Chapter 2
"Are we headed into that mountain?" Dev asked Arel a few days later.
"Just into the foothills. Loera Calderling lives with her family in a very old castle there. You know they used to man the walls of the pass, to keep the northern barbarians out of the south?" Arel asked.
"No. I'm afraid I don't know much history," Dev responded.
"Easily solved. About two hundred years ago, a wall was built across the Calder pass. You might note the similarity of names? The pass was named for an ancestor of Loera's. Anyway, they were instrumental in stopping the yearly invasions, so earned the gratitude of he who was then the king of the land. He made the head of the Calderling family a duke. Now the king has the army manning the wall, all year around," Arel explained.
This was even more information for Dev to chew on. First, Loera Calderling had requested and received Devlin Cantor to be released into her service from the army had been a shock to Dev.
He was to receive training while he was with the Calderling's even though he was still in the army. It was hard for him to understand this 'detached duty' he was supposedly on. All his needs would be taken care of by the Calderlings.
Apparently the Calderling family was very powerful within the kingdom if they could get the military to give up one of its soldiers just like that. Dev remarked on this to Arel.
"Actually, it is not as uncommon as you think. Officers leaving for their homes prior to their terms of service being met, are placed on something called, 'leave of absence'. It is a bit unusual for a private to be placed into this category though," Arel replied with a friendly smile.
"Maybe I should be an officer, then?" Dev asked musingly.
Arel laughed.
"You never know. The training you receive will make you a very valuable member of the army, to say the least. I wager you will be able to find a position in just about any household, lord's army, or with a merchant in a city easily enough," Arel stated.
Dev just wanted to finish this training, whatever it was, and get back to the army. In the months he had been in the army, he had grown to like it. The army was a well-ordered place, and he could advance to sergeant, maybe, in a few years... if he did well.
As they climbed higher, it got colder.
"Will we find an inn soon?" Dev asked, rubbing his cold hands together.
"There are no more inns until we get to the castle proper, though there is a little village a short distance from it. We will sleep out, this night, and then make the castle proper tomorrow," Arel responded absently.
"Damn, but it is cold," Dev observed.
"It gets cold up here, long before it does further down the mountain. We have climbed several hundreds of feet up the mountainside already. It is easily enough to feel the change in the temperature," Arel explained
"It didn't seem like we were going up," Dev remarked.
"That's because we did it slowly over the past couple days. We have climbed as far up as we are going to go, though. Come, there is a cave we will sleep in tonight, that is near here. It is most comfortable and has some equipment and supplies within it," Arel said, and led Dev off the track they had been following.
Soon they rounded a hillside, and Dev found himself looking into an opening that led into the side of the hill. Arel dismounted and started heading into the opening.
"Wait! There might be a wild animal or even a bear inside," Dev yelped in warning.
"No. The cave is warded from such beasts. Come, it is safe enough," Arel said and led the way inside, taking his horse with him.
Shrugging, Dev dismounted. With a bit of nervousness, he led his horse into the hillside cave. What he found, once inside, stunned him! The first surprise was the sourceless light that gently lit the interior of the cave. Second was that along both sides of the cave, were beds!
Dev counted, and there were enough beds for an entire file of soldiers! The bedding was rolled, and tied. It lay at the head of each bed. Towards the back of the cave was a place to hold horses. Dev noted a water barrel. When he opened the lid and looked, it was full of water.
While chilly, the cave was still warmer than the outside had been. Dev knew magic had been, and was being used in this place. It made him nervous, as he had never had dealings with anything magical, before.
Dev heard Arel chuckle.
"Take the saddle and bridle off the horses. You will find oats in a bin, back there. Feed the horses, and water them. I will get our supper," Arel said and went out.
Dev did as he was told, but he was very nervous of being alone in this strange cave. He saw magic being used. The sourceless light in the cave, the fact no animals were in here. It was not natural. While he knew magic existed, he had never really experienced it, before.
Soon Arel returned with two rabbits. He had already cleaned them, while he had been outside.
"We will eat well this evening, I think. Tomorrow, we will have lunch at the castle," Arel stated matter of factly.
Dev watched open mouthed as Arel approached a ring of stones, and held his hand over them. Dev was astonished to see them start glowing red-hot. Arel glanced at Dev and laughed.
"Surely you have seen magic done before," Arel asked of Dev.
