The Charmcaster Read online

  “What are you doing here?” Kimberly, the Duke’s wife asked.

  “None of your business. I don’t answer to you.” Rell answered her in the same tone she was using.

  “What is he doing in my house?” Kimberly asked as she looked at the Duke.

  “Let me get one thing straight with you,” Duke Glades said as he looked at his wife. “I am the damn Duke and this is my house. I will invite whoever I damn well please inside of it with or without your permission. Am I clear?”

  “He is a charmcaster. He will be a bad influence on our family” Kimberly said as she crossed her arms.

  “This is my family and my name,” Duke Glades said. “You would do well to remember it.”

  “Why are you treating me like this?” Kimberly asked.

  “Because Rell is my son,” Duke Glades said. “If you are asking me to choose between you two then I will choose him every time.”

  “I am your wife,” Kimberly said. “I birthed you two strong sons and a daughter. All of them are real mages.”

  “And you think that is enough to have you talking to my son like he is dirt beneath your feet?” Duke Glades asked. “The world can give my son a hard time about his magic but no one in this family under my roof will do so. Or they will find themselves out of a home.”

  “He hasn’t been here even for a day and he is already tearing us apart” Kimberly complained.

  “You believe what you want. I am the Duke, not you or anyone else in this house. You may as well say that your stupidity is tearing us apart. Don’t think I haven’t heard about you gossiping to your family about Rell. That ends now. You don’t know him and I won’t have you speaking down on him.”

  “You don’t know him either,” Kimberly retorted.

  “I don’t need to, though nothing would please me more. If he was born a mage then you and I would have never gotten together. He is my son and the future Baron Cliffs. You will show him respect.”

  “What about Davin? He is your son as well and a full mage. You would let him go without a title?”

  “The luck of the draw. Rell was born first and he will get to be Baron. You knew this a long time ago.”

  “I was also hoping you would see reason and not give a charmcaster such power. Davin has been hoping to become Baron.”

  “Well he won’t. He can be secure in knowing he will be rich and can marry into a good family.”

  “I will petition the king,” Kimberly said defiantly.

  “And that will be the last day you are under my roof and spending my money,” Duke Glades said. “I dare you to try me.”

  “Then Svend could do it,” Kimberly said as she straightened her posture.

  “Then Davin would become my heir,” Duke Glades said. “I dare one of those whelps to go against me. You may be their mother but I am their father.”

  “I hope you are happy with what you are doing to your father’s family,” Kimberly said. Rell thought she was on the verge of tears.

  “What do you think I should do?” Rell asked her. “If you were me what would you do?”

  “I would know that I am a charmcaster and that a mage should lead instead of me,” Kimberly replied.

  “And your son, does he know military tactics?”

  “What does that have to do with anything, he is a mage.”

  “Unless he plans on fighting alone then having knowledge means a lot. However if he plans on defending the border alone, I will relinquish my right provided everything is put in writing. One mage no matter how powerful cannot guard a border and fight off an army.”

  “Well he can learn.”

  “And how does he plan on training his troops?”

  “Well he can learn.”

  “Then what you are telling me is that my brother knows nothing about how to lead others?”

  “He is a mage! He could beat you in a fight!”

  “Kimberly I have been training to fight since I could walk and training to use my magic since I could read. My little brother, no matter how capable he may be, is only seventeen and I am twenty. A fight between me and Davin would not be fair.”

  “Then you admit you are scared.

  “Kimberly, your power as a mage is not extraordinary. I am not trying to insult you. You also know you have met many mages with more power. My father, while stronger in magic than you are does not have great power in magic. My brothers and sisters probably fall somewhere in the middle between you. My mother was the greatest mage the mountain had ever seen. I have a vast amount of magical energy. I cannot see any scenario in where I would lose to you or my brothers and sister if I have enough time to prepare.”

  “Don’t call them your brothers and sister,” Kimberly snapped.

  “They are his brothers and sister,” Duke Glades asserted. “Rell you do not have to impress me. Your stepmother has been outright rude. But your brothers are mages, even the best trained hunting dog cannot be expected to take down even the worse trained boar alone. Whatever this is let’s end it.”

  “Father. Training was tough for me, tougher than anyone could imagine. When I was learning to fight I knew my opponent was going to go extra hard on me. There were not many nobles there. They saw me as someone pretending to be a warrior. They knew I was coming back here to your home while they were going to fight, kill and die. Trust me when I say I can handle myself.”

  “Have you ever been a part of a mage duel?” Duke Glades asked. “It is different than a normal fight. Magic trumps physicality every time.”

  “I haven’t. But I have been curious to see how I would match up against a full mage. I know what my magic can do and the spells I can cast. I think with the right setup I would be a tough fight. If everything goes well I can learn to fight even better and also teach my men to fight. I would be lying to you if I told you I was not expecting this to happen.”

  “You expected to be treated poorly at my home?” Duke Glades asked offended.

  “I expected Kimberly to act like every other mage I have met except for you,” Rell replied. “I expected my little brothers to puff their little chests up to me. We have not grown up together so we have not had the chance to establish our hierarchy. The time would have come eventually to show them that I am the oldest.”

