The Knight Mage Read online

  THE KNIGHT MAGE

  CHAPTER 1

  “There is no use father, I have been practicing every day and I’ll never be as talented as some of the other boys” John replied as he let his shield fall. “I just don’t have the power you, mom or even Sara has. As a mage I am utterly worthless, the only thing I am decent at is shields”.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself John” Archmage Jonathan Thunder said as he looked down at his son. “Your level of control is way beyond what a normal mage can achieve”.

  “Who cares father?” John said as he rubbed his temples in frustration. “I can’t even make fire or control the earth. Even the poorest of mages can defeat me in a duel, I lost today to George Haversham and he is only 11!”

  “John most mages can only work one spell at a time” his father said as he rubbed his son’s shoulders. “I have seen you keep four or five going”.

  “Big deal father, I can put up five shields” John said as he pulled away. “All that means is that it will take my opponents a little longer before they blast me. I can't even heal myself once it happens”.

  “John why don’t you focus on the things you can do well” the Archmage said as he spun his son around to face him. “Not even I can make the different shields you can, the best I can do is a dome. Most mages can only make a simple wall for a shield and you know how to wrap one around your entire body. So what blasting people with magic is not something you can do. How many soldiers do you think wish they could conjure a shield around themselves in combat? I have seen you go to bed with a shield still in place, you have the control and your aura refills at an astounding rate”.

  “That is not what magic is about though father is it?” John said looking at his father with anger. “I am the son of two of the most powerful mages ever to live, I am expected to be powerful but I am a laughing stock”.

  “John Thunder!” his father’s voice boomed. “When I took on the blood priests and they had their lightning rods how did I win? Did I cry about not being able to use my signature attack? After all I was Jonathan Thunder, I descended from a proud line of mages all able to combine fire and water to make lightning”.

  “You just used earth magic father” John said not getting his father’s point. “I can't use earth magic or any other magic”.

  “Not the point, I asked did I cry about it or did I improvise?” the Archmage said fixing his son with a stare.

  “You improvised” John said with a sigh.

  “How many people have you came up against that can legitimately blast through your shields?” the Archmage asked. “I have seen you wrap yourself in a personal shield and create a dome shield around that”.

  “Everyone gets through it!” John yelled.

  “I am not talking about when you fight like an idiot” the Archmage snapped. “If you kept your shields up, how many people can get through it with pure power alone?”

  “I don’t know” John admitted. “Sara has gotten through it, so has Rusty”.

  “Who else?” the Archmage asked? “And I saw Sara and Rusty break through your shield before, it took everything they had to do so”.

  “No one, but that’s not the point” John complained.

  “So what you are telling me is that you have your own signature spell that is almost invincible to beat but you still complain” the Archmage said as he looked his son up and down. “How many people do you think could beat you if you carried a simple staff into sparring and used your defense to get closer”.

  “You can't use regular weapons in a mage’s duel” John replied.

  “No you can’t” the Archmage said as he shook his head. “But you can use your shields, and I have seen you shape your barriers into things no one else can. I am tired of watching you mope around this place, starting tomorrow you will no longer train at the tower. I am going to have you start training with the new soldier recruits, perhaps there you can find out better ways to use your magic. If you need a reason to be miserable you now have one, now get out of my face, I have a meeting to prepare for”.

  John stared at his father but turned to leave after a moment. His father meant well but Jonathan Thunder had always been the strongest mage around, he had no idea what it was like to be on the bottom rung of the ladder. Many mages saw John as a laughingstock, someone to be ridiculed and pitied, even his sister kept her distance from him like he was some kind of disease. Now his father wanted him to go train with soldiers because he thought John didn’t appreciate what he had? Why couldn’t he see that John was the weakest mage currently training in the tower. He couldn’t fly like the top students, he didn’t have control of water, he couldn’t heal, he couldn’t do almost anything except make worthless barriers. It didn’t matter how strong they were or how many he could make, he was still just a shadow of a mage. John turned the corner as a strong fist punched him in the face. John’s head barely snapped back despite his small size thanks to his shield. The person who owned the fist was now grabbing his hand and cursing as a strong wind blew John back into the wall. Rusty Golad had been his tormentor for the last four years now, and John didn’t see that stopping anytime soon. Rusty Golad was the nephew of Russell Golad, one of the strongest mages in all of the kingdom of Kirby. Russell Golad hated John’s father, Russell was one of his mother’s suitors and felt jilted when she picked John’s father. That rivalry really heated up when John’s father was chosen as the Archmage to advise Queen Mary despite Russell being in charge of the Tower, where all mages in the kingdom were taught. Rusty probably hated John because of this and like his father was a towering brute, Rusty had beaten John up many times when they were kids and now tried to do the same with magic when his fists couldn’t complete the task.

  “Come on and fight back” Rusty snarled as he poured his energy into the wind spell he was using. “Stop hiding and fight like a mage”.