"No. I know that magic exists, but have never seen it used before this," Dev answered truthfully.
Arel grabbed a large iron spit, and skewered the two rabbits, placing them over the now red-hot stones.
"It will take sometime for the rabbits to cook, so we will talk of magic," Arel told Dev.
They pulled up two small stools that were set against a wall, and sat a ways from the glowing stones. They were putting out a respectable amount of heat, as the rabbits slowly cooked.
"First, everyone has the ability to do magic, though some have more ability than others. For example, everyone can either start a fire with magic, or use that ability to heat the stones as I did. Yet for some reason, most people don't know this. Why?" Arel paused after asking that question.
Dev was at a loss and just shook his head. He had no idea.
"Don't feel bad about not knowing. Most people don't. It is because, a few hundred years ago, there was a great mage war. When it was over, it was decided to stop teaching magic to anyone who asked.
"First, tests were developed to see how much ability a person had. Unless they could reach a certain level of magical skill, it was decided not to teach them. So, since most people do not have the ability to reach that level of magic; they were not, and still are not, taught any magic. Most people are not even tested, now.
"This gave the remaining magic users control over who was going to learn magic. This is why the mage's guild is so very powerful, today. They do not want competition in anything magical.
"Still, there are those who do not agree with the mage's guild, and magic is still taught to those who can learn it. For example, anyone in a noble house may petition to learn magic, and they are never turned away, no matter what the level that they can attain in magic," Arel said and stared at the cooking rabbits.
Dev thought about what he was told and realized something. If he understood what he had been told, then Dev should be able to do some magic! Plus, there was a group out there that did not want most people to even know they could do magic! Why, that was plainly wrong! Also, why had he never heard of this before?
"Arel, how come I didn't know of this magic group that is trying to stop people from learning magic?" Dev asked.
"For the simplest of reasons. What you don't know about, you can't miss or it won't hurt you. They work best in secrecy. Still, most of the nobility still remembers and knows the real reason. Unfortunately, they just don't care, because the guild responds to the noble's causes. That's the guild's protection," Arel explained.
"Is it against the law then, to learn magic?" Dev asked.
"Ah! Good question! No, it is not. However, if someone presents themselves as a magic user, without having gone through the guild, and is not a noble... well, let's just say accidents happen to those people. Deadly accidents," Arel said heavily.
"Why, that's so... so... unfair!" Dev cried out indignantly.
Arel chuckled.
"Welcome to the world of politics, Dev," Arel said, reaching forward for the rabbits.
Arel turned them on the spit. About twenty minutes later, they were ready. The two men tore into their rabbits.
Afterwards, they cleared the remains, and then turned in for the night. As they were lying in bed, Dev heard Arel say something, and the sourceless light went out. Dev slept well that night, and awoke refreshed.
They had been riding for several hours the following day, when they topped a rise and Dev gasped. There, before them, was a huge valley. The land was well tilled, and off in the distance was a castle sitting on a hill. Heavy woods occupied the right side of the valley.
"From here, we are about an hour's ride from the castle. We'd better get moving if we are going to make it for the midday meal," Arel said, kicking his horse into motion.
They both got their horses into a ground-covering trot, and Dev looked around at the little cottages he was passing occasionally. They were tightly made, and seemed to be made at least half of stone. The roofs were made of some sort of slate.
They finally got to a small village. It was at the base of the hill upon which the castle stood.
"Gorling village. It has been here at least as long as the castle. As a matter of fact, the village was built to support the castle. You can visit the village later. Let's get up to the castle," Arel said and they moved briskly through the village then up the hill to the castle.
Dev looked around the room he had been given during his stay at the castle. While he had expected to stay with the soldiers that defended the castle; instead, he was given a set of rooms in the castle, itself.
There was the receiving room, with its fireplace along one wall, and comfortable chairs to sit on. There was a view of the courtyard, and the top of the outer wall, as his room was at the same height as the outer castle wall.
Then there was his bedroom. It had a very comfortable bed, and the fireplace backed to the fireplace of the receiving room. There was a desk by the window, and the view was almost the same out the bedroom window, as in his other rooms.
There was a knock on his door. He went and opened it to find himself confronted by the lady Loera. Dev bowed awkwardly.
"My Lady," he said.
"Nice to see you again. I am sure you are going to find the training you receive here, to be the most interesting of your life," she replied.
