Aiden of Aerlin: The Wind Mage Book one Read online

  “Perhaps I spoke out of turn,” Axen said rubbing his chin. “One of the Ayra should go to check things out.”

  “And this one is who we want,” Arden said. “It is no secret to anyone in here that he bested both of my boys in sparring. If we send a normal Ayra then that person may not be strong enough to make it off the mountain and the aeagle may not be willing to let such a person ride it. Even if they did, they could not be a good measuring stick to determine how tough our enemy is. This one can reasonably fight with an air staff to determine how tough the enemy is at close fighting and can use magic to determine if we are outclassed. We are Aernus’s chosen, we need due diligence before we decide on a course of action. If we lose this boy then we have not lost much and gained the knowledge our trial is not over yet. If he lives then we can find out more about them and eventually plan an attack sometime in the future.”

  “He is going to need proper gear to see where we fall in strength,” Axen said. “We have not had proper contact with those at bottom for six hundred years. The last time any of them were spotted was over a hundred years ago, the Ayren of that time chased them off but they were fighting the wind and the cold as much as they were fighting us. Any attack would have to be in their lands.”

  “That is what I was thinking,” Arden said. “Alright servant, of all of the people here you were chosen to go to the bottom of Mt. Aernot and make contact with our enemies.”

  “I am not going,” Aiden said as he removed Arden’s hand and backed away.

  “You will go because the Light and the Arm of Aernus commanded it and we have the full backing of the council,” Arden said forcefully. “Don’t go and you will be cast out to the cold with nothing except what you have on, you cannot hope to survive out there for long.”

  “My mother and father…” Aiden began.

  “Will not interfere or they would join you as a cast out,” Arden said. “Now pick one of the other Ayra in this room to go with you. We will also need a baseline of how our very worst fares against them.”

  “I cannot doom anyone to my fate,” Aiden said hesitantly.

  “If both of you make it back you will be given a small home and will never have to work again as thanks from the council,” Arden said. “That is far more than any Ayra deserves and no Ayra has had that honor for decades. If you die then your parents will receive the monetary equivalent. Since you refused to pick I am going to do it for you. The girl Ayra that is trying her best to shy away will leave with you after both of you are informed of our history and tutored in how to interact with our enemy. I prefer not to pick a male, the Heretics have been wanting air magic for the longest time and was successful at breeding it into their society. But that magic is probably weak now, we cannot chance you servant or another Ayra trying to give away your magic as feeble as it is by laying with one of their women. At least this way if there is any child it would be brought back here. Even if it isn’t, the amount of children she could make is finite while yours could be a problem. Now get back to your duties.”

  Aiden went back to the stalls but was far too nervous to do anything. He was being sent away to the people at the bottom of the mountain, his father and mother had told him stories about them. Aiden wanted to believe there was nothing below the white clouds that constantly were at the bottom of their city of Aerlin, now he would have to find out. Once there were many Gods, Aernus was chief among them and was the God of the sky. Each God had a chosen group of people and they were all different, each given a bit of that God’s power. Aernus’s chosen, the Aerlin ruled over all of them much to the chagrin of the other Gods so wars were constantly fought between the Gods using humans as the warriors. The humans at the bottom of the mountain eventually had gotten tired of this, they started loving each other instead of fighting each other and perverted the gift they were given. Most of their children were born without the ability to perform magic. Those that still could found out they had a variation of both of their parents’ magic. Those who were the chosen of the Britannia, the Goddess of knowledge found out how to use that magic since it was perverted in its natural state. They said special chants and carried something to focus the magic, like a small stick called a wand or a wooden stave. Humans stopped fighting for the Gods and wanted to grow their own power, even at the cost of their children possibly being born without the gift. All except the Aerlin fought against Aernus. Eventually the Heretics became powerful and too hard to fight, they wanted freedom from Aerlin rule. The war had gotten especially tough when their Gods joined in despite the Heretics attitude towards them. Aernus finally joined the fight himself and an agreement was reached that the Gods would permanently leave the world of man. Aernus had killed six Gods at this point but was in danger of dying himself. With his last act Aernus had told his chosen where they could flee away from the Heretics and live safely. Mt. Aernot was that place and what was left of the Aerlin fled and made it to the summit. Now they wanted Aiden to go to his death to meet these Heretics. The people who mixed themselves and shunned their Gods all for their own selfish power.

