Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2013 19:51:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Robert Subject: Squires of Telisan Keep - 18 Attention Readers - Please donate to Nifty.org to help support and maintain this free service. I have personally donated as I enjoy having access to all the great fantasy material (not just talking about the genre) and also having a place to share the stories that bounce around inside my head without having to censer them for a general audience. I encourage you to donate to Nifty today! Go to http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html Author's Note: Comments and feedback are appreciated. I would like to thank Mark for helping me by editing these chapters starting with 11. Next chapter is going to be a bit delayed. Work is kicking my ass right now. Should clear up in a couple weeks though. - Robert robertx5sf@yahoo.com This is a work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story are fictional and not representative of anyone living or dead. (c) 2013 by robertx5sf@yahoo.com, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form without the author's consent, with exception of the license granted to Nifty.org per Nifty's terms of use. The Squires of Telisan Keep - 18 RYNIL and MIKEL When Mikel first learned that he was confined to the tower, he got upset, but knew better then to express his anger at Sir Valen. He could tell from his Master's tone that he supported Lord Velarik's decision. The news that Rynil would be visiting two afternoons a week lessened the blow of the news a bit, but not enough to keep Mikel from sulking over it. Mikel sulked until the next day when Rynil arrived at the tower to begin his training. When Rynil had arrived at the tower, Sir Valen came downstairs and led the two Squires down to the basement level, past both Mikel'sthe ritual rooms, stopping in front of one of the two remaining doors. It opened at his unspoken command to reveal another room the same size as the ritual room. Like the rest of the rooms in the basement, the walls and floor were stone, but instead of a wood ceiling like the other rooms, this one had a stone ceiling. There was also a worn stone statue in the shape of a featureless person standing at the far end of the room. It was covered in burn marks and was marred by numerous scratches and pockmarks. Mikel shifted his sight and could see that there was some magic involved in holding up the stone ceiling. The usual blue glow of the tower's magical defenses was brighter in this room. Instead of being concentrated on the outer wall of the tower, it covered the entire room, including the outer and interior walls, floor, and ceiling. Sir Valen noticed Mikel examining the room, "As you can see, this room is heavily shielded. It is a safe place in which to train in the use of the more violent manifestations of magic. Over the next few months, the two of you will train together down here. Apprentice, you will begin to learn how to use magic as a weapon, while Squire Rynil, you will practice using the sword to defend against it. I know you believe that the sword 'just works', but that is not the case. While the sword works by channeling magical energy from our world back to the plane of magic, it still takes a spark of energy to activate. You will find that using it will sap your strength, and if you are too tired or unconscious the sword will be not be able to defend you." Rynil interrupted the wizard, "In my dream, I could tell that I was getting more and more tired each time I used the sword to dispatch one of the shadowy wolves." Sir Valen smiled and nodded at the blonde boy, "Yes, just like swinging the sword with your arms will tire out the muscles in your arms, using it to dispel magic will fatigue you as well. But, just as practicing swinging the sword will build up the strength in your arms, practicing with the sword's magical properties will increase your magical endurance. "Apprentice, you will find that the energy required to control your sorcery will wear you out, and similarly, the more you practice, the more it will build your own magical reserves. So, it is important for both of you to train so that you can grow stronger. You will both need much more strength if you are to triumph against demons," warned Sir Valen. "Yes, Master," replied Mikel. "Squire Rynil, please summon your sword, return the empty case to its magical abode, then take up a guard position next to the statue at the other end of the room," said Sir Valen. Rynil nodded and did as he was instructed, taking up a guard position next to the statue, holding the sword in