Robertx5sf

The Squires of
Telisan Keep

Chapters 18-33

18 – Mikel

While he ate his breakfast, Mikel examined the book Durren had left him. The text of the book was written in the same foreign script as the title on the front cover. Not exactly sure what he was looking for, he flipped through the pages quickly. They were all written in the same script except for the last page, which was blank. Next he pulled out his prism and shifted his sight and checked the book and pages for magic. He could not see anything magical but when he tried to detect magic on the blank last page, it gave him a headache. Frustrated at getting nowhere, he set the book down.

Earlier that morning, Sir Valen had told him that he was going to be gone most of the morning as he and Durren were taking Wilrik to try to get him some help. His Master had also told him that Rynil might be stopping by with the sword and that if he did, Mikel was to invite him in and make sure the boy stayed there until he returned. So, after he finished eating, Mikel started practicing some of his cantrips to pass the time. The newest one that he had learned was the most basic form of a light spell. It conjured a small ball of light that would follow him around for a few minutes. His Master had also shown him that the ball of light could be affixed to an object but Mikel had not yet mastered that portion of the magic.

It took him about an hour to master summoning the light. Next Mikel started working on merging it with another object. After countless failed attempts, he was again concentrating on the ball of light and trying to force it to merge with the book. This time the ball of light joined with the book and the book started to glow. Mikel relaxed his concentration and waited to see if the ball of light separated from the book. When it remained fused with the book, the young apprentice jumped up from his chair and shouted in triumph. It was then that he heard a loud pounding knock coming from the tower's main door.

Mikel rushed to the door and opened it. Outside was Rynil, his sword case under his left arm and his right hand raised to pound on the door. "Rynil! I hope I didn't make you wait too long," said Mikel.

"I was just about give up. I thought no one was here," said Rynil.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was working on a spell and must have been so focused on it that I tuned everything else out. Come in, my Master said you might be visiting this morning. He's out right now but should be back soon." There was an awkward pause as both boys stood in the doorway looking at each other. They wanted to talk about yesterday but they were both afraid to bring it up.

After a moment, Mikel broke the silence, "I can give you a tour of my little area of the tower while you wait for him. That is if you want," said Mikel as he led Rynil through the entrance way and into his combination study and living room.

"Sure, I have been curious about your living quarters ever since you told me you could not tell me anything about the tower," said Rynil in an amused tone.

"Well I had to promise Sir Valen that I would not discuss anything about the tower or what happens inside here when I am outside the tower. But we aren't outside the tower now, so I can finally tell you all about it," said Mikel. "There are so many amazing things I want to show you!" Mikel led Rynil downstairs and showed him his room and the magical lights. Then he lead him back upstairs and showed him the bathroom with its self filling tub, magical linen cabinet, and the mysterious waste hole. Finally, he showed him around the main room and explained how the pantry worked as well as the magical timepiece built into the mantle. He ended with telling Rynil about the bookshelf with his reading assignments. At this point Mikel had filled two of the five lower shelves of the bookcase. The entire time Mikel was showing Rynil around the tower he was looking for an opportunity to hug his friend but Rynil carried the sword case in his arms, using it as a shield against getting close.

At the end of the tour, Mikel offered Rynil a seat at the table in the main room, "Wanna sit down? My Master should be back soon."

"Sure," replied Rynil. He set the sword case down on the table and sat down in one of the chairs. Immediately Mikel came over, leaned down and hugged him from the side. Rynil stiffened a first but then after a moment relaxed. "What is this for?" asked Rynil.

Mikel broke the hug then sat down in the chair across from Rynil. "That's to say thank you for saving my life yesterday. If you hadn't come with your sword and stabbed the demon, it would have killed us all."

Rynil looked down at table, his blonde bangs falling down and covering his eyes, "Well you were only in danger because I left the castle."

It was Mikel's turn to look away, "No. I was in danger from the demon before you left the castle. It was there because it was looking for me," said Mikel. "I've never told you the full story about the night my family was killed. I wasn't alone in the barn. I was there with a friend. A pair of the orcs came into the barn and took my friend away while I hid. Apparently the orcs thought my friend was me. They had been sent by a demon to take me so it could be turn me into a demon. Instead it turned my friend into a demon."

"That demon yesterday, it was your friend. After I stabbed it with the sword, it recognized you and called out your name," said Rynil.

Mikel looked up and met Rynil's gaze, "Yes. It was, is, my friend Wilrik. The demon that took Wilrik and made him into one of them and is still searching for me. So yesterday was not your fault. Durren the bard was telling me that the Gods have been giving us hints about what is going to happen. Sometimes events are out of our control."

"Sir Valen said something similar to me last night. He said that there were powers at work here that were beyond my control. I guess I have known that for a while now, ever since I first started having that dream," said Rynil.

"Dream? Durren said that you had a dream. He didn't tell me anything about it. Just that you needed help to prepare for what was to come."

"Durren? Who is that and how does he know about my dream? I have only told Sir Alred, Lord Velarik, Sir Valen, Sir Balren, and Brothers Yoris and Barton about it," asked Rynil, upset that someone he had never heard of knew about his dream.

"He says he is just a minstrel but I think there is something more to him than just that. He is a friend of Sir Valen and an ally of the War Mages. Sir Valen must have told him about your dream. Rynil, what is this dream you've been having and what is so important about it?" asked Mikel, his concern for his friend evident in his voice.

Rynil looked down at the box as he answered, "Well, in the dream, I am standing in some type of field. It is nighttime and the only light is coming from my sword, the one in that box. I am being attacked, out of the darkness, by some wolf like creatures that seem to be made out of shadow. When the sword hits them they disappear. As the sun is starting to rise, a man with a demon's head, similar but older than the one from yesterday, approaches and then he shoots flames out of his hands. That is when I wake up. Sir Alred and Sir Valen seem to think it is some sort of vision of the possible future."

Mikel could tell that Rynil was holding something back but decided not to press his friend. Mikel heard the door at the top of the stairs leading to Sir Valen's quarters open. "My Master's here," he said to Rynil.

A moment later Sir Valen entered the room. "Squire Rynil, I am glad you decided to visit," said Sir Valen. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Now can you please open the sword case and we can start our examination." Rynil nodded and opened the case by reciting the command words in his mind. "Squire Mikel, would you please use your prism and analyze the magic present in the sword and its case?"

"Yes Master," replied Mikel as he pulled the prism out of a small pouch on his belt. He held the prism between him and the sword and shifted his sight. As soon as he did, he went limp, dropping the prism and falling out of the chair to the ground, unconscious.

Rynil leapt to his feet, knocking his chair over as he did so, "What happened?"

"Do not worry Squire, he is just momentarily stunned," said Sir Valen. He walked over to Mikel and lifted the boy back up into the chair. He lightly slapped his apprentice's cheek a few times until the boy started to stir. As Mikel regained consciousness, Sir Valen held the boy by his shoulders. "My apologies. That was a harsh lesson for you, but an important one. The magic of the sword is very powerful and very ancient. It was created by the Elders. The first few times you are exposed to the power of an Elder artifact, it can be too much for your mind to handle. It is a bit like staring at the sun. If you are not paying attention and look at the sun, you can be blinded. But eventually you learn how to look at the sky without staring directly at the sun. It will be the same with magic of this power. Practice it enough and you will learn to look away before it overwhelms you. Squire Rynil, please pick up the sword and stand over by the fireplace," ordered Sir Valen.

"Master, who are the Elders?" asked Mikel as Rynil did as the wizard requested.

"The Elders were the absolute masters of magic. Thousands of years ago they lived in great magical cities. Then one day, full of hubris, they challenged the Gods. The few elves left in the world today are the descendants of the Elders that the Gods spared," answered Sir Valen.

Once Rynil was in position, Sir Valen walked over and stood a couple feet in front of him, "I believe when I entered you were telling Squire Mikel a bit about your dream. Your dream ends as the demon attacks you with conjured flames. You assumed that the dream ends because that is when you die. Yet yesterday the lesser demon you faced sent flames against you and they did not harm you. Do you know why?" asked Sir Valen.

"I believe so Sir. It is the sword, it stopped the flames," answered Rynil.

"You are correct Squire. So long as your will holds, the sword will protect you against unwelcome magic," said Sir Valen. He then spoke a word of power and lightning arched out from his hands towards Rynil. The Squire stepped back and raised the sword to a guard position. The lightning disappeared as it reached the sword. Sir Valen spoke another word of magic and missiles of pure force streaked from his hands towards Rynil but again vanished as they reached the sword. "While the sword will protect you from direct harm by magic, it is not absolute proof," said Sir Valen. The wizard cast another spell, motioning his hand towards the bowl of fruit that sat in the middle of the table. As Sir Valen made throwing gestures with his hand, the fruit in the bowl seemed to launch itself at Rynil. He was able to block the first piece of fruit, an apple, with his sword but the next one, a peach, struck him in the face. Rynil held the sword perpendicular to his body and shielded his face with his forearms as the rest of the fruit followed.

"Master, how'd you overcome the defense of the sword?" asked Mikel.

"I used the magic on the fruit. Once the fruit was in motion, there was no longer any magic for the sword to counter. If we had been in a forest, I could have used magic to uproot a tree and the sword would be no defense against the tree falling. Squire Rynil, I do not give you this lesson just to scare you. It is important that you know the limitations of this tool as well as its benefits. Your dream ends where it does not because you die, but because what happens after that is entirely up to you. The Gods are giving you a vision of what is likely to come not to scare you, not to give you a chance to prevent it, but to give you a chance to prepare for that moment. Do you understand?" asked Sir Valen.

Rynil looked at Mikel for a moment then looked back at the wizard, "Yes Sir. I think I finally understand."

"Good. Now I would like to ask for you for a favor. You cannot carry the sword or its case around with you at all times and I do not feel it is safe for you to leave the sword in your chambers. If you would be willing to leave it with me for a few days I believe I can find a way to keep it safe, yet allow you to summon the sword when needed," said Sir Valen.

"But Master, I thought magic couldn't effect the sword," said Mikel.

"It is affect, not effect. And while magic cannot affect the sword, it can affect the sword case," replied Sir Valen.

Rynil smiled at the way Mikel blushed when being corrected by Sir Valen. He nodded to the wizard and placed the sword back in the case on the table. "I will leave the sword with you Sir," he said.

"Thank you Squire," replied Sir Valen. The wizard then waved his hand in the direction of the box and it responded by closing.

Rynil looked shocked. "Last night you said that only I could open and close it because I was its true owner," he exclaimed.

"Hmm, I guess I was wrong," said Sir Valen as he winked at the boy. He then picked up the sword case and headed to the stairs. "Oh, Squire Rynil, Lord Velarik asked me to tell you he wishes to see you when you are done here. Squire Mikel, I believe you have some more reading awaiting you." Two more books appeared on the top shelf of the bookcase. A moment later the boys heard the door at the top of the stairs open and close.

"Well I guess I better be leaving," said Rynil as he headed out of the room towards the front door of the tower.

Mikel followed him to the door, "Yeah, I am really glad you came by today."

As he got to the front door, Rynil stopped and turned around to face Mikel. He reached out with his right hand and grabbed the back of Mikel's head, pulling him in for a kiss. Mikel froze in shock for a second before kissing Rynil back. After a couple of seconds, Rynil released his grip and broke the kiss. "What was that for?" asked Mikel.

"That was to say thank you for risking your life to come look for me yesterday," said Rynil with a smile on his face. He then opened the door and ran down the hall, passing Page Kenton who was standing there, asleep on his feet again.

19 – Rynil

Rynil stood outside the keep waiting for Mikel to arrive so they could start their work duty. He felt a sense of relief to be getting back to a normal routine after the attack eight days ago and the subsequent events it set in motion. He waved to Mikel when he saw the wizard's apprentice exit the keep. Rynil had already been to the Quartermasters and picked up the buckets, brushes, soap and rags they would need. He noticed that Mikel did not have the magical water pitcher they had used in the past. "We going to have to haul the water up today?" he asked when Mikel arrived.

Mikel smiled, "Nope. I got something better planned. Let's go." Before Rynil could question him further, Mikel was off to the first latrine, leaving Rynil to grab the buckets and chase after him.

When he got to the first latrine, Rynil found Mikel standing in the center of the small room. "'K you can't let anyone know about this," said Mikel, "I don't think Lord Velarik would approve of us taking this shortcut to get our work done." Mikel then began to cast a spell. Rynil thought it looked and sounded similar to the cantrip that Mikel used to cleanup the two of them before. A moment later, the latrine was spotless. The spell complete, Mikel turned and smiled at Rynil. "I could probably get all these latrines done in ten minutes but then people might suspect I was using magic."