  The next day Aiden woke up and was surprised to find the Ayra girl that had been chosen standing outside. Aiden had already decided the Aventi family could go stuff themselves if they thought he was going to still work for them and only came out to exercise. The other Ayra was clad in the white robes belonging to an Ayr. Aiden thought the girl was stupid to be seen in such a thing, she could be punished. The girl looked at him with resignation in her eyes, she looked defeated.

  “I am Aiden,” Aiden said.

  “Why didn’t you pick someone?” the girl said desperately. “You could have picked one of the men but instead I am supposed to go die with you.”

  “Could you pick out someone to die?” Aiden asked.

  “Yes if it would spare me,” the girl replied. “I know it sounds wrong but I don’t want to die. I am not a fighter and my magic is as weak as most Ayras.”

  “Well it can’t be helped now,” Aiden replied. “I don’t want to die either. What is your name and why are you dressed this way?”

  “I am Aera,” the girl replied. “And they want me dressed this way, we are supposed to be leaving today. I came to get you so you can learn and write down everything they have been telling me since yesterday.”

  “You were in there getting grilled since yesterday?” Aiden asked. “No one has come for me.”

  “Because they expect you to die,” Aera said. “They expect you to go down there and die. They only want to know how long you last in a fight.”

  “Me?” Aiden asked.

  “They think you will be attacked as soon as you land,” Aera said. “They also hope that no one will attack me and I can tell the story.”

  “And what if I don’t get attacked?” Aiden asked. “I am not going to go down there and start killing people even if they are Heretics.”

  “Then we are supposed to learn from them,” Aera said. “They are coming for you now.”

  Aiden looked up and could see the Light and the Arm of Aernus walking towards him. Awan was following them and was carrying many items with him. Aiden could see an air staff and figured they really wanted him to look the part of a warrior. Aiden wanted to run, these were the men trying to send him off to his death. Why did they want to fight these people? The stories Aiden had heard led him to believe the people at the bottom had many talents other than air magic.

  “Here,” Axen said as he grabbed an air staff and tossed it to Aiden. “I heard you know how to use it Ayra.”

  “My name is Aiden,” Aiden replied.

  “Don’t you get uppity with me Ayra,” Axen said. “This garment I am going to give you should only be worn by the elite of the Ayren caste. It pains me even to see one such as you inside of it. It is made from a combination of spun air steel and cloth made from the fibers of the finest of ayria plants. This is so you can at least fight if you are attacked, you are going to be outfitted with the best.”

  “They know magic,” Aiden s
aid as he took the items.

  “You are magic,” Arden said. “You may be an Ayra but your blood and your gift is not corrupted like theirs is. The people at the bottom teach magic to their gifted by apprenticeship. If our history is correct, the Heretics soon disbanded to fight each other once the Gods fell. They have many places and people and all of them fight to see who is in charge. Mt. Aernot has been claimed at least once that we know of. If you are questioned, the reason you are there is to learn from a Master. I want you to try and fit in, the more you know of these people the better prepared we will be. Now go, I am sure your mother and your father will get the message about what is planned for you and do something stupid.”

  “He needs an aeagle,” Axen said.

  “I have the perfect one for him,” Arden said. “I have an off color beast that I was planning on giving to the lowest of your number.”

  “An off color?” Axen asked. “Why was this animal not put down?”

  “Because I thought it could be useful to send a message to any Ayren not working to the best of their ability,” Arden said. “But since this plan was brought up, I have had him trained to ride the animal. Your complaints are of little use. Get this boy out of here and do it quickly.”