front of him with both hands on the hilt. Sir Valen turned to Mikel, "Today we will start with a simple attack. Apprentice, I wish you to observe for the time being. Study me as I cast this spell. See how the words and gestures summon and shape the magic. Focus not on their specifics but instead on how they control the magic and bend it to my will, since that is what you will need to do. After I demonstrate the spell a few times it will be up to you to duplicate it. Now are you both ready to begin?" "Yes Sir," replied Rynil. "Yes Master," replied Mikel as he shifted his sight. "Very well," said Sir Valen as he quickly cast a spell and a bolt of glowing white magical energy shot out of his hand towards Rynil. The boy flinched, but was able to block the bolt with the sword, which absorbed the magical energy. Sir Valen repeated the spell a couple times and Rynil grew more confident as he blocked each one. "Excellent Squire, now take a few steps away from the statue. I am going to direct the bolts at the statue. I want you to concentrate on willing the sword to defend against the bolt even though it is not targeted at you," said the wizard. Rynil nodded. Sir Valen cast the spell again and this time the bolt shot out and struck the statue, blasting away a small chunk of the statue. "Sorry Sir," said Rynil. Sir Valen just smiled and cast the spell again. The bolt shot out quickly, but this time just before it struck the statue it changed course and stuck the sword instead. "Well done," said Sir Valen, smiling at the boy. He then turned to Mikel. "Do you think you are ready to give it a try Apprentice?" he asked. "Yes Sir," said Mikel. He changed places with Sir Valen and faced Rynil. He gave his friend a shy crooked grin, a bit unsure of hurling magical energy at him. Rynil took back up his guard position and nodded at Mikel, silently trying to give him encouragement. Mikel remembered how he had seen Sir Valen summon the magical energy and direct it into the bolt of energy and did his best to duplicate it. He pulled the energy into him then tried to hurl it at Rynil, but instead of staying concentrated as a single bolt, it fanned out weakly and quickly dissipated. "You do not need to force the bolt out Apprentice, you need to guide it, not throw it. You scattered the energy. Try again, but remember, you are guiding it, not throwing it," instructed Sir Valen. Mikel pulled the energy into him again then instead of hurling it at Rynil, he concentrated on releasing it in Rynil's direction. A bolt of glowing energy shot out at Rynil. With a quick flick of his wrists, Rynil swept the sword in a downward semi-circle and the bolt of energy followed the sword and impacted harmlessly into it. "Excellent! Both of you, well done," exclaimed Sir Valen. "Again," he instructed. Mikel cast the bolt at Rynil, who blocked it easily with the sword. Sir Valen had the boys repeat the exercise over and over again. He told Mikel how to make small adjustments in order to be more consistent and efficient in casting the spell, and also occasionally had Mikel direct the bolt at the statue so Rynil could practice using the sword to intercept spells that were not targeting him directly. When both the boys were covered in sweat and starting to breath a bit heavily, he called a halt to the day's training. "That is enough for today. Squire Rynil, you are not due back until dinner. I suggest you boys have a snack, drink some juice, wash up, and rest a bit," said Sir Valen. He then turned and left the room, heading back up to the upper level of the tower. Rynil stored his sword away and followed Mikel upstairs, where they snacked on some bread, cheese, and fruit. "Hopefully everything clears up soon so you do not have to spend all your time in here," said Rynil. "Yeah, I was upset at first, but honestly, it's not too bad. I enjoy reading, so the time passes quickly, and I'll still get to see you a couple times a week," said Mikel. He did not want to dwell on his confinement to the tower so he changed the subject. "How is Karl doing?" he asked. "The same I guess. I told Lord Velarik about Karl's nightmares. He is going to have one of the priests check on him to make sure that a demon is not trying to possess him. I served Lord Velarik and his family at dinner last night. He wanted to visit with them before he sent them to the capital. He figures with the demon attack it is best to have his family safe in the capital," said Rynil. "The Lord has a family?" asked Mikel. "Oh, I sometimes forget you are new here," said Rynil. "He has a wife, three sons, and two daughters. One of his sons is currently a Squire for Lord