Rynil was impressed. "Wow! You are really making progress in your studies," he said. The compliment from Rynil caused Mikel to blush. Rynil agreed with his friend's assessment, "You are right. We should hang out here for a bit then go to the next one, so no one suspects you are using magic to do our work." The boys sat down next to each other. Though there was enough space in the room that they could have kept some distance between them, Rynil made sure to sit close enough to Mikel that their legs could touch. There were a few moments of awkward silence.

"So the memorial service for Sir Alred and Sir Alek was good," said Mikel. "It was the first time I've attended one. I noticed you were attending to Lord Velarik during the service, are you Squiring for him now?"

"Yes. That was what he wanted to see me about when I left Sir Valen's tower last week. While Sir Luken is recovering, Lord Velarik is taking over my training and education," answered Rynil.

"What about Sir Luken's Page, umm, Karl?" asked Mikel. "I didn't see him at the ceremony. I remember you mentioning that he and Sir Alek were close, so it kind of surprised me that he wasn't there."

Rynil frowned. "He refused to attend the service saying he needed to care for Sir Luken. We had a bit of a fight about it. I am really starting to become concerned about him. He goes from moping about not talking to anyone to being really angry. He barely talks to me and sometimes the way he looks at me I think he hates me," said Rynil.

"Maybe he should speak to the Brother Yoris," suggested Mikel.

"I suggested it to him and he got upset. He blames the priest for what happened. Mekrin told him about how Brother Yoris knew Sir Alek was going to die. I am starting to worry that Karl might be vulnerable to being used by a demon," said Rynil.

"Huh?" replied Mikel with a questioning look at Rynil.

"Well there are two ways a demon can possess someone. One way is with a totem, like the mask on your friend Wilrik. The second is through making a deal with a demon, giving it access to your mind in exchange for something, usually power. I know there is a demon after you and it has its eye on Telisan. I am afraid that if a demon offered Karl the power to get revenge for Sir Alek that he might be tempted to do something stupid. Demons like to confuse and trick people." said Rynil.

"Where have you learned so much about demons?" asked Mikel, his surprise at Rynil's knowledge of demons evident.

"What? You think all us Squires and Knights are dumb brutes who do not know anything more than how to swing a sword," said Rynil, feigning offense.

"No, just, umm," sputtered Mikel.

Rynil smiled at Mikel and laughed. "I am just teasing you. When Lord Velarik took over my training, he gave me a book about demons to study. He said I needed to know more about what I faced. While Karl has been sleeping on a pad in Sir Luken's room, I know he has been having nightmares and I think it might be the demon trying to tempt him."

"But why would a demon offer Karl a chance at revenge when it was a demon that was responsible for the attack that killed Sir Alek?" wondered Mikel. "You should talk to Sir Valen about Karl. That reminds me, Sir Valen wanted me to ask you if you can come by the tower tomorrow. He has finished with your sword and wants to get it back to you."

"I will ask Lord Velarik if I can miss one of my afternoon weapon sessions. I think it is important to have my sword back and speak with Sir Valen about Karl. I believe Karl is a good kid but demons like to trick and confuse people. It would not be hard for it to get Karl believing that Brother Yoris, Acolyte Stefan, you or I was the one that was really responsible for Sir Alek's death. It would not be true but demons rarely deal in truth," explained Rynil.

"Well, you know more about demons than I do now," said Mikel. "When I asked about the demon, Sir Valen told me he wanted me to focus on learning more about magic and my own abilities before I start worrying about demons."

"If your improved cleaning spell thing is any indication you are getting better quickly," said Rynil, knowing it would make Mikel blush and get self-conscious again. After having always been the one to pull away and keep some distance between the two of them in the past, Rynil was enjoying being the aggressor for a change. He placed his hand on Mikel's lower thigh. "The more I learn about demons the more I think that the demon that is after you was responsible for my dream. He has been sending it to make me afraid, make me doubt myself, and keep me away from you," said Rynil.

The two boys stared into each other's eyes for a moment then leaned into each other, their lips meeting in a tentative inexperienced kiss. A few seconds later, they heard footsteps on the stairs up to the latrine. They hastily broke the kiss, "We should get to the next one," suggested Mikel. Rynil just nodded, stood up and went to grab the buckets. Mikel noticed the front of Rynil's hose was tented, just like his own.

20 – Aymil

SMACK. "ARGH!" Aymil screamed in pain when the wooden paddle slammed across his naked butt. Tears ran down his cheeks and he squirmed in the lap of the middle-aged merchant that was wielding the paddle. "Please Uncle, no more! I'm sorry, I won't ever disrespect you again!" he said between sobs. He made sure he was projecting pain and fear to the client. Aymil could read the man's thoughts and knew he was enjoying the fantasy of punishing his wife's nephew. The client's wife was from a wealthy family and the merchant, whose jewelry shop had been struggling, had agreed to take the boy as his apprentice in exchange for a loan from his in-laws at a favorable rate. The boy knew his uncle-in-law was in debt to his father and therefore he treated the master jeweler as if he was his servant.

"Your pleading isn't going to reduce your punishment," said the client as he raised the paddle again and delivered another strong blow across Aymil's ass which caused the boy to scream in pain again as a large angry red welt started to develop where the blow had landed. Despite the distraction of being paddled, Aymil could sense the presence of the hostess approaching the door to the room. From her emotional state, he could tell that she was annoyed, that usually meant that Yaben needed him. Aymil knew it was time to rush this session to a quick conclusion.

"Please Uncle, no more, I'll be respectful. I'll do anything you want!" sobbed Aymil as he started playing to the client's lust while also making him feel a bit of pity. Next, he stoked the man's desire for a blow job and felt the man's cock harden and poke against his stomach.

"Suck my cock boy," ordered the jeweler, even though when he had started the session he had planned to spank the boy a lot more and then roughly fuck the boy's red ass. Aymil slid off the man's lap, wrapped his hand around the now erect dick and gave it a quick lick. Knowing he had to wrap this up, Aymil influenced the client's mind, causing the pleasure he received from the one lick to be enough to trigger the man's orgasm. The man had just finished shooting his load onto the boy when there was a knock at the door.

"Sorry to disturb you, but Master Yaben needs to speak with Aymil," said the hostess through the door.

Aymil stroked the man's thighs as he manipulated the man's emotions so that he was feeling both content and generous. "I'm sorry we have to end this so soon. I'm sure Master Yaben will make amends for interrupting, if that is what you want," offered Aymil.

"No, no, that's fine. Although, perhaps we can just add some time to my visit next week?" offered the client.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," said Aymil. He then stood up and hugged the man. He gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then left the room.

Out in the hallway, Dashana, the hostess, handed him a towel, their hands briefly touching as Aymil took the towel. He wiped off the mixture of cum and sweat that covered his face and chest. Dashana was Delnatorean. The Delnatoreans had once built a mighty empire that ruled the southlands. A hundred years ago their empire had collapsed almost overnight as a riot in Delnator, the capital, had claimed the life of the Emperor and his family. With no obvious successor, several of the Governors of the inner provinces had declared themselves Emperor. The outer provinces had declared their independence when the Imperial troops had been recalled by the leaders of the various factions striving for control of the capital. The inner and outer provinces had warred with each other in shifting alliances for over thirty years before, by mutual agreement, they had declared the Empire dissolved and the provinces officially became independent kingdoms. Astavala had been the western most province of the Delnatorean Empire. Further west was the Endless Sea of Sand; a great desert that Aymil had been told did actually end when it met the ocean many hundreds of miles to the west.

"Master Yaben is waiting for you in his office. He has a rich new client for you to meet," said the ebony skinned woman.

Aymil smiled at the woman. He refrained from telling her that he knew that already. He had read her mind when their hands touched. Aymil had always had the ability to sense peoples' feelings. When he was a small child, he found that he could make people feel whatever emotions he wanted. When he was ten, he discovered that he could do more than just sense and manipulate their feelings, if he had physical contact, he could also read their thoughts. His abilities, which only Master Yaben knew the truth about, made him very popular with the clientele, since they all left their sessions with him having experienced the heights of ecstasy, their every desire fulfilled, or at least they felt as if they had.

By the time he reached Master Yaben's office, the welts on Aymil's ass had healed and his skin had lost its red hue. Besides his mental powers, Aymil's body would heal extremely quickly, when he wished it. As was his custom, Aymil gave the room a quick scan before entering. He sensed the greed coming from Master Yaben and the wariness mixed with boredom coming from the two Delnatoreans that served as the eunuch's bodyguards, but those three were the only ones he sensed in the room. The rich client must have left already, he thought to himself as he opened the door. Aymil froze in the middle of the doorway for there, sitting in a chair across from Master Yaben's was a handsome young man dressed in fine clothes in the northern style. The man had shoulder length brown hair and bright blue eyes. Aymil could not sense a single emotion from this stranger. The emotionless man turned to Aymil, smiled then gave him a quick wink.

"Enter boy and close door, stop wasting guest's time," ordered Master Yaben in a clipped and heavily accented version of the northern tongue. Aymil knew that Master Yaben could speak the northerners' language flawlessly and with no accent if he wished, for he had personally taught Aymil to do the same.

"Yes sir," replied Aymil in the same language. He quickly stepped into the room and closed the door. He then took up position slightly behind the manager of the brothel, trying to keep his distance from this strange new client.

"So, he speaks the King's tongue, excellent. Yaben, I believe you have finally brought me the right boy, after several false ones," said the stranger.

"He be with guest, many good boys I bring, you too picky," said Master Yaben smiling. Aymil noticed a sizable stack of gold coins on the table in front of Master Yaben. No wonder Master Yaben had paraded other boys in here, this man had stupidly been paying to see more boys, and so he would be shown as many boys as Master Yaben felt he could get away with before calling for Aymil. Judging by the number of coins he had likely paid to see every boy in the brothel.

Aymil did not like that he could not sense this man's emotions. He was not used to being without the use of his special ability and the fact that this man seemed to be looking for him was more cause for concern. He knew though that he was in no real danger, he would just manipulate Master Yaben to turn the man away. He reached out with his power towards Master Yaben, intent on suppressing the eunuch's greed and stoking a fear that this man might mean to harm his most valuable boy. The brown haired man's eyes darted towards Aymil and he clenched his fist quickly. Aymil felt a mental jolt as some type of barrier suddenly blocked his powers. The boy was now alone with his own thoughts and feelings as he tried and failed to sense the mind of anyone else in the room.

Panicking, Aymil forgot his place in the hierarchy of the brothel, "Master Yaben, I don't want to go with this man." The eunuch turned towards Aymil, surprised at the boy's sudden refusal. Aymil had never complained or protested to him before. While Aymil's mental powers were blocked, he could see the concern on his master's face. Then Aymil saw the stranger flick his hand and silently mouth something. The look of concern on Master Yaben's face vanished.

"Yaben, do not worry. I mean the boy no harm and will not damage him in anyway," said the man. He then pulled out a small gold bar and placed it on the table.

Master Yaben glanced down at the gold bar, enough to purchase the beautiful young boy slave outright. He looked over at one of the guards by the door and snapped his fingers. The guard opened the door and standing outside was the pretty black hostess. "Yes, yes, Aymil you go with Master Dathil," he said as he reached back, put his arm around Aymil and pushed him towards the northerner. "He is yours for rest of day and night. Dashana will show you to a room," he said to the man.

The client stood up and put his hand in the middle of Aymil's back. He then guided the boy towards the door where Dashana waited. Aymil struggled to keep his fear in check. He was so used to manipulating the people around him that this new found sense of powerlessness left him unable to control his own emotions. He tried to reach out towards Dashana but was still blocked by whatever barrier Dathil had conjured.

The door closed behind them as Dathil pushed him down the hallway, Aymil tried to use the physical connection to read the man's thoughts. The barrier was still there but, physical contact between two produced a weak point in it. Aymil focused on that connection and pushed. He briefly sensed two sets of thoughts and emotions, one stronger and on top and one weaker, buried beneath the other; then the barrier strengthened and pushed Aymil from the man's mind.

The strange man chuckled. "Now now, it is crowded enough in here already, no need for you to join the party," he said. Dashana turned around and looked back questioningly, wondering if perhaps the man was talking to her.