  John couldn’t move off the wall but felt no pain as his personal shield was still up. John was happy he had gotten into the habit of keeping it up, ever since he found out how to change the color to clear even he had forgotten about it until he touched something, the shield went all over his body like a second skin with only his mouth and nostrils open. Now though he had closed them both up and left an air hole near the back of his left knee in his shield so he could get oxygen.

  “Give it up already Rusty, don’t you have someone else to torment?” John asked.

  “I don’t have to see your sister for another hour or so” Rusty said as he dropped his wind spell and started kicking John’s shield.

  John didn’t see what Sara saw in Rusty, sure he had the looks but he was an asshole of the highest order and the stupidest person he had ever met. He kicked and punched John’s shield despite not even being able to make a dent in it.

  “Just give up you idiot” John replied as Rusty started another casting. As far as raw power went Rusty was the top student currently at the tower, in fact Rusty had more aura at his disposal than anyone in Kirby except John’s father. John was a distant fourth among all the mages he had ever met in total aura but could refill his aura rather quickly, Rusty would take at least a day to get back to top form. As strong as Rusty was though he could only perform one facet of magic at a time, he couldn’t combine spells to make a new a new spell, like most mages he just didn’t have the control. But Rusty didn’t need it, he could get through with what he had. Fire erupted from Rusty’s hand just as John snapped a dome shield over himself. Rusty poured power into the fire and John could feel his shield start to weaken, John concentrated and another shield snapped into existence between his personal shield and the dome shield he had just created. The outer dome shield exploded with an audible snap as Rusty growled at seeing the new shield. John could feel his aura repleni
shing and cast two more shields as Rusty was sweating to get through his barriers.

  “Rusty leave my brother alone” came the voice of Sara.

  “I am just playing around with this runt” Rusty said as John could feel the pressure from Rusty’s magic subside.

  John saw his chance and took it, he kicked Rusty square in the balls and felt the flesh give through the robes Rusty had on. The big blond man gave a squeak like a baby bird John thought as he turned to run. Rusty grabbed his shirt as he crumpled to the ground, John turned and punched the man in the face several times before dropping his shield and biting Rusty’s hand. Rusty let go whimpering as John took off running, right when all the rest of the students came out of their classes. It was the first time he had ever gotten the best of his enemy and it came at a perfect time. If he was to leave the Tower tomorrow he wouldn’t have to worry about Rusty catching him alone somewhere, especially if he had his cronies with him. John would have to leave today and fast, no way would that great big blond idiot not pay him back for that attack. Not when at least 20 or more people had to see him moaning on the ground. John had to see his father immediately, he was probably heading towards Dyson to speak with the other advisors before they briefed the Queen. His father didn’t even live at the tower the way John and Sara did but only dropped in weekly to see how his kids were doing. As the Archmage, John’s father was in charge of all mages in the kingdom, currently that number was at an even 100 including the students in the Tower. He would have a meeting with General Burns who was in charge of all the land forces, Admiral Motto who led the navy, and Lord Timely who was the liaison between the Queen and the various nobles and commoners who had problems only the Queen could solve. John ran from the tower and it was just his luck he spotted a horse hitched up near the gate. John jumped on the horse and felt self-pity, Rusty, Sara and the majority of the students there could fly, John was the only one who had to do all his traveling by horse. John rode hard as his father’s words came back to him about his replenishing aura, although many could fly only a few could do it for more than an hour. If John could fly he wouldn’t have to worry about anything, already his aura was topped off and he was just in a fight. John looked behind him at the disappearing Tower, it was an hour outside of Dyson by horse although a decent flier could make the trip in a quarter of the time. John could see two figures launch into the cloudy sky, Rusty must had recovered quickly, John pulled his mount to a stop and threw a shield over himself and his mount. This barrier was box shaped and he colored it the same dusty tan of the road he was traveling on, if Rusty was in a hurry he might overlook him. If Rusty wasn’t in a hurry then John would have to deal with him when that time came. Rusty and Sara passed directly over him and headed towards the capital, John smiled at how lucky he was to discover he could change the color and shape of his shields. The box shield took three separate actions to achieve, the first was the shield itself, the second was to color and the third was the shape. Not even his father could have done a better job and no other mage could have come close, they just didn’t have the level of control. John waited for the pair to disappear in the sky before he dropped the shield and started off again, this time going much slower. Rusty would no doubt be waiting for him but he was not stupid enough to do anything while there were people around. John was about 400 meters from the city gate when the rain started, John expanded his shield to more than just his skin and enveloped the horse with it as well. John watched the rain slide off his invisible shield and thought his father could have been on to something. Most mages would just make a simple barrier above their head but the wind would eventually let the rain inside. John’s father could make a dome and heat the air inside, John wished he could do so. It would keep him warm but he wasn’t going to complain, what he had right now was working for him. When the rain came down even harder John laughed as he thought about a soaked Rusty looking for him. It served him right and Sara too, they both should be soaked but he doubted Sara was. Sara could cast two different spells, she probably had a dome shield going. Sara could shield Rusty from the weather so maybe the idiot wasn’t soaked, that didn’t matter though. Sara couldn’t fly while she was shielded, it took a lot out of her just to maintain the dome. The fact the two idiots took off without mounts meant they were walking around with no way to get back home quickly.