Edden in the east, the rest though live at the Lord's manor house in the hills. Telisan is considered an active military keep, so families are not allowed to live here. His oldest son, Sir Gavin will escort them. Also his youngest son, Kris, is seven, and while they are in the capital he wants Sir Gavin to find a Knight to take Kris as his Page next year." "If they live so close, how come I've never seen them before?" asked Mikel. "Noble women are not allowed to mingle with unrelated men. The only time an unrelated man is allowed to see them is when a male relative, to whom the unrelated man is sworn, accompanies him. Since, I am now Lord Velarik's Squire, I could be in the room with him and his family and serve him dinner," explained Rynil. "Huh, peasant women aren't treated any differently than the men," said Mikel. "Well, do not take this the wrong way, but if someone rapes a peasant woman, there is not going to be any question about the child being a noble. While everyone talks about who your father is, what really matters is if your mother was a noble. A noble can go around squirting his seed into every peasant woman he meets and none of those kids are going to be a nobles just because their father was a noble," said Rynil. if your mother is not married to a noble, it does not really matter who squirted you into her belly," said Rynil. "But what about your mother? Does she count as a noble even though she isn't from Selarn?" asked Mikel. Rynil smiled, "That is why Mekrin enjoys insulting me about my mother's heritage, by calling her a peasant he is really saying I am a peasant. But the treaty that the King signed with my mother's tribe recognized my grandfather and his family as nobility." Rynil glanced over at the doorway to the bathing room. "So you want to show me how the bathing tub works?" he asked. Mikel blushed and looked down at the table. He wanted to take Rynil into the bathing room and get naked with him, but he was scared of losing control again. "I can just use magic to clean us off," Mikel offered. Rynil stared at Mikel for a minute. He could tell something was bothering Mikel, and he suspected what it was. Rynil stood up and walked over to stand behind the smaller boy. He reached out and put his hands on Mikel's shoulders. "I know what you are feeling. I used to feel the same way," said Rynil. "No you don't!" snapped Mikel, "You didn't almost destroy the castle!" "No, but I was scared that if I let myself get close to you, that bad things would happen. I tried to keep my distance from you to keep us both safe, but I learned that denying what we feel will not keep us safe," said Rynil. He then leaned over Mikel and kissed him softly on the lips. After a long kiss, Rynil stood back up. "I am going to head back to my room now. You need some time to think. I know you will realize soon that you are strong enough to control your magic, and I can wait until then," said Rynil. Mikel wanted to call out and stop Rynil from leaving but could not muster up the courage, and instead just sat there and watched as Rynil left. After he was gone, Mikel got angry with himself for his cowardice. He found himself unable to concentrate on his studies so went back down to the basement and entered the training room. An hour ago he had been exhausted, but now he was filled with energy. So, he started to throw magical bolts at the statue as a way to vent his frustration. After a couple minutes, Sir Valen entered the room. "Hold for a moment Apprentice," he said. He then walked down and stood near the statue. "If you are restless and wish to practice, we will use this opportunity to further your training. You had a lot of practice today using offensive magic, now I shall teach you the most basic of defensive magic, the shielding spell." Sir Valen demonstrated the spell a couple times and then had Mikel aim the magical bolts at him instead of the statue. Once Mikel had seen the shielding spell a few times, Sir Valen then had Mikel try to replicate it. After Mikel was able to get a shield up, Sir Valen threw a small bolt at him, his shield safely deflected it. Next Sir Valen started having Mikel alternate between attacking and defending. When Mikel was once again covered in sweat and breathing heavily, Sir Valen called a halt to the lesson. He led Mikel up to the main room and sat down at the table with him. "You have done well today Apprentice. You have taken a giant step forward in your training. However, I sense that there is something troubling you. You must focus your mind if you are to fully harness the power of magic. If your attention is elsewhere, the magic will control