Down the hallway a door opened and Aymil saw his previous client, the jeweler, step into the hallway. The merchant looked towards them, his eyes glowing red in the dim light of the hallway. Aymil watched as the man raised his hand and fire poured out of it towards them. The flames engulfed Dashana and Aymil could smell the scent of burning hair and flesh. Expecting to be caught in the flames as well, Aymil threw his arms up over his face in a futile effort to protect himself, but the flames did not reach him. Next to him, the notherner stood, both arms extended, in front of his hands was a shimmering translucent field of bluish energy blocking the progress of the flames. The entire hallway in front of Aymil was covered in the blue field and red fire. For a brief second Aymil felt Dashana's terror and pain as she died. The barrier blocking his powers was gone.

A second later, the flames died out. The jeweler was standing just on the other side of the smoldering remains of the hostess. Aymil could sense two minds within both the jeweler and the stranger. In the jeweler, the primary mind was feeling a mix of anger, hatred, and fear while the secondary mind in the background felt horror, regret, and a lingering sense of desire. In the northerner, the primary mind was feeling sadness and guilt, while the mind in the background was revolted and sad.

"You cannot keep hiding forever Durren," said the jeweler with the glowing red eyes.

"Hiding forever is not my plan," replied the man. He then turned and looked down at Aymil, "Aymil, I need your help to defeat the creature that possesses that man but, we cannot do it today. If you will help me and not die here, grab my arm."

Aymil looked into the man's blue eyes and beneath the guilt and the sadness he detected two more emotions buried deep, hope and love. He reached out and grabbed a hold of the man's arm. As soon as his hand made contact, the world vanished and his stomach was in his throat as the man teleported them out of the brothel hallway.

When the world came back into focus, the two of them were standing in the living room of a small cottage. Sitting in a chair by the fireplace was a lean gray haired woman dressed in worn hunting leathers. She looked up from the book she was reading and studied the new arrivals for a second. She then got up and bowed. Aymil noticed there was a stylized owl embroidered onto the front of her leather tunic. "Welcome back Durren and welcome to my home child," she said.

"Marsella, this is Aymil. Aymil, this is Marsella," said the man.

Aymil noticed that he was no longer able to sense the man's mind but, he could read the emotions of the old woman. While her outward appearance was unchanged, Aymil could tell that she was very happy. It reminded him of the few times he had been present when Master Yaben had allowed one of the pretty slave girls to give birth to a child.

"Marsella, I am afraid you must flee with Wilrik and this child. Nazrepon is able to track my movements. I was careless. I should have known that when I removed the mask from Wilrik it would have left a mark upon me. Naz was able to find me in Astavala. While I know you can hide the boys from him, he will be able to find this place through me and you won't be safe," said the northerner who Aymil now suspected was really named Durren and not Dathil.

"I will keep them safe from the demon. Will you find me or shall I hunt for you when it is time?" asked the woman.

Durren looked at Aymil before answering, "I suspect he will be able to summon me if he has need of me. For now, I am going to Selarn. Naz cannot enter the capital undetected so he will not dare come after me there. Also, the War Mages should be able to help purge whatever taint that Naz is using to track me. There are wizards there that are masters of rituals, the one area of magic in which I have always fallen short." While Aymil could not read Durren, he could tell from the sadness it caused in Marsella that she knew the understatement of that comment. "Until next time," said Durren and then he was gone.

Aymil found himself standing in the living room of a women he did not know, most likely half a world away from where he had woken up in the morning and just then it suddenly dawned on him that he was still wearing nothing but a see through robe.

21 – Aymil

Aymil sat watching as the priestess circled the small campsite putting up defensive wards as the sun set. Marsella had spoken only a few words to the former boy whore after he had been left with her by Durren. She had tossed Aymil a pair of pants and a coarse wool shirt and told him to dress. Then she had packed a few items and instructed him to help her load the unconscious boy and her few items into a wagon while she hooked up a donkey to it. They had then ridden in silence the rest of the day until it started to get dark and she pulled the small wagon off into this clearing.

When she was finished putting up the wards, Marsella sat down across the campfire from Aymil. "We can talk now. The wards should prevent our enemy from being able to find us or eavesdrop on us," she said.

"Our enemy? What I have done to become someone's enemy?" asked Aymil bitterly. Since that man had found him in the brothel, his comfortable life had been turned upside down.

"Nothing yet. But the boy over there used to be possessed by a demon. That demon's master tried to kill you because it fears that you will heal the boy's mind," said Marsella.

"Heal him? I'm not a healer. I'm just a comfort boy from a brothel in Astavala," said Aymil.

"You are much more then that child. Would you like to know who you really are?" asked the Priestess.

All Aymil had ever been told about where he had come from was that he was bought by Master Yaben from some slavers out of the Sea of Sands. Now, half a world a way, this stranger was offering to tell him who he was. "Yes," replied Aymil.

"You are a child of the Night Hunter. The God or Goddess, depending on your persuasion, of passion and love. We are distant relations. My Mistress, the Goddess, is also my great-great-grandmother, but he is also your father," said the Priestess. "As a true-born child of the God, your powers are much stronger than mine. Although I have a much broader array of magic available due to years of prayer and learning," explained the Priestess.

Aymil gave the woman a skeptical look. "I'm the child of a God? How do you know this?" he asked.

"The Goddess has sent me visions of you, that is how I know who you are. Yes, you are one of the true-born. You are much more then a simple comfort boy. Have you never wondered why you could sense and control the emotions of others? Why your wounds heal so quickly, and why you can control everything about your own body so easily?" asked Marsella.

"Well, yeah, but I figured I might be a sorcerer or something, but a child of a God? No, that's crazy," said Aymil.

"Here, I will show you your true origin," said Marsella. She got up and pulled out a small knife. "Your arm," she commanded and Aymil obeyed. She made a small cut on his forearm then held the knife so that some of the blood pooled on the blade. She then touched the cut with her other hand and the wound closed up. Next she went over to the campfire and started casting a spell, at the end of the spell she dropped the bloody knife into the fire. "Stare into the fire boy and learn how you came into this world," she said.

Aymil stared at the flames, they appeared to be normal flames but then suddenly the world around him disappeared and he was sitting in the middle of a tent. It was nighttime and the tent was dimly lit. A woman was lying on a luxurious bed. Judging by her looks, she was one of the nomadic people of the Sea of Sand. She was one of the most beautiful women Aymil had ever seen. The flaps of the tent opened and an extremely handsome desert nomad entered. He was dressed in leather armor, with a scimitar at his side and a gold crown on his head. He seemed to glance in Aymil's direction and smile briefly before he proceeded to the bed.

The woman lying on the bed looked up at the man, "My Lord, what are you doing here, is the battle won?" she asked. The man did not respond but disrobed and climbed onto the bed. Still not saying a word he began making love to the woman.

The image of the inside of the tent dissolved into flames and a new scene appeared. Aymil was now outside the tent sitting in the desert. The sun was just rising. The women emerged from the tent. A pair of warriors rode up leading a horse that had a corpse laying across it, Aymil recognized it as that of the handsome man with the golden crown. The woman screamed. Aymil couldn't understand the words but knew that the warriors were telling her that the Chief of the tribe had died in battle the day before, the woman insisted that wasn't possible because he had visited her during the night.

Again the flames returned and the vision changed. Now Aymil saw a Shaman standing before an altar, behind him the woman was in labor. The Shaman was examining the entrails of some animal that had just been sacrificed on the alter. The images were coming faster now to Aymil, the flames returned and he now saw the Shaman addressing a group of tribesmen. Again he could not make out the words but he knew what was being said. The tribesmen thought the newborn baby was an abomination that must be killed. The Shaman insisted that the baby not be harmed, the omens from the Gods were clear, if they killed the child it would mean the destruction of the tribe. The new Chief spoke and said that if they could not kill the abomination, then the boy would be exiled as the new Chief would not have him remain with the tribe.

The visions ended and Aymil was back in front of the campfire sitting across from Marsella. "Exile meant you were sold to slavers. You eventually ended up in the slave market in Astavala. While a baby has little value in the slave market, it is likely an agent of your father intervened to see you ended up somewhere appropriate, which for a child of the Night Hunter is often in a brothel," explained the priestess.

Aymil was silent as he thought over what he had seen. He reached out with is mind towards Wilrik and felt the boy's emotional pain for a second before blocking it back out. "What is wrong with him and how I can I help him?" he asked.

22 – Mikel and Rynil

Mikel sat at the table rereading the same paragraph for the fourth time. By the time he got two lines in, he was no longer concentrating on his reading and instead was thinking about yesterday when he and Rynil kept making out while they were supposed to be working. They had both been too worried about someone walking in and catching them that they had not done anything more then kiss and grope each other through their clothes. When he had gotten back, Sir Valen had given him this book on the fundamentals of rituals with instructions to read it twice before Rynil arrived this afternoon to retrieve his sword.

Mikel caught his mind starting to wander again. It had been easier to maintain his focus on the first read through of the book. Trying to read it again was actually harder. Perhaps that was the point of the task. Mikel ran through a set of mental exercises to try to clear his mind and refocus it. Then he turned his attention back to the book and resumed reading.

Later, as Mikel was eating some fruit after having finished the second reading, there was a knock on the door. He jumped up and rushed to open it. As he expected, outside the door was Rynil. His blonde hair was wet and the boy was covered in sweat. "Greetings Mikel. Lord Velarik let me cut my afternoon training short," said Rynil.

"Yeah, he told Sir Valen last night that you would be here this afternoon. Come in," said Mikel. He led Rynil inside and into the main room.

Sir Valen was descending the stairs from the upper levels of the tower as the two boys entered the room. He was carrying Rynil's sword case in his arms. "Welcome Squire Rynil. I spoke with Lord Velarik last night and he has agreed to my request that you become a regular visitor to my tower. Starting next week you will be spending one afternoon a week here learning how to use the magical properties of your sword," said Sir Valen.

"But I thought the sword just works, what is there to learn?" asked Rynil.

Sir Valen smiled condescendingly at Rynil. "Magic is never that simple. But that is a lesson for next week. Now boys, please following me downstairs," he said. Mikel was confused as to why they would be heading downstairs but he and Rynil followed Sir Valen down the stairs without questioning him.

Sir Valen passed by Mikel's room and stopped in front of a door that led to one of the three other basement level rooms. He waved his hand in front of the door and it swung open. He entered with the two curious boys on his heels. The room was the same width as Mikel's room but twice as long. At one end of the room was a table with various bottles and small boxes on it. Etched into the middle of the floor was a circular diagram of magical runes and symbols. Sir Valen set the sword case down just inside the circle.

"Squire Rynil, with your permission, I would like to conduct a ritual that will bind the sword case to you and allow you to store the sword case away in a safe place and then summon it to you when you need it. While magic can not bind to the sword, it will bind to the case," said Sir Valen.

"Ritual?" asked Rynil.

"Apprentice, would you explain the basics of rituals to Squire Rynil," said Sir Valen.

"Yes Master. Rituals are a way to create magical effects using physical components. Unlike spells which primarily draw on the magic inside a person, the magical power for rituals comes from various external items that have been specially prepared and imbued with magic. The magic of these items is activated through the ritual," said Mikel.

"Where is this safe place that the case and sword will be stored?" asked Rynil with some skepticism.

Sir Valen explained, "Well it is a bit complicated but in its simplest terms, there is an infinite plane of magic, a portion of which overlaps our world. The ritual will create a small pocket within that plane that will be tied to you. Then when you will it, the case will shift between our world and the magical pocket that is bound to you."

"Very well Sir. You have my permission to conduct this ritual," said Rynil.

"Excellent," said Sir Valen. "Apprentice, please close the door to the room and then I want you to use your cleaning cantrip to clean the entire room and all of us. We need to make sure the room is free of any external contamination that could interfere with the components of the ritual." Mikel nodded, closed then door then without having to say anything or make any gestures, he magically cleaned the room.

"Now, Squire Rynil, since we will be binding the sword case to you, you will need to be a part of the ritual. I am going to need you to strip," said Sir Valen. He then went over to the table and picked up a jar. "Apprentice, once he is naked, you will need to rub this oil over his entire body. Be very thorough, for if you miss a spot the ritual will fail."

Mikel took the jar from Sir Valen and shifted his focus, inspecting the jar with his magical sight. He no longer needed the prism to aid him in detecting magic, it now just worked for him whenever he willed it. He saw that the contents of the jar glowed with a rich purple color. He had learned from his studies that it was a color associated with movement and teleportation magic. He then returned his vision to its normal sight and turned to face his friend. Rynil was pulling down his hose, having already removed his tunic. Mikel momentarily forgot what he was doing as he watched Rynil undressing. Soon Rynil was standing in front of him completely naked. Mikel noticed that Rynil's muscles had gotten bigger and a little more defined since he had last seen his naked torso during the Squire's Tournament.