  “Alright, you heard the Light,” Axen said. “I have you both travel packs. The aeagle is yours for now Ayra. Girl you already know your part in this. Now hurry up and get moving before I toss you both out with nothing.”

  Aidan glared at the man who did nothing but glare back. Aidan walked to where the aeagle was, Aiden secretly named him Scratch from all the fighting he did. The Light and the Arm were both fools Aiden thought. Scratch was bigger than the rest and always asserted his dominance, animals did not care for the caste system, at least Scratch didn’t. Aiden petted him on the beak, aeagles did not respect riders who couldn’t impose their will. Aiden already did many times, aeagles were taught to carry a rider by Ayren who came over to test themselves. None of them wanted to try Scratch so Arden had made him get on the animal. Breaking aeagles was the number one cause of death among the Ayren so not many protested.

  “Where am I supposed to sit?” Aera asked.

  “Up against him now get to moving,” Axen said.

  Aiden got Scratch ready and took a deep breath as he helped Aera on the giant bird and took to the skies.

  CHAPTER 3

  The air was much colder outside of the city, the biting chill hit Aiden almost immediately and the aermor he was given to fight in did nothing to stop the cold or the wind. Aiden let his magic fill him and used wind to combat wind, the wind around him he swirled and forced the cold out as he forced the warm air to circulate around him and Aera. The warmth from their bodies were trapped in the thin layer Aiden created and the biting wind subsided. The aeagle was made for the weather, it was an animal created by Aernus himself and would only respond to strong Aerlin. Anyone without air magic couldn’t ride it, the animal would not let them. Aiden could feel his heart pounding as the aeagle dropped its altitude and went through the white clouds. It was impossible to see, Aiden couldn’t even use his magic he was so terrified to feel for vibrations in the air. Axen had told him the route, in Aerlin there was a special rock pointing towards the safest way off of the mountain. Aiden thought if flying blind was safe then the other paths must be horrendous. It seemed like the animal fell through the clouds for hours but it was probably closer to half of one Aiden thought. When they cleared the clouds, Aiden could see that Mt. Aernot was huge and the climate on top of the mountain was different than the climate in the middle. There was still snow on the ground but it was not as deep and the wind was not as chilly. The further he went down the mountain the better the weather was. Aiden forced himself to enjoy the sight, in a few moments he could be dead and he wanted to enjoy all that he saw. Aiden could hear Aera gasp at the sights she was seeing, he couldn’t blame her as they flew away from Mt. Aernot.

  “Get me down,” Aera screamed. “Something is coming, they want to kill you, not me.”

  Aiden turned around as his breath caught in his throat. He knew the flying beasts coming for him were called dragons. It was the only flying beast the Heretics had, at least it was back at the last contact with them. There were three of them in the air, all with riders and their animals looked like they were flying hard but looked all wrong for flying. They had sizable wings but the body of the animal looked too bulky, Aiden was sure if he wanted to press Scratch the aeagle could take off and leave the other animals struggling to stay in eyesight. Aiden made Scratch dive, if he was to be killed he might as well let Aera off and face his destiny as a man. He had Aernus in his heart and although he was mixed blood he was sure his God would not forsake him in the afterlife. Aera practically jumped off and then took off running as fast as she could, Aiden pulled out his air staff and waited for the dragons to land. The beasts were scarier in person as they landed, they were not as big as they looked from the sky but had a mouth full of dagger like teeth. They were bigger than Scratch was in size, they were covered in bulky muscle and were possibly three to four times heavier. Aiden made his mind go blank as he held his staff, once they attacked he would go after the lead dragon first and hoped none of the Heretics knew how to fly or knew he could fly.

  “Who are you?” said a man from atop the biggest dragon, a brown animal who kept its eyes on Scratch. “And why are you in the sky and what is that animal? Where did you steal it from peasant?”