you. Please, tell me what is wrong," requested Sir Valen. Mikel stared down at his hand as he nervously ran it over the table. He was unsure of how to explain to his Master exactly what his fears were. "It's just, I'm scared of losing control again," he said softly. "Scared of losing control of your magic or your feelings?" asked Sir Valen. "Both," replied Mikel. AYMIL and WILRIK "Are you ready?" asked Marsella. Aymil nodded his head. "Good," she said. Aymil lay down next to Wilrik, who was asleep in the back of the wagon. He took Wilrik's hand in his and then entered the boy's mind. Once inside, Aymil was standing in the barn. Wilrik was lying asleep in a pile of hay. The horse started to stir, but Aymil quickly stopped it. He walked over and sat down next to Wilrik. "Wilrik, wake up," he said as he gently shook the boy. "Huh? Aymil?" asked Wilrik as he woke up. "It's time to start remembering what happened. You ready?" asked Aymil. "How does this work?" responded Wilrik. Aymil looked around the barn. He needed to explain this to Wilrik in a way that he could understand in the context of the safe haven inside his mind that the Night Hunter had created. "Well, your memories are outside the barn, so I'm going to open a window to the outside, just a crack, so that some of them can get in. But, don't worry, I'll be here with you to make sure you are safe. These memories can't hurt you. They are just memories. They are in the past," he said to reassure Wilrik. Wilrik swallowed hard, "okay," he said. Aymil reached over and put his arm around Wilrik. He slowly started lowering the mental barrier that was blocking Wilrik's memories. "You were here in the barn, weren't you?" asked Aymil, prompting Wilrik to focus on the night he was taken. "Yes, I was here with Mikel. He had to keep an eye on a horse that was due to give birth any day, and I was keeping him company. We were messing around; when a pair of orcs pushed open the doors. At first I thought it must be Mikel's family, maybe his brothers or father, but it wasn't. I panicked and tried to rush past them, but one of them struck me. He must have knocked me out. "When I woke back up, my hands and feet were bound, and I was being carried by one of them. The stench was overwhelming. I vomited, that's when I realized I was gagged as well. I started to choke. One of the orcs said something in their guttural language and the one carry me set me down. He removed the gag and cleared my mouth and throat," said Wilrik. He was staring at the door as if he expected the orcs to come bursting through at any moment. Wilrik continued, "they traveled at night and slept during the day. There were about a dozen of them. They occasionally gave me some food and a little bit of water, but they never untied me. I had no choice but to soil myself. At first I thought we were heading to the swamp, cause that's where the orcs that raided the town usually came from, but after three days of traveling there was no sign of the swamp. I eventually realized we were heading north when I saw the Northern Mountains in the distance getting closer. Once we entered the forest, we started traveling day and night, only stopping for a couple hours of rest. "Eventually they brought me to a small camp in the forest. Standing in the middle of the camp was a young black haired man wearing black robes. His skin was extremely pale; his face looked like it was from a statue carved out of marble. His eyes though were bottomless pits of blackness. The orcs threw me down at his feet. He looked down at me and his black eyes changed to a fiery red," said Wilrik dispassionately. Aymil knew that in order to deal with these memories and properly reintegrate them with the boy's psyche, he would need to let him experience some of the emotions that were associated with the memories. So he eased off just a bit on the block he had on Wilrik's emotions. The demon horse in the barn started to stir but remained asleep. "What happened next?" asked Aymil. Wilrik started to shake a little. He pulled his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms around them to try to contain the shaking. Aymil moved closer and wrapped his own arms around Wilrik. The boy leaned into him and continued, "The man yelled out, 'THAT IS THE WRONG BOY!' The next thing I knew, fire covered the sky above me. The orcs started screaming in pain and I smelt burning flesh. A few seconds later, the screaming stopped and the flames vanished. The man's appearance had changed. He now had a grotesque red head with horns and fangs. The orcs were smoking piles of ash. Then the demon looked down at me. I heard his voice inside