"Well are you going to put that stuff on me or not?" asked Rynil. Mikel blushed as he realized he had been staring.

"Uh, oh yeah, sorry," said Mikel. He then filled his palm full of the oil and began to rub it into Rynil's chest.

"No need to be sorry," whispered Rynil. He glanced over towards where Sir Valen was standing. The wizard was preparing some other components on the table with his back to the boys, "I do not mind you looking at me, I like it."

Mikel smiled and continued to rub the oil into Rynil's skin. After he did his chest, stomach, back and arms, he next did the boy's shoulders, neck, and head. Rynil closed his eyes as Mikel rubbed it on his face. Then the young wizard rubbed it into his scalp. Mikel dropped to his knees and began rubbing it into Rynil's legs starting at his feet. Rynil shifted, lifting one foot up and then the other so it could be put onto the soles of his feet and rubbed in between his long toes. As he was rubbing the oil into Rynil's legs, Mikel's eyes were glued to the boy's cock, watching it as it slowly filled with blood and become erect. The foreskin pulled back revealing the tip. Between watching Rynil's growing dick and running his hands over the boys firm legs, Mikel's cock had also grown erect.

"Turn around," said Mikel after he finished Rynil's legs. Rynil turned around and leaned forward, pushing his ass back towards Mikel. Mikel reached out and ran his hand over Rynil's firm round ass, completely forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.

"Not that I mind, but you might want to have some oil on your hands while you do that," whispered Rynil.

"I guess so," replied Mikel. He then grabbed a handful of the oil and returned to rubbing Rynil's butt. He spread it over the hairless cheeks and then into the crack.

"Make sure you get it everywhere," said Rynil. Mikel dipped his finger in the jar and then ran it along Rynil's crack and circled his pink hole. Rynil moaned softly. After finishing with his ass, Mikel cupped his friend's cheeks and gave them a squeeze. Rynil stood up straight and turned back around. His cock was fully erect and pointed upwards, the head poking out from his foreskin. "You missed a spot," he said smiling down at Mikel.

Mikel poured another palm full of the oil from the jar then reached out and started rubbing it all over Rynil's groin, working his way inwards. He rubbed it into small patch of thin blonde hairs that was starting to grow above the boy's cock then into the boy's still hairless balls before grasping his cock. Mikel dipped the fingers of his other hand into the oil and then used both hands to rub the oil in. He pulled back the foreskin with one hand while rubbing his other over the head of Rynil's dick. Rynil closed his eyes and let out a low moan. Mikel could tell Rynil was about to cum as he his breath quickened and his balls drew up closer to his body.

Mikel was startled by the sound of Sir Valen clearing this throat. "Excuse me boys, but it is time to proceed with the ritual," interrupted Sir Valen. The two boys quickly pulled apart.

"Sorry Sir," said Rynil as he stepped back.

"Sorry Master," said Mikel as he quickly stood up and stepped to the side.

"No need to apologize boys, I was young once. We just do not have the time to have you clean up and reapply the oil all over again if you were to introduce some, extra material into the ritual," said Sir Valen smiling. "Now Squire Rynil, please drink this then lay down in the middle of the circle there, your feet towards the sword case," instructed Sir Valen as he held out a mug. Rynil took the mug from the wizard and looked warily at the dark syrupy liquid. Sir Valen saw his concern and said "It is a little bitter so I suggest drinking it as fast as possible."

Rynil downed the potion in a couple quick gulps then handed the mug back to Sir Valen. As he went to lay down he was already feeling lightheaded and a bit dizzy. He careful lay down as instructed in the middle of the circle. A few seconds later his body went limp as the magical liquid put him to sleep.

"I mixed in a sleeping potion with the rest of the ingredients needed for the ritual. This next part will be easier if he is not awake," said Sir Valen, allaying Mikel's concern. The wizard then went back to the table and picked up a small wooden rod that had a tiny needle on the end and a ink pot. "I am going to tattoo a small representation of the sword case on his palm. Do you know why this is needed?" asked Sir Valen.

Mikel took a second to compose himself from the embarrassment of getting caught masturbating Rynil in front of Sir Valen, before answering as he recalled what he had read in the book on rituals. "The tattoo will serve as a representation of the link between Rynil and the case. The ink is magical and wherever the tattoo is on his body is where the case will appear when he summons it," answered Mikel.

"Very good," said Sir Valen. He then cast a spell which animated the tattooing needle and the ink pot. The objects moved on their own over to prone boy and the needle proceeded to quickly and flawlessly draw the case onto his palm. When the tattoo was done, the needle and ink pot returned to the table. "I took the liberty of preparing the case this morning. So now that everything is ready it is time to complete the ritual. You may observe the ritual but do not say anything or do anything to disturb the circle, Rynil, the case, or me," instructed Sir Valen. He then took a book off the table and sat down next the circle. He opened the book to a page that was marked with a bookmark and started to recite the words of power that would activate all the magical components of the ritual. Over and over Sir Valen repeated the incantation. Knowing that rituals could take anywhere from a minute to many hours, Mikel sat down by the door and used his magical sight to watch as the circle, Rynil, and the case slowly started to glow as the magic they had been imbued with started to activate. After about a half hour, the magic was getting almost too bright for Mikel to look at when there was a flash and the case disappeared. Then the only thing that continued to glow with magic was the small tattoo on Rynil's left palm. The ritual complete, Mikel returned to his normal vision and saw that to regular sight, the tattoo was invisible.

"Stay with him until he wakes up. Then take him upstairs and see that he gets something to eat and drink. He will be disoriented for a few minutes, an after effect of the sleeping potion. Also he is not expected back until dinner, so you two can have some time together if you wish. I have some matters to attend in my rooms, so I will not disturb you," said Sir Valen. The wizard then got up, walked past Mikel to the door and left the room.

When Rynil woke up, Mikel helped him up into a sitting position. "You okay?" he asked.

Rynil looked at Mikel and gave him a wide smile, "I think so. I feel all warm and tingly. What just happened?"

Mikel wrapped his arms around Rynil, pulling him into a hug. "The ritual is over. Let's go upstairs and give you a chance to recover. Do you think you can stand?" asked Mikel.

Rynil gave Mikel a silly grin, "If you are helping me, I can do anything." The young blonde boy then put his hand behind Mikel's head and kissed him.

For a brief second Mikel wanted nothing more then to forget everything and melt into Rynil's arms. Then he remembered Sir Valen's instructions, so he broke the kiss and pulled away from Rynil. "You need something to eat and drink. Let's get you upstairs," he said.

"Wait, can I lie down for a second first? I am still feeling dizzy," said Rynil.

"Uh, sure, my room is next door, you can lay down there and I'll bring you down some water and food," said Mikel. He gathered up Rynil's clothes then led the naked blonde boy out of the ritual room and down the hall to his small room. The door opened at Mikel's command. He helped Rynil inside and laid him down on his straw sleeping pad. Rynil laid back and smiled up at Mikel. Mikel stood over Rynil and soaked in the sight of the naked young teen in front of him. Finally he tore his eyes off his friend and headed upstairs. "I'll be right back," he said as he left the room.

Rynil lay on the bed waiting for the dizziness to pass. He held his left palm up over his head and examined it. It felt a little sore and he detected a faint outline of the sword case on it. He remembered what he had learned about using magic and focused on the case and visualized it, then he tried reaching with his mind and pulling the case. The case suddenly appeared, as if it sprung out of his hand, and promptly fell, hitting him in the face.

"OW," he exclaimed as the case rolled off his face and came to rest next to him. He reached up and felt that his nose had started to bleed. Cursing at himself, Rynil reached his left hand back over and put it on top of the sword case and then willed the case back into his hand, which is where it seemed to him it had come from. He used his other hand to pinch his nose to try to stop the bleeding.

Mikel returned carrying a tray loaded with bread, fruit, and a couple mugs of water. He was surprised to find Rynil lying there with blood all over his face and holding his nose. "Are you okay?" he asked as he hurriedly put down the tray on his desk and grabbed an dirty tunic to use to clean up Rynil's face. "I should go get my Master, this might be some reaction to the magic of the ritual," worried Mikel.

"No, I am fine. It is not a reaction to any magic, it is a reaction to my own stupidity," replied Rynil trying not to laugh at himself. Mikel looked confused so Rynil explained how he had summoned the sword case while holding his hand over his head. "Is my nose broken?" he asked Mikel who was wiping off the last of the blood.

"No, it doesn't look broken and the bleeding seems to have stopped," said Mikel. He then tossed the tunic into the corner and grabbed the tray off the desk and set it down on the floor next to Rynil. Then he sat himself down on the edge of the pad. "You feeling okay? Need any help?" he asked.

Rynil sat up, "I'm feeling better, the dizziness has passed." He tore off a chunk of bread and started eating. While he was eating, he noticed that Mikel kept trying to steal glances at his crotch. Knowing Mikel was trying to check him out excited Rynil and caused his cock to start getting hard. By the time he was finished eating and washing the food down with some water, he was hard. He set his mug down and slowly brought his hand up and put it around the back of Mikel's head. He once again pulled the boy in and kissed him on the lips. He opened his mouth and pressed his tongue against the black haired boy's lips. Mikel opened up and accepted Rynil's tongue into his mouth. Rynil pulled the smaller boy down onto the straw pad and pressed his naked body against him.

Mikel lay down on top of Rynil and ground his crotch against the naked boy's hard cock. He then slid down until he reached Rynil's waist. He spent a moment to exam and gently fondle the erect cock that was pointing back up towards Rynil's face, the head poking out of the foreskin and leaking clear fluid. There were a few soft blonde hairs around the base and Rynil's large testicles were pulled up tight against his body. Mikel stuck out his tongue and tasted the clear fluid from the tip, he found it tasted sweet, similar but slightly different from how his own tasted. He then licked all around the head before taking it into his mouth. Mikel tried to do his best but was inexperienced and occasionally scrapped Rynil with his teeth. Even though it was a clumsy blow job, it felt better to Rynil then any he had ever received. There was just something that felt right about it. There was a connection with Mikel that he had never felt before and it seemed to heighten the pleasure. He felt his orgasm quickly approaching and warned Mikel, "I am going to cum."

Mikel pulled back a little bit so just the head rested in his mouth while he continued to jack Rynil off. He wanted to taste all of his friend. Rynil moaned and then came, shooting four small blasts of watery cum into Mikel's mouth. After he returned to his senses after his orgasm, he reached down and pulled Mikel back up to him and kissed him, tasting his own cum on Mikel's lips.

Without breaking the kiss, Rynil maneuvered Mikel on to his back and climbed on top of him. He could feel Mikel's erect cock pressing into his own groin. Rynil broke the kiss and without saying anything slid down the pad until he reached Mikel's waist. He reached up under the boy's tunic and pulled down his hose, making sure not to catch Mikel's erection as he did so.

Mikel let out a small gasp as Rynil's warm tongue licked along the underside of his cock and then Rynil took the head into his mouth. Mikel sat up, supporting himself on his elbows for a moment and just watched in amazement as the boy he had been lusting after for so long sucked his cock down to the base. He fell back on the pad and just lost himself in the amazing feeling of the warm mouth and tongue massaging his cock.

It did not take more then a few strokes before Mikel felt his own orgasm approaching. He felt his balls tighten and his legs began to shake. As his orgasm neared the shaking got more intense, Mikel was overwhelmed by the feelings surging through his body. This was way more intense then any orgasm he had ever had before. As his cum started shooting out into Rynil's eager mouth, Mikel tried to stop his legs from shaking but lost control as magical energy built up inside him. He started thrashing violently and the whole tower started to shake. Mikel started to panic and tried to stop the shaking but became disoriented. He lost his center, his focus, and was adrift in a sea of magical energy as everything around him shook.

At first Rynil thought it was cute to see Mikel's legs twitching as the young boy started cumming and shot his small load. But when the entire tower started to shake, Rynil pulled off of Mikel's slender cock. Mikel's entire body started to shake violently and the shaking of the tower grew worse. Magic, thought Rynil. He summoned the sword case and quickly willed it open. He reached his left hand in and grabbed the sword while he placed his right hand on Mikel's chest. Immediately Mikel went limp and the tower stopped shaking.

"Well done, Squire," said Sir Valen from just inside Mikel's door, which was still closed.

