he had expected and the food supply was almost all the way gone.  He never imagined the amount of men that would flock to him.  With such a great number, they were becoming a big problem.  Fights were breaking out every day in the camp, and many were complaining for want of more food.  Kadrak hadn’t planned to move the army into action until a few weeks later but knew that if he didn’t act now, the army would begin to fall apart.  Besides, it looked as though winter might make an early entrance this year, and he wanted to be in Beking when it did.

It wasn’t like there was anything else to wait around for anyway.  Shadow had returned last night, earlier than Kadrak had expected him, but then Shadow always took care of his tasks quickly.  Kadrak smiled as he thought of the four poles that were driven into the hard ground in front of his tent.  Atop each sat the head of one who used to be a wielder.  Shadow had accomplished his tasks precisely, bringing back all four heads of those who had the unfortunate blessing of being able to manipulate the ambiance.  He knew they disturbed some of the men in his camp, but they served to show that Kadrak was ruthless and ever victorious.  His smile grew larger as he thought of the time when Shaman Azulk’s head would also be displayed on a pole.  Almost everything was going as he had planned.

The only thing that concerned him was the disturbance in Kalia.  The concentrated haze in Kalia had moved from the east of Kalia to the west.  Every time Kadrak had screed into Kalia over the last few weeks the haze had been further west.  Apparently whatever was stopping him from looking upon certain areas was in the hands of someone.  However, he was not worried about it.  It was probably just a merchant or traveler who had stumbled upon a rare looking stone or piece of jewelry and had decided to take it with them.  Wraith would take care of the problem and bring him back another artifact to add to his collection.  Whoever had it was now either in Calyn or one of the communities around the large city.  Hopefully Wraith would take care of it quickly and return with the artifact while Kadrak’s army was still in Beking.  His thoughts were interrupted as the door to the tent suddenly burst open and Gilrod came rushing into the room.

“Forgive me, master,” Gilrod said as he bowed deeply in front of Kadrak’s desk, “but there is trouble in the camp.  Kulfor the Great is making a speech against your leadership.  With the shortage of food and the coming cold, many are actually listening to the foolish oaf.”

Kadrak stood up from his desk while shaking his head.

“Take me to him, Gilrod,” Kadrak commanded with a scowl.  “Kulfor has pushed me to my limit and is now going to pay for it.”

Gilrod rushed to open the tent flap for Kadrak.  As soon as they were out of the tent, the short, bony man led Kadrak through the jumbled maze of tents and cook fires that characterized the massive, disorderly camp.  Kadrak shook his head in disgust as he thought of Kulfor.  He should have gotten rid of the man a long time ago.  Kulfor had been a legend among many of the bandits, and Kadrak had made him one of the generals of his army.  Kulfor was a natural leader, and Kadrak had known he would be helpful in leading the army to battle.  Kulfor also, unfortunately, didn’t like to take orders from anyone but himself.  Kulfor had questioned his commands before, and Kadrak had heard rumors that he was secretly trying to gain control of the whole army.  Not until now, however, had the mighty man been so open in his treason.  Now he would learn what happened to those who crossed the mighty Wielder Kadrak.

Gilrod kept up a steady pace in front of Kadrak as they made their way to the east end of the camp.  Gilrod was Kadrak’s other general.  The man was only middle aged but already was almost devoid of hair.  He was devious and ambitious, but he was loyal.  He also headed a small spy network that he had offered up to Kadrak.  Gilrod suddenly pulled up as they emerged just outside the eastern edge of the camp.  A massive crowd of people stood outside the camp in a large clearing, listening intently to Kulfor.  Kulfor stood atop a huge boulder that appeared out of place in the clearing.  On either side of Kulfor stood several of his elite bandits that had pillaged with him before they had come to join the army.  They were all large, grizzly men, but they looked small standing next to Kulfor.  The man was a giant!  He stood a head taller than any man Kadrak had ever seen and was as wide as several men put together.  Beneath all of his extra fat were muscles of steel.  No one had noticed their arrival, so Kadrak pulled Gilrod back into the shadow of a tent and listened to what the huge man was spouting off to the roiled crowd.