"I am overwhelmed, my lady," Dev said, unsure of himself at this point.
"You're training starts tomorrow, at first light. Arel tells me you have had no magical training at all. I will have Malron train you first thing, for two hours a day. Everyone can do magic, and it is silly not to train people to the best of their capabilities.
"After that, you have sword training with Arel. This will last until midday meal. Then, weather permitting, you will train with the commander of horse. We will see if we can't make a good calvaryman out of you," Loera spoke with enthusiasm.
Dev quailed a bit at the plans of this headstrong young lady. It was just on her whim that he was here to begin with. Now he was worried that he would somehow disappoint her, and lose her interest.
The next morning, Dev rose early. He was ready when a servant knocked on his door. He made his way to breakfast, and then it was to the top of a tower for two hours of training in 'the arts magical'.
He was given a book, and told to write down the spells as he learned them. This would be his spell book. He was also told to write them, in a way that he would understand without a doubt, what was meant.
"Magic is a gift of the goddess to all. Yet everyone learns magic in a slightly different way. Magic is very personal, yet can be repeated again and again by anyone," he was told.
Thus began his voyage into the realms of magic.
After his lesson in magic, it was down to a large room for sword training. The first thing that Arel did, was to spar with Dev to see where he was at in his training.
"Well, they didn't ruin you, at least. I won't have to break you of any bad habits, so that's a plus. Now then, bring your sword up, into the 'en guard' position. Good. Now, slowly, I want you to follow my movements, as I move. All right?" Arel asked.
Dev nodded his understanding, but what followed was confusing to him. It was not the blocking, stabbing, thrusting, or slashing he had learned in the army. He copied the movements of Arel as closely as possible, his sword describing circles in the air, small ones, great ones, figure eights. It made no sense to him really, but he did it.
After sword training came the midday meal, and he was well and truly hungry by then. He ate with Loera and her family, and was seated down the far right side of the table. He was a bit uncomfortable, but hunger had a way of overcoming shyness, and he ate with the same gusto as those around him.
Following the noon meal, was two hours of horsemanship. He realized that not only was he being taught what a cavalryman knew, but also some of what a knight was taught. This surprised him, totally.
After horsemanship came wrestling and hand-to-hand combat. This went on until evening meal was served. After that, he was allowed to clean up.
Then he was expected to sit with the officers. He listened as they organized the next days, or weeks of training. Thusly, he learned what all this planning entailed.
By the time he got to his bedroom, he was ready to fall into his bed. Then before he knew it, he was up answering a knock on his door, and it was a new day, and he did it all over again.
His days soon turned into weeks, then months. He had learned a number of spells, and could do the same one he had seen Arel do in the cave with the stones. It was a simple variation of a fire spell.
He was becoming much faster and better with a sword. Arel was a good teacher, and soon he and Dev would be stomping up and down the practice room, blades ringing with the clash of steel.
During the heavy snow periods, which were becoming more and more frequent, they canceled riding in favor of strategy. Dev found himself at a sand table and plotting how to best move a set number of cavalry troops to a specific location, without getting the men killed. It was very interesting, really.
He also found himself learning the proper care of cavalry equipment, knight's equipment, deployment of troops, of horseman, and how to lead men. All in all, he was surprised at the training he was receiving.
Occasionally, Loera would join him for hand-to-hand training, but he was never able to take her. She seemed always to have a trick he had not seen before, and he always came out the loser.
He started joining in the conversations with the officers he trained with in the evenings. He was hesitant at first, but soon learned 'there is no stupid question' within this group. He even surprised himself when he found himself making suggestions to the group, and they listened seriously! He also learned about provisioning for horses, as well as men.
The season turned, and soon the snows started melting. He found himself going out on extended patrols with the commander of horse. He rode in every position that there was, in a troop, and soon had a very good grasp of what each man's position involved. It was one thing to be taught this information in a class, and another to do it in the field. This included taking a turn as a junior officer!
It was with astonishment that he realized a year had gone by. He was a totally different person than the one who had ridden in here, confused and unsure of himself, just a year ago. Now he was a confident young man of nineteen! He carried himself with a style and a bearing that said he knew what he was about.
"Dev, it's almost time for you to go back to Westford. However, you won't be going back to the infantry. The duke has drafted a letter for you. He is sponsoring you as a calvaryman. Our commander of horse says you're a natural, and will make a fine officer," Arel said to an astonished Dev.