"What happened Sir? Is it an attack? Is Mikel going to be okay?" asked Rynil concerned for his friend.

"My apprentice's true magical power was just awakened, it overwhelmed him and he lost control of the magic. He is currently lost in his own mind. Do not worry, he is not in any danger, it is a simple matter to bring him back. Touch his face, speak to him, guide him back, but just in case, keep your hand on your sword," instructed the wizard.

Rynil drew his hand up Mikel's slim torso and cupped his cheek. "Mikel, come back to me. Mikel, you are safe, I am here for you," said Rynil softly as he gently stroked his friend's check.

Mikel's blue eyes opened and he smiled sweetly at Rynil. "Rynil? What just happened?" asked Mikel.

Rynil blushed, "Well I think your Master might be able to explain it better."

"Squire Rynil, I believe it would be best for you to get dressed and head back to your quarters. Mikel, once you are feeling composed and are a bit more presentable, meet me in the main room upstairs so I can explain what has happened here," said Sir Valen. The door swung open as the wizard turned and exited the room, leaving the two boys alone again.

Rynil hurriedly found his clothes and dressed quickly. He noticed Mikel smiling as he watched him dress. After Rynil was ready to go, he bent down and gave Mikel a quick kiss, "I hope everything is okay and that we can see each other again, bye."

"Bye Rynil," said Mikel. He watched Rynil leave the room and head up the stairs. He had a painful headache but otherwise was undamaged from the incident. He could not remember everything that just happened, just that for a few moments he had somehow become disconnected from himself and had been floating in a sea of magical energy. Then he had heard Rynil's voice and was able to use it to find his way back and find his body. Mikel knew by the look of concern on Rynil's face as well as the presence of his Master that something serious had just happened. He pulled up his hose and adjusted his dick then got up to go find out from his Master what had just happened.

23 – Rynil and Mikel

Rynil was surprised when he walked out of the tower and found two Knights standing there with swords drawn. "Squire, what happened? Is everything alright?" asked Sir Ulmar.

"Everything is fine, Sir. It was just, well, uh," stumbled Rynil as he found he could not actually get any words out about what had happened in the tower.

"Squire, report to Lord Velarik in the main hall at once," ordered Sir Ulmar.

"Yes Sir," replied Rynil, snapping to attention and giving the Knight a salute. As Rynil left, he noticed large cracks in the stone walls of the hallway as well as some stone debris and dust littering the floor. There did not appeared to be any damage inside the tower, but the shaking had obviously been felt outside the tower and caused some damage to the keep. Rynil hurried through the halls to report to Lord Velarik, perhaps he could explain to the Lord what happened so that Mikel would not be in trouble for causing damage.

Inside the tower, Mikel entered the main room to find Sir Valen sitting at the table. A book rested on the table and a chair that was pulled back for him. Mikel sat down in the chair. He looked down and read the title, The Fundamentals of Magic: Sorcery.

"Apprentice, what can you tell me about the three primary ways to channel arcane magic?" asked Sir Valen.

"Uh, arcane magic can be channeled through wizardry, which is what you have been teaching me. It uses a combination of various components, verbal, gestures, and objects, to channel magical energy through the caster, we call these combinations spells," said Mikel.

"And where does the magical energy come from that powers a wizard's spells?" interrupted Sir Valen.

"Well, some of it comes from the caster and the rest comes from the plane of magic, the spells are like formulas that help the wizard pull energy from that plane and focus it to accomplish the desired effect," replied Mikel.

"Excellent, I already believe you know the basics of rituals since you explained it to Squire Rynil, but do you know how rituals interact with the plane of magic?" asked Sir Valen.

"Yes, they are similar to spells, except the spark of magic that is used to pull the magical energy into our world comes not from the wizard but from the items being used in the ritual," said Mikel.

"Which brings us to the third way to cast a spell, sorcery," said Sir Valen.

Mikel had yet to study sorcery so only knew what was mentioned tangentially in his other readings and the tales told amongst the peasants. He thought for a moment about all he had learned and how sorcery might actually work. "I had always heard that sorcery was blood magic; magic that someone was born with and that was 'in their blood'. But, that seems unlikely as a lot of magical energy inside of someone would be deadly. Since Sorcery is not like wizardry or rituals, in that it doesn't need any components, or objects, or even speaking, it must just be a Sorcerer channeling magic from the plane by themselves without any external aids."

"Very good," said Sir Valen smiling at his apprentice. "Yes, Sorcerers have the ability to pull magical energy directly into our world, channeling it through their bodies and focusing it with their minds. The end result is indistinguishable from what a wizard can accomplish with a spell, but without the extra steps or outside focuses required. Sorcery is something that is in someone's blood so to speak, in that it cannot be taught, you are either born with the ability or not."

"So is what just happened to me sorcery?" asked Mikel.

"In a way yes. Many times in your life, you have already used sorcery without realizing it. Back in the barn when the orcs came for you, you hid and the orcs looked right through you. That was sorcery, you either turned yourself invisible or used magic to trick their minds. In the Squire's Tournament, you used sorcery to keep yourself standing and conscious long past what you should have been able to endure. Brother Yoris, the priest that treated your wounds, told me that it was only magic that was still keeping you alive when they brought you to him. And you no longer need the prism in order to sense magic, nor do you need to cast a spell to clean a room anymore, you just will it and it happens; that is sorcery," said Sir Valen.

"But how does that explain what happened downstairs, when I, shook the tower?" asked Mikel blushing.

"The powers of sorcery often manifest during adolescence and your training in wizardry has been strengthening your connection to the plane of magic, so earlier, in a moment when your adolescent passions were surging, you unconsciously pulled magical energy into yourself but since you were not actually channeling it anywhere it built up inside of you. So the magical energy started to release itself in the same unconscious way your body was reacting. Unfortunately with more magic flowing through you than you could control, you lost your center and became adrift in the magic. Similar to if you were trying to wade through a river and a strong current swept you off your feet. Your consciousness shifted from this world into the plane of magic. Fortunately Squire Rynil was there with you. His sword dealt with the magical energy, channeling it back to where it came from. Also since the boy shares a strong bond with you, he was able to help you find your way back to yourself," explained Sir Valen.

Mikel considered what his Master had said for a moment. "How do I prevent it from happening again?" he asked.

"Mainly practice; you need experience in handling the magical energy. Eventually with more experience, you will not need to fear unconsciously pulling more energy than you can control. There are also some spells I can cast on you that will make it more difficult for you to pull energy. That will help you avoid being overwhelmed until you have learned how to better control the magic. That book will explain it all in more detail. Now, I suggest you start reading while I go visit with Lord Velarik. He has summoned me to his throne room for questioning regarding your little mishap. Do not worry Apprentice, you are not in any trouble," said Sir Valen. He then stood up and headed upstairs to the portal that would take him to Lord Velarik's throne room.

Lord Velarik looked at Rynil and repeated his question, "Can you tell us what caused Sir Valen's tower to shake so violently?"

Rynil hesitated before answering, "No Sir, I cannot." Rynil was standing before Lord Velarik, who was sitting on his throne. Behind Rynil were Sir Galreth, the Lord's Champion, Sir Balren, the Chamberlain, and Page Kenton, the young Page that had been on duty outside Sir Valen's tower this morning. A force in his mind was preventing him from answering Lord Velarik's question.

"Cannot or will not?" asked Sir Balren, his anger evident in his voice.

"Sir Balren, please, I will ask the questions," said Lord Velarik. "Squire Rynil, I am giving you a direct order as your Lord to tell me what caused Sir Valen's tower to almost destroy the north wing of the Keep," commanded Sir Velarik.

Rynil felt the mental barrier preventing him from answering, fall away. Now he wondered how best to phrase his answer so as not to reveal what he had been doing with Mikel when it happened. "I believe that Squire Mikel had some type of fit. He must have lost control of his magic, and it somehow caused the shaking," said Rynil.

Before anyone else could react to Rynil's revelation, Sir Valen stepped out of an alcove at the back of the throne room and said, "My Lord, it is not this Squire's place to discuss in open court the training of my apprentice. If you wish to know what happened, I am the one that should be questioned, not Squire Rynil."

"Very well, Sir Valen, could you please allay this court's concerns over the incident this morning," requested Lord Velarik.

"Certainly. It was necessary to push my apprentice a bit in order to get him to break through a barrier that was hindering the full development of his magical abilities. There was never any danger to the keep; I had taken measures to insure that the power released by my apprentice would be contained. There was never any danger that it would destroy any portion of the keep," said Sir Valen as he subtly winked at Rynil.

"Your apprentice almost collapsed half the keep," exclaimed Sir Galreth.

"He is a danger to us all," snarled Sir Balren.

"Sirs, Squire Mikel is not dangerous, he would not do anything to hurt any of us," said Rynil, trying to defend his friend. Both Sir Galreth and Sir Balren turned and glared at Rynil.

"Squire, please you forget your place. You will only offer your opinion when it is requested in court," said Lord Velarik. While his words were harsh, his tone was gentle. "Sir Valen, do we have reason to be concerned that your Squire could again lose control of his powers?" asked Lord Velarik.

"No, My Lord. Now that he has experienced the breakthrough that was required, I have taken steps to prevent him from being overwhelmed again," replied Sir Valen. Sir Galreth and Sir Balren were unmoved by the wizard's reassurances and were openly scowling at him.

Lord Velarik took a moment to look at each person that was standing before him. Silence hung heavily over the room. "Sir Valen, until this court can be more confident that your apprentice is not a danger to this keep, he is confined to your tower so that we may be assured that he is under your supervision. My decision on this is final. You are all dismissed. Squire Rynil, you will accompany me to my parlor, I wish to have a few words with you," said the Lord. He then rose from the throne and left through the door at the rear of the hall with Rynil two steps behind.

Rynil followed Lord Velarik out of the throne room and into his parlor, which was located adjacent to the rear of throne room. When they were alone together, Lord Velarik sat down on a large padded sofa. He motioned towards a nearby chair, "Please sit down, we need to have a talk, but before we begin please summon your sword," ordered the Lord.

"Yes Sir," replied Squire Rynil. He sat down then summoned the sword case and withdrew the sword.

"Excellent," said Lord Velarik, "now I can learn the truth of what transpired. Please keep your hand in contact with the sword while you tell me everything that happened in the wizard's tower today," said Lord Velarik.

Rynil recounted the day's events to the Lord. He did not leave anything out but he did try to skim over as much of the sex as possible by saying that the shaking happened when Mikel came while they were 'fooling around'. After he had finished, Rynil again felt the need to try to defend his friend. "My Lord, Mikel is not a danger to the keep. I know he would never hurt us," he pleaded.

"I know, Squire," replied Lord Velarik.

The Lord's response confused Rynil. "But My Lord, then why did you confine him to Sir Valen's Tower?" he asked.

"I did not do that to protect us; I did that to protect Squire Mikel. When Sir Valen first chose Mikel to be his squire, he requested the boy be exempted from work duties, so that he could remain in the tower, and Sir Valen could keep him protected. I felt at the time that it was important Squire Mikel not be treated differently from the other Squires. But, after the attack by the demon, I believe Sir Valen is correct. Mikel should remain in the tower where Sir Valen's magic can help safeguard him. A dark mood seems to have fallen over the keep since the attack, demons have a way of tempting even the most honorable of men.

"Now, I know you have grown close to Mikel and this means you will get to spend less time with him, for that I am sorry. I had been planning to send you there once a week for training but considering the circumstances, I feel we should prioritize your magical education and training with your sword's magical properties. So, starting tomorrow you will report to Sir Valen twice a week," said Lord Velarik.

"Thank you My Lord," said Rynil.

"Now go wash up and change into a clean uniform, you are still a bit oily. My wife and family are visiting from our estate, so I will be dining in my suite tonight and not in the Great Hall. I want you to attend me tonight," said Lord Velarik.

"Yes, My Lord," said Rynil. He put his sword back in its case and sent it away then headed towards the door. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped. "Excuse me My Lord; you mentioned a dark mood and demons tempting people. I think a demon is trying to tempt Page Karl and has been sending him nightmares. I have heard him crying out in the night," said Rynil.

"Hmm, thank you for telling me this. I will have one of the priests speak with him. Now go clean up," said Lord Velarik.

24 – Aymil and Wilrik

There was no way for Wilrik to keep track of time inside the barn. All he knew was that it had seemed like a long time since he had heard any voices coming from outside. The demonic horse had been asleep the entire time and there had not been any visits by the owl. The last thing he remembered was the female voice talking with a male, giving him some instructions on how to block something. Since then he had been lying in the hay drifting in and out of consciousness. Wilrik knew there was something wrong with his memory because he could only remember little bits and pieces of things and when he tried to focus on a specific memory, it fled like dust before the wind.