my head, 'Well now, what am I to do with you? You may not be the boy I wanted, but hopefully you will not be entirely useless. At least you have a pretty face.' "He reached down and untied my arms and legs. He ripped off my soiled clothes then waved his hand and the shit and filth that was covering me vanished. I was lying there naked. I could feel him in my head, searching through my memories. He started whispering to me, 'Your friend betrayed you. He was the one the orcs wanted but he hid and let them take you. It is his fault you were taken. I can help you get revenge for his betrayal. You are beautiful, if you were my friend I would not have let the orcs take you, I would not have hid, I would have fought for you.' It was all very confusing. I was afraid but, for some reason his voice started to arouse me. "The rest of the world seemed to disappear. It was just him and me, alone in darkness. He pulled off his robes. He looked as if he was carved out of stone. I tried to look away but couldn't. His cock was larger than any other I had ever seen and it wasn't totally hard yet. He wasn't touching me but, it felt as if there was a hand on my head and it was forcing me to stare at his cock. Part of me knew that he was the one that was responsible for sending the orcs that took me and that I should hate and fear him, but when I looked at him I was overcome with lust," said Wilrik. Aymil noticed that Wilrik was hard. "It's okay, this is a safe place, no one is going to hurt you here," he told Wilrik as he manipulated the boy's feelings to try to make him feel safe and loved. Wilrik struggled as the memories and emotions of that day came back to him. The demon inspired both fear and lust in him. He felt angry with Mikel for abandoning him to the orcs, and shame for feeling that way. He looked up into Aymil's eyes, searching for any sign of hatred from the beautiful young boy that was holding him. Instead he felt a wave of love radiating out from the dark haired desert youth. "Please, I need you," he begged. Aymil stood up and with just a thought both of their clothes vanished. "Continue your story," he ordered. "He walked over and stood above me. I got up on my knees and took his cock into my mouth," said Wilrik. Aymil mimicked the actions of the demon, standing over Wilrik. "Do it," Aymil said as he looked down at Wilrik. Behind him, the horse snorted and woke up. Wilrik got up onto his knees and took Aymil's cock into his mouth. For Wilrik, the past and present were merging, part of him was back in the past sucking the demon again, while another part was in the present sucking Aymil. He sucked on Aymil's cock for a few minutes until Aymil reached down and pushed him off his cock. "Then what happened?" Aymil asked. "He was inside my head, filling it with all kinds of images. I called out to the Harvest Mother and the Warrior to save me. He laughed and spoke, 'the Gods cannot save you. I am the God you worship now, only I can save you.' Then he grabbed my head and shoved his cock all the way down my throat choking me. I couldn't breathe and started thrashing. He just laughed some more then said, 'You are mine. I own you. I decide if you live or die. I control your every breath and this is all Mikel's fault. He should be here instead of you, but he sacrificed you. He gave you to me.' I think he might have said more but that's all I remember. I must have passed out. "When I woke up I was lying on my stomach," said Wilrik. "The demon lay down on top of me. His voice kept echoing in my mind, 'You are mine.'" said Wilrik. Aymil lowered himself down on top of Wilrik as the boy continued, "He was doing something to me make me want him inside of me. I was begging him to fuck me. When he entered me, the pain was overwhelming." Aymil struggled to keep Wilrik's emotions under control; the boy was filled with a mixture of fear, anger, guilt, shame, and pleasure. On the other side of the barn, the horse started to kick against the walls of its stall. When Wilrik heard the horse, he started to panic and his fear increased. It took all of Aymil's strength to keep up the mental block that was holding back the bulk of Wilrik's feelings. He projected out a wave of love towards Wilrik as he wrapped his arms around the prone boy and rolled him over onto his side. "It wasn't your fault Wilrik, the demon manipulated you. You were powerless to stop it," whispered Aymil into Wilrik's ear. "No one blames you. You have friends, old and new, that love you and want to help you. Now rest," said Aymil finally able to block out Wilrik's negative emotions completely. Soon the boy and the horse were both asleep.