"I don't know what to say. I am grateful for everything, and for all the training I have received, but don't understand why," Dev finally answered.
"Loera of course. You know who and what she is, by now, right?" Arel asked.
"Not really. An important family member, I got that, but not exactly how she fits in," Dev responded.
Arel muttered and rolled his eyes.
"You show such promise and are very bright in some things, and you are totally dumb about other things. Dev, Loera is a priestess of the goddess. That is why you are here. She says the goddess moved her to have you trained.
"Why? I don't know. You don't seem to be special. While you are competent with magic, it is not of an overwhelming type. You're not a priest. You don't worship a particular god or goddess that I can see... and you seem slow about certain things," Arel told him candidly.
Dev blushed a deep red, something he had not done in a long time. Arel grinned at that, and clapped Dev on the shoulder in a friendly fashion.
"What say we go down to the inn, and see if we can't find any of the good ale left from last season? I know for a fact that the innkeeper always holds back a few casks of the good stuff, to try to gouge the soldiers a bit till the new stuff gets here," Arel said grinning.
Dev found himself on the road back to Westford, but this time he rode alone. He was well equipped, too. He rode a fine horse, with a saddle, a bridle, riding boots, quality clothing, with a fine warm cloak and a cavalry sword. He also had a purse that had two golds, a silver, and several bronze pieces in it.
Everything had been a gift from the Duke Of Calderling. He also had a letter from the duke, which he was to give to the colonel of horse when he arrived back at Westford. Dev sat his horse well, and rode from inn to inn along the road.
Finally, the day came when he was within sight of Westford. He reined his horse in and just looked. He had not realized that he had actually missed the city. He nudged his horse into a canter, and was soon within the city.
He rode through the gates of the city, and then rode to the military section of the city. He asked where the office of the colonel of horse was located, and the sentry on duty directed him without hesitation. Dev thanked the man and rode on.
He soon found himself in yet another portion of the military section of Westford he was not familiar with. He walked his horse slowly up a dirt path until he came to a sign that said "Headquarters: Calvary".
He turned and reined his horse to a stop in front of a two-story building. He dismounted and wrapped the reins around the hitching post made for that purpose. Two other horses were standing ready to go.
He entered the building, and asked the clerk at the desk where he might deliver a message for the colonel. He was directed to the stairs to his left, and went up them. Dev now had a name to go with the position. Colonel Lord Bartwold, colonel of horse.
Dev found himself in a reception room facing another clerk. He handed his message over, and the clerk told Dev to wait, while he disappeared down a small hall.
Five minutes later the clerk was back and asked Dev to follow him. Dev was taken down the corridor and was soon in the room with the colonel. Dev snapped to attention, clicked his heels together, and bowed, as he had been taught by Arel.
"So, you come seeking a position in the cavalry? Duke Calderling has a rather high opinion of you, did you know?" the colonel asked Dev sharply.
"Sir. I have no idea of what the duke has written. I have just returned after a year of detached duty to the Calderling Castle," Dev said, and then launched into a brief history of what had happened.
The colonel listened to Dev's story without comment.
"And you expect me to take you on as an officer in my troop?" The colonel asked.
"Not at all, sir. I shall be happy enough to go back to my old unit if that is what is required. I told the duke I would stop here first, and I am a man of my word," Dev replied.
The colonel strode over to a window and gazed out, obviously thinking. Dev took this opportunity to study the colonel. The man was short, with graying thin hair. But he was sharp eyed, and seemed to be bursting with energy. Dev doubted the man could be still for five minutes at a time.
"I am short on both men and officers in one of my companies. I'll tell you what. I will give you a chance to prove yourself. I am taking you on as platoon leader in troop D. They need officers desperately. If his grace is correct about you, then well and good. The pay is 3 silver 8 brass a month," the colonel said.
Dev also understood the look that the colonel was giving him, which warned of dire consequences if Dev could not handle the position.
"I won't let you down, Sir," Dev said with a confidence he didn't really feel.
The colonel went to his desk, and wrote a brief letter on parchment. He then summoned his orderly, and asked that an escort be provided for Lieutenant Cantor, to his new commander. Dev followed his escort eagerly, but with a bit of trepidation.
Edited by TeNderLoin