Wilrik was surprised when he turned and saw a boy standing just inside the barn doors. The boy appeared to be about fourteen. He had black hair and olive skin. He was dressed in a plain linen shirt and wool pants. "Hello," said the boy.

"Who are you?" asked Wilrik.

"My name is Aymil. You are Wilrik, yes?" he asked.

"Yes. What are you doing here?" asked Wilrik.

"I have come to try to help you. You have been a captive, but now it is time for you to go free," said Aymil.

"Captive? You mean the orcs? I remember orcs taking me from a barn, it looked like this one but this isn't the same one. I was with my friend, Mikel. I think I heard Mikel recently but I can't remember where or when. I also remember a demon. Was it the demon that held me captive? Is this a dream?" asked Wilrik.

"Sort of; this is all happening in your head. I am here to help you, we need you to wake up so that you can eat and take care of yourself. Then once you are up and moving around, I am going to help you get your memories back," said Aymil.

Wilrik cringed in fear. "But what if I don't want to remember?" he asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be here to help you," replied Aymil as he manipulated Wilrik's emotions to suppress the rising fear and to get the boy to trust him.

"Okay, how do we start?" asked Wilrik.

"Take my hand and we will open the door. It will lead us out of this place for now. You will return here when you sleep; it's a safe place," said Aymil.

"But what about that horse? How is it safe with that thing in here?" asked Wilrik.

"Do not worry, I will make sure it does not hurt you," promised Aymil.

"What is it?" asked Wilrik. Thinking about the demonic horse was causing his fear to return. The horse started to stir.

Aymil was silent for a moment as he strained to contain Wilrik's fear. The horse returned to its slumber. "Do not worry Wilrik, it will not harm you and in time you will learn to control that beast. Now, it is time for you to wake up, here take my hand," said Aymil, holding out his hand to Wilrik.

Wilrik took the boy's hand. Aymil lead him to the doors of the barn and opened them. The light from the open doors was brilliant and blinded Wilrik for a moment, and he was overwhelmed with sensations, as the rest of his senses suddenly came alive. It took him a minute to adjust to being present in his own body again. When his vision returned, he was able to orient himself and saw that he was lying in the back of a wagon in a forest clearing. It was late afternoon and the sun was shining through the trees and into his eyes. Sitting in the wagon next to him was Aymil, still holding his hand. An older gray haired woman was on the other side of the clearing skinning a rabbit.

"Can you sit up? You should drink some water," said Aymil. He kept holding Wilrik's hand, but wrapped his other arm around the boy's back and helped pull him up into a seated position. Once Wilrik was upright, he kept his arm around the boy's back, but let go of his hand and handed him a water-skin. "So, we are going to take this slowly and just let you get used to being free of the demon and back in control of your body for a few days. The women over there is Marsella, she has been caring for you these last couple of days. She is a Priest of the Night Hunter. Her magic has been able to keep you from starving or dying of thirst. I am sure she is glad to have you conscious and able to care for yourself now," said Aymil.

"Thank you, M' Lady," said Wilrik after he was finished drinking.

"It's just Marsella, I'm no noblewoman," said Marsella without looking up from the rabbit carcass in her hands.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Wilrik.

Marsella laughed. "Well that's a start at least," she said.

"Wilrik, let's see if we can get you to your feet," said Aymil. He grabbed Wilrik's hand then slid out of the wagon pulling Wilrik with him.

Wilrik stumbled briefly when he first landed on his feet, but quickly recovered, managing with Aymil's help, to keep his feet. He noticed as he looked down at his body that he was very muscular. Two years ago, when he had been taken by the orcs, he had been a little on the scrawny side, now he had large well defined muscles. He stood on his feet flexing his muscles for a moment. "My body has changed," he said.

"Yes," responded Marsella, "The demon that possessed you reshaped your body. Demons are not constrained by the normal physical limits of a body. Their magic enables them to infuse a body with more strength and endurance then would normally be possible."

Wilrik reached up and felt his neck. While he could not see it, he could feel a large raised scar, about an inch wide, that circled his neck. "The muscles are not the only thing that has changed," he said.

"No," replied Marsella, "That scar is permanent and your hair is gone, although whether that is permanent or not, remains to be seen."

"Is this dead feeling I have inside from the demon as well? Two years of my life are missing. I know I was abducted by orcs and you say I was possessed by a demon, yet I feel nothing. I'm not angry. I'm not afraid. I'm not happy I'm free. I just feel empty," said Wilrik.

Aymil squeezed the boy's hand. "That is not the demon's doing, that is mine. I am going to help you remember what has happened to you and help you reconnect with your feelings, hopefully in a way that allows you to handle it all without being overwhelmed," he said.

"Why? Why are you going to help me?" asked Wilrik.

Marsella answered him, "Because we need your help to defeat the demon that was responsible for kidnapping you and is seeking to unmake the world."

25 – 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's room and the ritual room, 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. "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?" 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 after 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 them 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. If your mother is not 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 calling me 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, so instead he 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 he 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. 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.

26 – 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 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 quieted 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.

The memories of that night and its aftermath started to come back to him. He told Aymil what he was remembering, "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; 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 run 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. His naked body 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 judgment or 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 to 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.

27 – Yoris

"Stefan, pay attention," said Brother Yoris. Stefan was about fourteen with bright red hair and green eyes that were perpetually sad. The boy's eyes had always made Yoris uncomfortable. He thought that the boy looked at everyone as if he knew their fate, and that they were about to die.

"Sorry, Brother," said the young Acolyte. Stefan had been staring out the window again rather than paying attention. Brother Yoris was giving a lesson to the Acolytes on some of the ways to treat simple injuries that were common among Knights and fighting men. There were four teenage boys currently in training at the small Temple of The Warrior that was part of Telisan Keep. Brother Yoris resumed the lesson and Stefan did a better job of pretending to be paying attention.

Near the end of the lesson, Brother Barton, the gray haired leader of the Temple, entered the room. He motioned for Brother Yoris to continue the lesson, then sat down at the back of the room. When Yoris was done, Brother Barton stood up and said, "Boys, please head over to the stables for riding lessons. Brother Kelt will meet you all there." As the Acolytes filed out of the room, Brother Barton motioned for Yoris to take a seat next to him.

"Brother, Lord Velarik has asked me to have one of our order check on Page Karl. Squire Rynil mentioned that the boy has been having nightmares, and Rynil fears that they might be signs of a demon trying to influence the boy. Since you now have the most direct experience with demons, I would like for you to go test the boy. While you are there, you might wish to see how Sir Luken is recovering," said Brother Barton.

"Brother, I will talk with Page Karl as you request, but please, there are others that are better suited to assisting Sir Luken," said Brother Yoris.

Brother Barton sighed, "I know you have never had a close relationship with Sir Luken, but he is your father. I am sure, at some level, he must care for you, and you for him."

"I know you mean well Brother, but when I was a child Sir Luken made it quite clear to me that he does not consider me his son. Over the years he has never once given me any indication that I enter his thoughts at all. You have been a more of a father to me than he will ever be," said the young Priest.

"All I ask is that you keep your heart open. It is possible that when Sir Luken recovers, he will be able to find room in his heart for you. Often a man, who has had such a close brush with death, will reconsider many choices he has made during his life," said Brother Barton.

"Very well Brother, I will consider your words," said Brother Yoris.

"May The Warrior give you strength," said Brother Barton, blessing the young priest as he left the room.

Brother Yoris knocked on the door to Sir Luken's chambers. The door was opened by the young Page. Karl was dressed in his Page's uniform, light blue hose, a dark green tunic embroidered with Sir Luken's coat of arms and soft leather shoes. "Brother, are you here to check on Sir Luken?" asked Karl.

"No Page, I am here to talk with you, if that is alright," answered Brother Yoris. "May I come in?" he asked.

"I guess so, Sir," said Karl as he stepped back and opened the door.

"Please, Brother is fine, you may even call me Yoris or Yori, but I am not nobility," said Yoris. He entered the main room of Sir Luken's suite. Karl closed the door behind the priest. Yoris crossed the room and sat down in the chair by the fireplace. He looked back at Karl and motioned for him to take a seat on the small sofa that was next to the chair. Karl walked over and sat down on the sofa. He glanced up briefly at Brother Yoris, then looked down and stared at the floor.

"Page Karl, I am here because Lord Velarik has asked for one of our order to come talk with you. The Lord is concerned that the demon, responsible for the recent attack, is trying to influence you. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" asked Brother Yoris.

"Okay," said Karl in a quiet voice. The priest said a quiet prayer, and his eyes glowed for a second. "What was that?" asked Karl.

"Just something that well help me know if you are telling me the truth, or if there is something you are hiding. Now, have you been having nightmares?" asked the priest.

"I guess," answered Karl.

"You guess?" questioned Brother Yoris.

"Well, I wake up feeling scared, but I cannot remember having any dreams or nightmares. Rynil will wake me up and tell me that I cried out in my sleep, and it was loud enough to wake him in the other room. But I cannot remember having a nightmare," said Karl.

"Are you angry about Sir Alek's death, do you want revenge?" asked Brother Yoris, studying Karl carefully to see his reaction.

The young boy looked down and started crying. After a couple minutes of crying, he composed himself. "Angry? No. I am sad. I miss him. My life is meaningless without him. Revenge would not bring him back, it would just make things worse for everyone else," answered Karl as he struggled to keep from crying again.

"Karl, I'm sorry for your loss. I can tell that you loved Sir Alek. Time will help heal the wound in your heart, but I will be honest, you will always miss him. There is just one last thing I need to do, then I'll stop being so nosy. I am going to check and make sure there is no evil presence inside you. That will lay to rest any concerns that Lord Velarik might have about a demon trying to influence you," said Brother Yoris.

"Okay," said Karl.

Brother Yoris prayed and cast another spell. He examined Karl's aura; there was no demonic taint. "Well good news Page, I can report to Lord Velarik that you're not being influenced by any demons," said Brother Yoris, hoping it might make the boy feel better. Karl just nodded.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Karl just sat there lost in his sadness. Brother Yoris was ready to leave, but could not just walk away from the boy while he was obviously hurting. Brother Yoris sat and talked with Karl for a few minutes. It was not long before Karl was telling the priest that he no longer wanted to be a Knight. Yoris had trouble understanding, because for Yoris, when he was Karl's age, all he wanted in life was to be a Knight. Yoris had even competed in the Page Games when he was nine, and the Squire Games when he was thirteen. But the message contest had been his downfall. It was after he had failed to win the Squire Games that Brother Barton had found him in tears and offered him a position as an Acolyte in the Temple of The Warrior.

"Page Karl, if as you grow older, you still feel you do not want to be a knight, I want you to keep in mind that there are other ways you can serve the realm, and be of assistance to others. There are many religious orders that would welcome you. You could learn a trade. You will have options open to you to do something you feel suits you. But until you are older, and can make those choices for yourself, you must work hard to learn all that you can from your current circumstances. Sir Alek would not have wanted to see you suffering. He would have wanted you to find something that would bring you comfort and happiness. Try to remember the happiness you brought each other, instead of being trapped in your feelings of loss," said Brother Yoris trying to provide some comfort to the boy. Karl forced a weak smile and nodded, hoping his response would satisfy the priest so that he would leave. The response worked; Brother Yoris rose and said goodbye.

Before leaving the suite, he did stop to check on Sir Luken. The injured Knight appeared to be sleeping peacefully, although Yoris knew he was not sleeping but was in a coma. He had lost some weight, but the healer from the Temple of the Harvest was using magic, in the form of prayers to her Goddess, to keep the man nourished. Sir Luken was no longer in danger of dying from his wounds, but he had still not recovered from the horrible burns that had scarred most of his body and disfigured his face. Yoris again said the prayers to detect any presence of evil or demonic influence. He looked over Sir Luken and saw no sign of demonic presence, which surprised him a little bit, he had expected to detect a lingering trace of demonic energy in the burn marks. Sir Luken started to stir, his legs and arms moved a little, then his eyes opened. He turned his head but wasn't able to focus. "Water," he managed to croak out.

"Page Karl, get some water, Sir Luken is awake," called out Brother Yoris. Karl came running into the room and grabbed the pitcher of water that was resting on a table. He filled a goblet of water and brought it to Sir Luken. He lifted the man's head and slowly poured a small amount of water into the Knight's mouth. Brother Yoris nodded, then turned to leave. "I'll go inform the Priestess that her patient is awake," said Brother Yoris.