  “Your son accepted the fight,” Kimberly said. “And if Davin beats him he said he would give up his right.”

  “This is ridiculous; I am not allowing this to happen,” Duke Glades said.

  “Father I have been tutored by the best of the half-mages. I will be alright; I just need a few days to prepare.”

  ~

  Rell looked over his armor, he was sure many would think he looked like a perfect idiot. All over his breastplate were numerous embedded little balls of glass. There were only three colors; clear, yellow and blue. They were color-coded charms. The yellow ones signified a shield spell, the clear ones a stun spell and the blue ones water. They were all the same dimensions, about the size of a hen’s egg and it made his armor look strange. On his shield were more charms, each one of them were the clear color of his shield spells.

  For his principal weapon Rell had a staff. It contained big spells that the average mage probably could not cast. The first one was Draw Power; it was a magic draining spell that worked by drawing magical energy away from an opponent and refilling the caster’s magical energy. The second spell had been the hardest to create; the charm that held it was a heavy glass ball the size of his fist mounted atop the wooden staff. It held the spell Silence. This was useful in robbing an opponent of their voice for a few minutes and could be a fight changer if cast on a mage. Rell moved around in his armor to make sure it was adequate; he knew it was decently made since all he had done was to modify a master smith’s work.

  “Rell...” Duke Glades began as he walked into the guest suite he had his son living in.

  “I am not going to yield. And I won’t hurt Davin.”

  “Rell, The king has gotten involved,” Duke Glades said. “That damn Kim
berly has been stirring up trouble. She is out of my home and any favor she had is gone from me.”

  “The king?” Rell asked.

  “Kimberly asked the King to sanction your match against Davin for the Barony,” Duke Glades said. “His Majesty hasn’t said anything against you but I know he is against having a charmcaster for a ruler. This sparring match has blown up beyond what it was meant to be. Many people who have heard of you want to see the fight. Full mages are seeing this fight as a showcase. They want to use the outcome to prove their superiority over the half mages.”

  “That is the first time I have heard you use the phrase half mage,” Rell said.

  “Well that was charmcasters original name. Half mages came up with the term charmcasters to get away from being called half. Now the term charmcaster has become just as much of a slur as 'half mage' ever was.”

  “You said Full Mages are waiting for me to lose?”

  “Yes. News of this fight has been going around the royal palace and everywhere else where influential mages are located. Some charmcasters have heard about it and they were invited to see the fight.”

  “Charmcasters invited by full mages?”

  “They were practically ordered to go. All of the biggest troublemakers are going. Any charmcaster that has tried to rise above their station is going to be there as a personal guest of some powerful noble.”

  “Have you told my brother this? I have been here almost a week and a half and I haven’t seen any of my siblings.”

  “They were visiting family. Then Kimberly got a hold of them.” Duke Glades shook his head. “They are staying in one of my homes near the royal palace. “I am sure they have heard all about what is supposed to happen and have had all manner of idiots filling their heads with garbage.”

  “Well I know what I am wearing looks weird on the outside but I am ready” Rell said. “I don’t even have to focus on the charm my magic is so great. I just need to say the spell and one of them will trigger. I have more than enough shield spells here, just look at all of these charms.”

  “Every one of these things is a spell?” Duke Glades asked shocked. “It probably will not matter. Charmcasting cannot stand up to a full mage's power, it has been proven.”

  “Not really father. Most charmcasters are weak. In fact they are beyond weak. I think in terms of magical power, the weakest charmcaster is a lot weaker than the weakest mage. That fight would not be fair, just like pitting the strongest mage against the weakest mage. One of the strongest charmcasters is probably Charmcaster Tenkay. At best he would be considered average if he was a mage. However he has told me that he could cast some spells that weak mages could only dream of. As good as Tenkay is he could not stand up to the Archmage, who is the elite of the elite and can cast some strong spells. Some of the spells he can cast I can recreate through my charms, I don’t think a weak mage would be much of a challenge against me. Just in my staff I have the spell of silence, I don’t think many mages could fight after being hit with that. It is my main weapon; I will use it after I let him beat on me a bit. I want to see how strong my shields are compared to whatever he throws at me.”

  “The spell of silence?” Duke Glades asked. "I don't even think that is a real spell, I have never seen anyone cast it or is capable of casting it.”

  “I can” Rell replied. “I have never used it before though and it took away a lot of my energy. I think I was successful, I just cannot believe the Royal Family is going to be here to see me play around with my little brother. I would think they have other things to do.”

  “Well Svend has been trying to court Princess Teresa and I am sure Kimberly has thoughts about Davin marrying Princess T’Ericka, her little sister. You are a curiosity for any who know my other sons. They are true nobles in every sense of the word, entitled, greedy and snobbish. They would never turn down a chance to put a lesser born in his place. They see you as a lesser born. Your sister Ashlyn is firmly ingrained in the gossip of women and she is a friend to both princesses. The King and Queen has never liked commoners trying to elevate themselves into positions of power. If it was not you they were putting down, it would be wealthy merchants or other businessmen. You are not a commoner but you are a half mage and I doubt anyone sees the difference.”