  “I am called Aiden,” Aiden said as he realized the person talking to him was about his age. It was weird looking at him, his skin was darker than a pure ayra and his hair was a color Aiden had never seen on a human, brown. His eyes were also brown, the coloration made him pause but not as much as the speaker’s body. He was fleshy, that was the only term Aiden could think of that fit. Aiden could see he also had little bumps on his face, no Aerlin he had ever met had such blemishes.

  “Answer my question peasant,” the boy snapped again. “You two, go get that strange girl that is trying to run away.” the boy finished as he turned to the other two with him.

  “I already told you my name,” Aiden replied. “I come from the top of Mt. Aernot to learn magic under a Master. My steed is an aeagle, I do not know what a peasant is.”

  “Where is Mt. Aernot?” the boy said. “I haven’t heard of any Mt. Aernot. Are you a Rexilian spy?”

  “I don’t know what a Rexilian is,” Aiden replied. “And how do you not know where Mt. Aernot is, it is right behind you.”

  “You are talking about Frost Peak?” the boy said. “How stupid are you not to know its name and claim you came from there. Are you from one of the pathetic tribes of mountain people who hide out there instead of doing your part for the Kingdom?”

  “My part for who?” Aiden said confused. “You mean my part for your people.”

  “How daft are you idiot?” the boy said. “You know what, just give me your animal and begone with you. Lying about being a Mage is reason enough for me to kill you on the spot.”

  “You cannot have Scratch,” Aiden said as he pointed his air staff at the speaker. The air staff was made from airsteel. It was an extremely light and hard metal found only at the peak of Mt. Aernot. One end was wider and shaped like a teardrop, there was a hole on top which contained a small airsteel ball attached to a chain. If Aiden put his hand on the small hole along the shaft of the staff he could press air into it and the ball would fly out to twice the length of the staff and strike. It was a one shot trick but Aiden thought he could get the speaker with it.

  “Oh great, here she comes,” the boy said as he let out a sigh and looked up.

  Aiden looked up and could see another dragon was landing. This one was smaller and carried a woman who was also fleshier than any he had seen in Aerlin. The woman was older and had gray hair, she barely looked at Aiden but instead focused on the boy, her anger was barely contained.

  “Who told you to take a dragon Paul!” the woman screamed.

  “Don’t you ta
lk to me like that,” the boy said annoyed. “I am a noble.”

  “You are a thief and I am going to see to it the King knows about this,” the woman yelled. “Noble or not you can explain why you felt the need to steal from the Kingdom.”

  “The king is my great uncle, commoner,” Paul said and waved her away. “Besides, if you would just give me one of the animals then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “Well then we will see how he reacts to your theft,” the woman said as Aiden could tell her animal was prepared to take off.

  “He would give me a medal Merida,” Paul said as Aiden could tell he was a little unsure of himself. “I saw this spy and we took the dragons to intercept him.”

  “Spy?” the old woman said then looked at Aiden.

  “Have you ever seen someone so strange?” Paul asked. “Look at his clothing, his weapon, and his steed. I made him land and came over to take the animal for myself so I wouldn’t need a dragon. I even have Finn and Harold going after his accomplice.”

  “I am no spy,” Aiden said fearfully. “I came to study under a Master. I have magic and want to learn. This one called me an idiot and said he wanted to take Scratch away from me.”

  “That is the biggest bird I have ever seen,” Merida said looking Aiden over. “Where did you come from, are you one of the mountain men?”

  “I am from Mt. Aernot,” Aidan replied.

  “Mt. Aernot?” Merida said as her eyes suddenly got wide. “You are one of them! You really do exist!”

  “One of who?” Paul asked confused.

  “This is a momentous day,” Merida said excitedly. “Paul you and the others bring back the dragons and there will be no harm. I can’t believe you found not only one but two of them.”

  “Two of what?” Paul asked getting annoyed.