28 – Aymil and Wilrik

Aymil sat staring at the fire. While he was mentally exhausted, there was a part of him that felt energized. He had made a lot of progress with Wilrik. The first several days of exploring the boy's memories had been tough. He had needed to constantly maintain physical contact in order to keep the boy's emotions from overwhelming them both as the boy recalled the first few months of his captivity. After killing the orcs and raping Wilrik for the first time, the demon had teleported Wilrik to what appeared to be some type of fortress built into a mountain.

The demon kept the boy locked in a metal box. There were several small holes in the walls of the box that provided air, but there was no light, as the room the box was in was unlit. There was not enough room in the box to stretch out, and he had to remain curled up or at most he could rise to his knees if he ducked his head. He soon had soiled the box, and had to sit and lie in his own excrement. The demon did not seem to mind that Wilrik was covered in shit and piss, but occasionally the demon would make some gesture with its hand, and the accumulated waste in the box would vanish, but he never bothered to clean Wilrik. He received one meal a day, a piece of some unidentifiable meat, a piece of bread, and a cup of water.

The only time he was let out of the box, was when the demon came to fuck him, which Wilrik figured was twice a day since it happened about twice as often as he was fed. While the creature fucked him, it was always telling Wilrik how this was all Mikel's fault. That Mikel had tricked the orcs into taking Wilrik instead, and that it should be Mikel in the box and not him.

Wilrik came to look forward to the twice daily fucking. It was the only time he got to spend outside the box, and he was able to stretch out his limbs. When the demon fucked him, there was always a mix of pain and pleasure, fear and relief, and ultimately shame when Wilrik experienced an orgasm. Aymil tried explaining to Wilrik that the demon had the power to manipulate his emotions, but Aymil didn't press the point; he didn't want Wilrik asking too many questions about how Aymil and the demon shared the power to manipulate his emotions.

Wilrik could not remember how long he had been in the box. It ended one day when the demon offered him a choice. It was after he had been fucked; he was lying on the floor, his ass aching, feeling ashamed that he had experienced an orgasm as the monster fucked him. The demon said, "You can either go back into the box and this will be how you spend the rest of your life. Living in the box until I wish to use you for my pleasure, which will be less and less often as I am already starting to grow bored with you, or you can become my servant and obey my every command. Which will it be? Decide now, as I will never offer you this choice again," said the demon.

"Please master, I'll serve you, just don't put me back in the box, I'll do anything you ask," begged Wilrik.

"Very well, follow me," commanded the demon as he started walking away into the darkness. Wilrik tried to stand and walk but found he couldn't; it had been so long since he had last been allowed to stand that his body would not cooperate. So instead he crawled along the ground after the demon. They left the dark room where the box was stored and entered a hallway. There were magical lights illuminating the hallway. The demon walked slowly down the hallway and into another room as Wilrik crawled along behind him. Inside the room was a bathtub and several buckets filled with water. The demon very methodically picked up the buckets and poured them over Wilrik, rising off the worst of the shit. Next, it picked up a sharp straight edged blade and proceeded to use it to first hack off, then shave the remaining hair off of Wilrik's head. The demon made of point of showing Wilrik that the demon was invulnerable to the blade before setting it back down. Then it pointed to the tub, "Clean yourself."

Wilrik climbed into the tub. The water was warm, and Wilrik was amazed at how good it felt. He noticed there was a brush and a chunk of soap lying next to the tub. The demon left the room and closed the door behind it. A second later Wilrik heard the sound of a bolt being slide into place locking the door. Wilrik had never before consider a bath something to enjoy, but being able to scrub the layers of filth off of him was a welcome relief. After he was clean and the water had grown cold, Wilrik stepped out of the tub and used it to get his balance. Being back up on his feet felt good.

As he was standing there naked, dripping wet, and wondering what to do next, the door opened and the demon entered. "Come with me," said the demon holding out an arm. Wilrik stumbled over to the demon and it grabbed his shoulders steadying him. They left the room and head back down the hallway. Wilrik was slow and unsteady on his feet but the demon supported him as they walked. At first Wilrik was afraid he was being led back into the room with the box, but the demon continued past it and out a door at the end of the hallway. The door led to a small room that was lit by candles. There was an altar set up opposite the door. The altar was covered in carved reliefs which depicted demonic figures committing all manner of atrocities upon humans. The top of the altar was ringed in candles and inside the ring was a black leather hood.

"Now, you will join with me and host part of my essence, one of my children. Remember this is your choice. Joining me will make you strong, and you will never be at the mercy of anyone else again. You will be able to help me get revenge upon our friends who abandoned and betrayed us," whispered the demon's voice inside Wilrik's mind. "When you are ready, approach the altar and don the hood."

That was as far as Aymil and Marsella had wanted to push Wilrik. They decided it was best to let Wilrik dwell on the events leading up to his putting on the hood, at least for a short time. Besides giving Wilrik a chance to process and understand how much duress he had been under when he accepted the demon's offer, it would allow for more time for Aymil to master his powers. In just the few weeks he had been working with Wilrik, the strength of his mental powers had increased greatly. He no longer needed to maintain physical contact with Wilrik to shield him and completely tame the boy's emotions. Aymil had also mastered shutting down that part of Wilrik's soul that was still warped by the demon. It was Marsella's belief that it would be impossible to ever heal that part of Wilrik, and that the best they could hope for, was that they could give Wilrik the strength to control that part of himself again instead of letting it control him.

Aymil knew he would need his powers to be stronger to deal with what was to come next in Wilrik's memories. Already he had been able to feel parts of it leak through as Wilrik recalled the events before he was possessed. There was an overwhelming sense of regret when Wilrik remembered choosing to serve the demon rather than go back in the box. The worst though was during the bath. Aymil could sense that when Wilrik looked back upon the bath, the boy would later wish that instead of bathing himself, he had used the knife that the demon had left in the room, to kill himself.

After spending a couple nights at the original campsite so that Aymil could get Wilrik to a place where he could be conscious for traveling, they packed up their meager belongings and resumed traveling. They headed northwest, deeper into the Great Forest. Marsella told the boys that they were headed to stay with an old friend of hers, who lived on the northwest edge of the forest.

29 – Rynil and Mikel

"That is enough for today. You boys can have the rest of the afternoon to yourselves. I have a meeting with Lord Velarik, Sir Luken, and Brother Barton. Sir Luken is recovered enough to tell us what he remembers of the attack," said Sir Valen. He then left Rynil and Mikel alone in the practice room.

"So you sure you want to do this?" asked Rynil as he gave Mikel a skeptical look.

"Yes," replied Mikel. "There might be times when I'll need to defend myself without using magic," explained Mikel.

"It just seems like magic can do almost anything, why would you not be able to use it. If it is because you are too tired, than I do not see how knowing how to use a sword is going to help," said Rynil. Regardless of his belief that Mikel did not really need any way to defend himself besides magic, he had brought a pair of weighted wooden practice swords with him this afternoon. After their last joint training session, Mikel had begged for Rynil to start training him and Rynil had eventually agreed.

"Well what if I am traveling in disguise, and don't want superstitious townsfolk or bigoted Knights to know I am a Mage? Or what if for some reason, I need to put a know it all pompous Squire with a sword that can block magic in his place?" teased Mikel.

"Hmph, you will never be good enough to do that last one," retorted Rynil as he tossed one of the swords to Mikel, "But I might be able to help you with the first one." Rynil started with the basics, showing him basic grips and stances that he could use. Next he moved on to the footwork. He didn't plan on actually sparring with Mikel for a couple sessions yet as he wanted to make sure Mikel understood the fundamentals before he started worrying about how to actually fight with a sword.

The two boys spent over an hour working on Mikel's footwork before Rynil called a halt to the afternoon's lesson. He suspected that one of the reasons Mikel wanted the lessons was so that they could spend more time together, without the awkwardness that had taken hold when the two boys were alone together with nothing they had to be doing. Rynil wanted to have sex with Mikel but he could tell the apprentice was still afraid that he might lose control of his magic again. Rynil had gotten Mikel to make out with him, and also suck him off a couple times, but Mikel refused to let Rynil reciprocate. Rynil was determined to change that.

"So, now that I am doing you a favor by training you, you need to do a favor for me," said Rynil.

"Sure," said Mikel as he approached Rynil. He stopped in front of the blonde boy and sank to his knees. "I'm happy to take care of this for you. I noticed you getting hard while giving me my lesson," said Mikel as he reached out and stroked the bulge in Rynil's hose.

"Close, but that is not exactly what I had in mind," said Rynil. He reached down and grabbed Mikel's hand and pulled the smaller boy towards the door. He dragged Mikel back to the apprentice's room and shoved him down onto his sleeping pad.

"I know you are afraid you will lose control, but I will make sure nothing bad happens. I am not taking no for an answer this time Mikel. I will keep one hand on my sword the entire time," said Rynil. He still had Galaxth, his magic sword, in the scabbard on his belt from their earlier training. He knelt down on the pad next to Mikel.

"I don't know Rynil, what if your hand slips off or something, if I lose control again, I'll never get to leave the Tower," worried Mikel.

"Trust me, you will be okay," said Rynil as he tugged on Mikel's hose with one hand, "Of course, since I only have one hand free, I might need some help undressing you." Mikel was nervous as he reached down and stripped of his leggings. Despite his anxiety, he was hard at the thought of getting his cock sucked by Rynil. Once his dick was free, Rynil took it in his free hand, and stroked it a couple times, then he leaned down and licked the tip.

Mikel let out a moan as Rynil engulfed the head with his mouth and started swirling his tongue around it. Rynil lightly rubbed Mikel's balls with his hand as he worked his mouth up and down on the boy's cock. After a couple minutes, he spread Mikel's legs and shifted around so that he was sitting between them. He resumed sucking on the head of the boy's dick while using his hand to stroke the shaft. Mikel was getting close to cumming and was so focused on not losing himself in the pleasure he was receiving, that he didn't notice when Rynil's other hand started lightly rubbing the area between his balls and his asshole. Rynil reached down with a finger and started teasing Mikel's asshole with the tip as he picked up the pace on his cock.

Mikel groaned and his legs started shaking as he started to cum, but he was able to remain grounded and not lose control. Rynil stopped sucking and kept the boy's cock in his mouth, collecting the boy's load. He savored it in his mouth for a moment before drinking it down. After Mikel had stopped shaking and his cock started to deflate a little, Rynil gently cleaned it off with his tongue, then he climbed out from between Mikel's legs and used both hands to pull up the boy's hose.

"Wait, you were using both hands when I came," said Mikel as he recalled what Rynil had been doing to him during his orgasm.

"Yes, I did. I told you to trust me and that everything would be okay. Now you know you are in control enough that you do not have to be afraid to share yourself with me. You are never going to be let out of here if you do not have confidence in yourself, and now you have one less thing to worry about," said Rynil smiling down at him.

30 – Aymil

Marsella pulled on the reins, bringing the small wagon to a halt. Aymil and Wilrik were following behind and walked up to see what had caused the priestess to stop. "This is the place. Now we wait," she said.

Aymil looked around the forest. There was nothing to distinguish this spot from any other spot he had seen in the two weeks they had been traveling in the Great Forest. "Wait for what?" he asked.

"An old acquaintance to find us. His home is hidden somewhere near here. We could search forever and never find it, but he will soon realize he has company, and if he is willing to help us, he will let us know," explained Marcella.

A melodic male voice spoke out from behind them, "And how long would you wait if I chose not to help you?"

Aymil and Wilrik spun around and searched the forest trying to locate the speaker. Marsella did not bother to look for her hidden friend, "We would stay here until you got tired of wondering how long we would wait and your curiosity finally got the better of you."

"The patience of an Elder is infinite, even you would grow old and pass into the next realm before you out waited one," came the reply from the forest. The speaker then switched to a strange almost musical language that Wilrik nor Aymil had ever heard before. Marsella replied in the same tongue and the two spoke for several minutes. Aymil could not understand the words, but he could pick up what the two were feeling. The general worry, that was her constant companion since they had fled her cabin, still consumed the priestess. The stranger attempted to shield his emotions, but Aymil's powers had strengthened with the constant use. Aymil could tell that he felt protective towards Marcella, but was feeling a mix of contempt and fear directed towards Wilrik. Aymil also realized that while he could not see the stranger, he could sense his general location by where he sensed his feelings.