  John spotted the Queen’s Palace after an hour of trotting through the city, it was not as tall as the tower but still was striking. The Bissell Palace was constructed by the current Queen’s great great grandfather Bissell the Bold and was meant to show off his wealth. All of Bissell was made out of rose marble, the most expensive building material in the kingdom. The two story palace shown as pink as a sunset when the sun hit it and was so bright sometimes that people had to shield their eyes. There was a wall around it, in the middle of a bustling city where only the very rich had any kind of lawn, Bissell took up 40 acres and had its own small farm along with hunting grounds. John rode up to the gate to speak with the guards there, extending his shield to encompass both of the wet men who looked stunned but gave him a nod.

  “Has my father came through here yet?” John asked a guard named Jalen. Jalen was only five years older than John and had gotten his post because his father was the Queen’s Guard Captain and had protected the family for over 30 years now. Jalen was raised on Bissell grounds the same way John was and would know if Jonathan Thunder had come by.

  “Yeah your father came through a couple of hours ago” Jalen replied as brown hair clung to his face. “He looked angry when he came by, even your sister and Rusty looked pissed as well. Is everything alright?”

  “Not really” John replied. “I am sure it is common knowledge I am weak in magic”.

  “I think you are very good in magic” the other guard spoke; an older man John had seen a couple of times but either forgot his name or never knew it. “You are keeping me out of this damn rain, I will be happy if the guard shack we want is ever built by this gate but I doubt it. This post is used as a punishment but you have taken some of the edge off. The last two mages I saw looked like a dog that had fell into a pond, while you are dry. Even your horse is dry, I would say that is decent magic”.

  “I only heard you are not as good as Sara or Rusty” Jalen replied. “Something about a shield, I don't pay too much attention to gossip”.

  “Well my father is pulling me from the tower” John said as he wished he knew fire magic to dry the men off. “He is sending me to train as a soldier”.

  “A soldier?” the older guard said looking John up and down. “I suppose anyone could do the job but the training is tough”.

  “You come to talk him out of it?” Jalen asked.

  “No” John replied. “I am looking forward to going somewhere where the people won't look down on me. I just want to leave tonight if possible, Rusty is looking for me and if I can I want to avoid him”.

  “Rusty is still picking on you?” Jalen said shaking his head. “Well you might as well turn around because I know he is in Bissell somewhere”.

  “I gave Rusty a beating he won't ever forget” John smiled. “He is not stupid enough to try anything while we are here. I just need to get inside the palace and I am safe”.

  “Well then good luck John” Jalen replied. “If you head towards the stables you should be able to get in through one of the side entrances, I can't say if the stable master will be in so you may have to put up your horse by yourself”.

  John nodded and made his way to the stable, he could hear the men sigh once his shield was pulled away and the rain came back in. John was in no hurry as he eased his way into the stable and put his horse away, taking extra time to brush the animal down. When John was finished he entered the palace and knew where he could find his father. The more he thought about leaving the Tower the better it sounded, he could only worry about himself and nothing to do with magic. He passed by a room and saw Rusty and his sister Sara kissing, Rusty spotted him and pushed his sister aside. John put a
shield surrounding the door, Rusty smacked into his invisible construct hard as John eased away from the door. He could go up to 20 meters or so from the shield before it would fall apart, most mages couldn’t go more than a meter or so but they had no need for such a spell. John could feel Rusty hammering away at the shield and was soon joined by Sara as John put up another one in its place, not bothering with making it invisible. Instead the shield glowed amber like any other barrier as John found the room he was looking for just as another of his shields were destroyed.

  “Father” John said as he found the Archmage talking to his mother Crystal.

  “John” the Archmage replied. “What are you doing here?”

  “Our talk father” John replied. “I want to leave tonight if at all possible”.

  “I was just angry John” the Archmage said as he gave John’s shoulder a little squeeze. "I was not serious about you joining up with the army".

  “I want to though father” John replied. “I hate the tower, I hate the students and the teachers who look at me with either disgust or pity. I think the army will be good for me, it was like you said, I need a way to appreciate my magic more”.

  “I never said those exact words” the Archmage replied as Rusty and Sara came angrily into the room.

  “There you are!” Rusty screamed.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Crystal, John’s mother spoke. “Don’t just barge in here screaming like a fool”.

  “Your son attacked me today” Rusty replied never taking his eyes off of John.

  “And you attack him almost every day” Crystal snapped back. “Now get out of here, you may be strong but you haven’t faced a test like I can give you”.

  “Mother Rusty did nothing wrong, it was John who hit him” Sara complained.

  “I don’t see any marks on him” Crystal said looking the boy over.

  “He hit him in a private area and took off running” Sara replied. “He didn’t even stand and fight like a real mage”.