  “Well I hate to disappoint them but from what I remember of my little brother there is no way I will lose to him. He follows Svend around and is like a miniature version instead of who he could be. Is he still petite like Kimberly? I am remembering a small boy although I have not seen him in two years.”

  “Davin is still on the smaller side but that doesn't matter in magic. Well if you lose then what will be your plan? You always need a plan of what to do if your first plan fails.”

  “I have many things I can do. I can go into business selling commoner magic. My staves have to be more valuable than a sword even if the charms only are for a single use.”

  “Just make sure to have a plan. Well everyone is waiting on us. I am sure Kimberly is already at the Cliffs.”

  “We aren't doing it on the grounds?”

  “Not anymore. The king wants it done in the Barony in front of your estate. The match was postponed for today. It will happen tomorrow morning and most likely there will be a crowd. Is there anything I can do to prepare you? It makes me sick seeing two of my boys fighting for nothing. Kimberly is out for this, she better hope her family can take care of her. What she has done is ridiculous.”

  “I cannot think of anything you can do really. I think I have everything I need. Well maybe there is one thing that would help me out.”

  “You name it. Davin is no doubt being coached by the best mage in our kingdom all you have is me right now.”

  “I would like to see the ground I am fighting on. We can travel to the estate and I can get a good feel for it. Once I see it I can then decide to keep my strategy or scrap it for something better.”

  “I was planning on leaving a lot later but we can leave now. It is not too far away from here. The only reason this estate is so close to the Cliffs is because we used to have the mountain men to worry about fighting, now we have the Balenians. Hopefully that will become your problem.”

  “Well I am ready to leave when you are. Maybe I can get some of the mountain people to come down and watch me. I have spent time with them, the people who knew my mother have welcomed me as one of their own and they look forward to me being in charge.”

  “I bet they do. After the many battles and fights we have had, they see me as just another conqueror. They are my people and they aren’t. They pay their taxes on time but are far from active citizens. Most never come off the mountains and they don't really care about trade. They haven't really explored their home. For a while it was believed to have deposits of iron or some other metal. I was not mean enough to try and force mine the place like my father. He found nothing in the mountain to reward his efforts in any case but he was not able to get too far in his pursuits. I think that, combined with the war, is what made our relationship so poor. My father though saw to it the area around most of the mountain range and the range itself was set aside for a new landed noble. Many people wanted the barony but they would have been forced to defend against the Balenians who were known to raid and kill the mountain people. That would have become their headache while my father rested easy. That problem is something Kimberly has never thought about. How would Davin guard the pass between the mountains? The mountain people wouldn't help and I doubt many in the towns surrounding it would volunteer to work the mountain. Davin would either be a horrible ruler or an inept one. My son just doesn't have the skill. Svend would also find the Barony a hard nut to crack. He is definitely not a people person. It is unlikely the commoners would mesh well with him. In the barony almost everyone is a commoner except for Kimberly’s people. Those on the mountains have their own hierarchy that revolves around who is the strongest warrior or has proven themselves in past battles.”

  “Well I will ask them to come bless
me. If everyone you say is coming to watch me, then I am going to get me my own honor guard. One thing I learned during training is to never be cowed and to always act as if you are in the position of dominance even when others do not think it is true.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Rellik,” Denali said as he held out skins made of mountain lion. Rellik was the name the mountain tribes called him. Since Rell had arrived last night word of him being in town had spread throughout the mountain. The purpose of his visit was also well known. The greatest warriors from ten of the mountain tribes had come down from the mountain to see the battle. Rell wished he could have spent more time with them last night.

  The charmcasters who would also be in attendance had offered to loan Rell their most prized magical possessions and many were counting on him to win. It was early morning and Rell was alone in front of what could one day be his estate. There were ten mountain men outside waiting for him to make an appearance. They wore skins. Clothing made from fibers was not their way and Rell had known they meant to give him a skin.

  “Denali,” Rell said as he took the skin. Rell wrapped it around his armor. The headpiece it came with would make it impossible to wear his helm. Rell nodded at the large black haired warrior and placed his fist to his chest. Among the mountain tribes it was like a salute, given to those whose opinion you cared about.

  “That skin was prepared by my own wife,” Denali said. “The mages are tough opponents. Magic is not prevalent among the tribes. Your mother was the last full mage we had. In all of the tribes we have three half mages and all were too far away to be here in time.”

  “I am prepared” Rell said. “And thank you for accompanying me. I have four others who will act as my honor guard with you. They will hold my banner and we will march for all to see. The battle is supposed to take place when the sun is highest in the sky.”

  “March?” Denali asked.

  “I plan on arriving a little late,” Rell said. “I am going to make this as big a spectacle as they want. My father has hired musicians and horn blowers to signal my arrival. I woke this early to begin travel to a home that has been set aside for me to hide out in until it is time for the battle.”