“. . . not how I want to live.  Why do we sit here starving?  Is it because there isn’t enough food?” Kulfor asked the crowd.  “No!  It’s because that weakling Kadrak doesn’t care about you and is hoarding it up for himself.  Why are we just sitting around doing nothing when we could be ravaging towns and cities?  Is it because we are too weak?  No! It is because our leader Kadrak is too weak.  I am not too weak.  I am strong.  We will dispose of Kadrak, and I will lead you.  We will sweep across the land taking everything we want, satisfying our pleasures, and destroying everything else.  Why wait for Kadrak to be ready?  We’re ready.  Let’s do it now!”

As Kulfor finished his speech, the crowd erupted with cheers as men shook their fists in the air in support of him.  Kadrak could not believe the man’s audacity.  He couldn’t believe the man would spout off such words right outside the camp.  He must have known that Kadrak would find out about it.  Kulfor was too smug for his own good.  The pompous idiot would know of his mistake soon enough.  Kadrak cracked his knuckles, calmed himself, and stepped out from the shadows.  The crowd was so involved with their shouting and cheering for Kulfor that they did not even notice as Kadrak and Gilrod made their way to the back of the crowd.  Kadrak was tired of this stupidity and was going to put an end to it.  He glanced up at the cloudless sky above the crowd, and suddenly there was an earsplitting boom.  The crowd grew quiet as they looked around startled.

“Kulfor!” Kadrak said loud enough for the large man to hear from across the massive crowd.

All heads turned to find the source of the name.  As recognition filled their eyes, many of the bandits began to slip away from the crowd.  The rest of them split away to leave a clear space between Kadrak and Kulfor.

“What do you think you are doing?”

“Your cheap magic tricks aren’t going to scare me,” Kulfor announced from his perch atop the massive boulder.  “Your reign as the leader of this army is over.  You don’t deserve your position, and I’m taking it away.”

Kadrak stood in amazement at Kulfor’s words.  He had never thought that the man was stupid enough to actually confront him in person.  Kadrak was not sure if Kulfor was bluffing or if he seriously thought that he could do something to stop him from staying in command.  Behind Kadrak, the edge of the camp was quickly filling up as other bandits swarmed to see the showdown.  The men between Kulfor and Kadrak backed away even more, leaving a huge open space.  Kulfor’s elite stayed at his side as he stood defiantly on the boulder.  Gilrod pulled his bony form up to its fullest height as he stood with Kadrak.

“Kulfor, I had no idea you wanted to die so soon,” Kadrak began.  “I had always thought that you, most of all, valued your own life, but now I see-”

“It’s you who has met his end,” Kulfor threw in with a sneer as he interrupted Kadrak.

Kadrak immediately spun around with his arms stretched forth as two men came flying out of the crowd with curved daggers raised.  Lightning leapt from Kadrak’s hands, searing the two would be killers before they even got near him.  Kadrak smiled as the two daggers hit the ground well short of him after flying from the two burnt corpses.  He turned back away from the stunned crowd to glare at the wide eyed Kulfor.

“Kulfor, you gutless scum!  You ooze villainy and deserve a slow and painful death.  Unfortunately, I’m going to have to dispose of you quickly.”

Kulfor and his elite bandits paused with their swords only half bared as a huge ball of spinning fire began to grow over their heads.  Kadrak smiled as his ball of molten fire grew larger and larger.  As Kulfor’s men began scrambling away from him, trying to get off the boulder, Kadrak let the ball drop.  A huge explosion reverberated through the silent camp as flames splashed out in every direction in a blinding flash of light.  The crowd shielded their eyes and bodies, many dropping to the ground as a shockwave of heat blasted outward.  Kadrak merely leaned down and whispered orders to Gilrod.  With that taken care of, he turned around and sauntered back towards his tent.

* * * * *

Gilrod watched Kadrak as he made his way past the stunned masses at the edge of the camp and disappeared from sight.  Gilrod then turned to fully take in what Kadrak had done.  He stared in amazement at the large, blackened crater that now gaped from the area where the huge boulder had been.  No trace of the boulder or Kulfor and his elite bandits was left.  Gilrod had heard of Kadrak’s magnificent power but had never seen it displayed until now.  He had never really believed in the massive power of the ambience.  He had first thought that the ambience was merely the imaginings of a storyteller.  Upon meeting Kadrak he had learned that it was actually real but had only assumed it was a tool for making small bangs and lighting candles from far away.  Now he knew first hand of the power that Kadrak actually possessed.  Gilrod was pleased with his decision to follow Kadrak.  With Kadrak as its leader, there was no way that the army would fall.