Aymil knew the stranger was about twenty yards behind them near the base if a tall pine, but he still could not actually see him. "Cease your unwanted invasion of my mind godborn," said the stranger, appearing it seemed, to Aymil, that he stepped out of the trunk of the tree. The speaker was tall and slender, over six feet [1.80 m] tall but weighing less then the shorter human boys. His features appeared unmarked by age; however, from his words he was older than Marsella. If he had been human, Aymil would have guessed that he was only in his mid twenties, but the sharp angular features, long pointed ears, violet eyes and silver hair clearly marked him as an elf.

"Yes, umm," responded Aymil, unsure of how to address the elf. He did ease back on his power so that he was no longer sensing the elf's feelings through the creature's mental defenses.

"You may address me as Elthandelen. That is as close to my true name as one such as yourself with a tongue untrained in a real language is capable of achieving," said the elf. Aymil was not sure if he was teasing or being contemptuous.

Marsella pleaded with the elf, "Elthandelen, I know this is asking a lot of you, but we need your protection. Durren believes that Wilrik will be able to help us finally defeat Nazrepon. We just need some time and a place to hide, both of which you have in excess."

"Very well, you can stay with me for as long as you need. You will follow me, and I will take you to safety. You must leave the wagon and the beast of burden. I will return later and see to their accommodations. Follow my path closely or the magic of the woods will confuse you and you will find yourself lost," said Elthandelen as he turned and headed off the trail and into the forest.

Wilrik and Aymil followed Elthandelen through the forest with Marsella close behind them, making sure they followed the elf's path. Aymil's view of the forest around him seemed to blur whenever he looked off the path; he could sense the presence of magic around him, but it felt different from the divine magic Marsella had used or the arcane magic used by Durren. "What is this place?" he asked.

"This is the outer edge of an ancient refuge created by my people to hide from the Forsaken," answered Elthandelen.

"The Forsaken?" asked Aymil.

"I thought the Elder were all gone, that they rebelled against the Gods and were stripped of their magic," said Wilrik.

The elf stopped and turned to glare at Wilrik. Aymil could feel the creature's anger as it escaped through the mental shield the elf was trying to maintain. "Elthandelen, do not blame the boy because our people are taught a different version of history," said Marsella as she tried to calm him.

"Such a falsehood is not just a different version of history, but you are right, that he has been misinformed about the origin of your Gods is one thing that was not of his choosing," said Elthandelen before turning back around and continuing to head along the path.

Aymil instantly felt guilt and self-hatred well up inside of Wilrik as the comment from the elf triggered memories of choosing to don the demon hood. Aymil scowled at the elf as he worked to calm and reassure Wilrik.

"It is time you learned the truth of the origins of the world, its people and those beings you call Gods. Perhaps it will give you a better understanding of your place within this conflict," said Elthandelen. He addressed them in a tone that one would use with small children. "In the beginning, there was Geodus. Geodus was everything and everything was Geodus. At some point, for reasons known only to Geodus, it decided it wanted company. Therefore, it created a magnificent palace and populated it with his chosen, the first of the Elder. His creations, unlike Geodus, were mortal and needed to eat, so Geodus created a bountiful garden to feed them. Geodus found it enjoyed creating new wonders and new creatures, so the world grew. Geodus created lesser races to serve his chosen: humans were made to work the fields, dwarves to mine the mountains, orcs to tend the swamps. The first Elder prospered and had children as did the lesser races. Geodus though cared for all the children as if they were his own.

"For eons the world prospered, but eventually the first of the Elder, those few created by Geodus, grew envious of Geodus' power. They turned on their creator, conspired to trap Geodus and steal its power. These few that forsake their creator and betrayed all of creation declared themselves Gods. The rest of the Elder sought to stop their ancestors and free Geodus. The Elder did not rise up against your Gods, it is the Gods that rose up against their creator. The lesser races joined these self-proclaimed Gods and the Elder were defeated. What remained of the Elder were scattered and they went into hiding. The Gods sought to erase any memory of Geodus and the Elder in order to erase their betrayal. So, now you humans are taught that it was the Elder that betrayed the Gods and were cast down among the lesser races as elves," said Elthandelen.

"But it was the Elder that did in fact turn on the first God, Geodus. So the story is not a complete lie," said Marsella.

"They ceased being Elder when they betrayed Geodus; they became Forsaken," said Elthandelen.

"That is a distinction without a difference," responded Marsella. "I did not come here to rehash old historical differences."

"Yes, enough of this topic for now, we can discuss it more, later. We have reached the entrance," said Elthandelen stopping in between two large trees. "Come and I will help you through the barrier. You two should hold hands as you pass through the trees." Aymil grabbed Wilrik's hand then walked forward and passed through the trees. As he passed the elf, Elthandelen put his hand on Aymil's shoulder. As the boys stepped forward, the forest in front of them disappeared and they were standing at the side of a very large glade. There were several wooden cabins and other structures in the clearing and around its edges. A moment later Marsella and the elf stepped out of nowhere and were standing next to them.

Elthandelen showed them around the camp. There were a dozen cabins, all uninhabited, wherever Elthandelen made his home it was not here. There was a communal building that served as a kitchen, dining room, and gathering place. The place had an abandoned feel, yet everything was spotlessly clean. The elf showed the boys to one cabin and Marsella to the cabin next door. "If you need food, you will find plenty of provisions in the kitchen in the main hall. You may rest, I will go and take care of hiding the wagon and retrieving your beast. Feel free to explore the area, the camp is safe and extends from where you entered to approximately a mile [1½ km] in each of the other directions," said Elthandelen.

As soon as the elf had left, Wilrik grabbed Aymil's hand. Aymil could feel Wilrik's need and desire. Aymil followed Wilrik into the cabin and pushed the muscular boy down onto the bed. Whenever Wilrik was feeling overwhelmed by his emotions and memories, he would be overcome by the need to be fucked. Aymil was not sure if was healthy to continue to accommodate Wilrik in this manner, but it seemed to be one of the only things that brought any pleasure or happiness to the boy. But, deep down, Aymil did have to admit that one of the reasons he continued to give into Wilrik's need to be dominated and fucked was that he enjoyed it as well.

31 – Wilrik

Wilrik took refuge in the darkness of the cave. They had discovered it while exploring around the camp a couple days after arriving. It was about a half mile [800 m] away from the cabins in the side of hill. Wilrik needed a break from Aymil. The last couple of weeks since arriving at the elven refuge had been rough for Wilrik. The elf still did not seem to care for Wilrik or Aymil, although he was polite the few times he interacted with them. He never spoke ill about them, but several times Wilrik had overheard Marsella and Elthandelen arguing, at least Wilrik assumed they were arguing. He could not understand what they said since they were speaking in Elven, but their tone was heated. When Wilrik had entered the room they stopped and Elthandelen had glared at Wilrik then made some excuse to leave.

Wilrik was sure that the elf knew of all the horrible atrocities that Wilrik had committed while possessed by the demon, even if Wilrik did not remember them all yet. But, over the last couple of weeks, in the safety of the magically concealed forest camp, Aymil had been working with Wilrik to slowly but steadily recall what had happened after he had donned the hood.

Aymil kept trying to tell him that he was not responsible for the things the demon had done while it possessed him, but Wilrik still felt responsible. He had chosen to submit; he willing put on the hood rather than suffer more in the box. If he had the choice to make again, he would choose to go back into the box. The pain and torment he had suffered there was nothing compared to what happened after the demon took over. Rape, murder, and eating human flesh were the demon's favorite activities. It particularly enjoyed the horror that Wilrik felt as the pleasure the demon was experiencing penetrated Wilrik's consciousness.

Wilrik sat and tried working through the latest memories that had been returned to him. It was easier to do this when Aymil was around, but sometimes Wilrik liked to get away from Aymil's protection. He could feel that Aymil was blocking all of his negative emotions and knew he was likely to go insane if confronted with all of it at once. But here in the cave with Aymil asleep back at the camp, just a little bit of those feelings would seep through. Every now and then he needed to feel bad about everything that he had done and that had been done to him.

Now though, Wilrik just wanted to be alone and actually feel. Between spending almost two years trapped inside his own mind, unable to control his body or his own emotions, and now having Aymil suppress his emotions, Wilrik wanted to feel bad. He wanted to suffer, it was the least he could do after all the things the demon had done to make others suffer while he had been in control. So he had crept out of the cabin he shared with Aymil after the older boy had gone to sleep and come to the cave.

Wilrik's self reflection was cut short when he felt a subtle change in the air flow around him. The demon possession had changed him in many ways, physically as well as emotionally. His senses were now sharper, he was stronger than most men and any boy he had ever known, and his body was resistant to the extremes of temperature, both hot and cold. Even though there was no light in the cave Wilrik was able to see. He looked up and could see a vague outline of a figure approaching from the entrance of the cave.

"I believe it is time we talked, just the two of us," said Elthandelen. "Your vision is better than mine. I hope a little light will not offend you," said the elf as he pulled a small clump of phosphorescent moss out of the pouch on his belt. The glowing plant provided just a tiny amount of light, but it was more than enough for the elf and Wilrik to see clearly.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't care for me or Aymil being here," said Wilrik as he rubbed his head. His hair was starting to grow back and it itched constantly.

"Yes and no. I do not hate you or the godborn, but old prejudices are hard to set aside. My people have suffered greatly at the hands of the Forsaken. It is just whenever I see you or Aymil, I am reminded of that suffering and also of the failing of my ancestors. I should not take that out on you and Aymil; you are as much victims of them as my people were. I cannot blame you for the wars they started," said the elf.

"Wars? You mentioned the war between the Gods, uh the Forsaken, and the Elder, was there another war?" asked Wilrik.

"After the Forsaken defeated my people, they set themselves up as rulers of this world. But, Geodus' power was not meant for mortals to wield. It was both a blessing and a curse for the Forsaken. They could not use it to create the way Geodus could. They only way they could create life, was the way of mortals, by mating. However, the curse of Geodus' power expressed itself in horrifying form through their new offspring. They were warped and vile creatures, filled with all the worst of their parent's qualities that had led them to turn on Geodus. Envy, greed, jealousy, rage, anger, and hate," explained Elthandelen.

"Demons," said Wilrik, "Demons are the children of the Gods."

Elthandelen nodded, "Yes, demons are the true children of your Gods. As the Forsaken grew jealous of the power of Geodus, so too did, the demons grow jealous of the power of their creators. Then, just as the Forsaken turned on their creator, their children did the same. The demons banded together and sought to overthrow their parents. The war between the Forsaken and the demons raged across the world for years beyond counting. It came very close to destroying the world. The Forsaken, in a desperate attempt to stop the demons, fractured the universe. They split it into multiple realms.

"They reside safely in their own realm, and the demons were banished to another. The realms are separate yet still connected to the physical world. The Forsaken can send a small part of their essence to our world, occasionally visiting to fulfill their desire for creation. They found that in this lesser form that they could mate successfully with mortal creatures and their children will be gifted with a small fraction of their power, but not enough to warp them as it did the demons. Just as the Forsaken can visit, so too can the demons. However, the connection to their realm is not as strong, so demons cannot cross it unaided. They need to anchor themselves to a mortal. So the war between the Forsaken and the demons has not ended, it has just taken a different, human form, as they continue to battle through their agents. You and Aymil are just pawns in this ancient war.

"I grew up hearing about the utopia where my people once lived before the Forsaken rose up against Geodus. When Marsella brought you to my hidden home, I was upset. I have hidden here for many years, letting the wars of mortals and immortals pass me by. Marsella has reminded me that remaining hidden will not save me from the consequences of the war. I apologize for my behavior towards you," said Elthandelen.

"Part of me feels like I deserve it. People should be angry at me for what I did, or what the demon I let possess me did," said Wilrik. He held up his hand as Elthandelen started to protest, "I know, I know, I am not responsible for what the demon did. Maybe someday I will be able to believe you all when you tell me that."

"I will leave you to your thoughts now child. Do not stay out here all night. Aymil worries about you when you wander off," said the elf. He then bowed and left Wilrik alone in the cave.

Wilrik spent a few more minutes feeling sorry for himself before he got up and made his way back to the camp. He stripped off his clothes and slid into bed next to Aymil, "Sorry for sneaking off again."

Aymil rolled over and wrapped him in his arms, "Don't be sorry, I'm happy that you keep deciding to come back to me. The bed gets cold when you are gone."

"It isn't the bed that gets cold, it's you that gets cold desert boy," teased Wilrik as he rolled over and pressed his back against Aymil's chest.

"Same thing," said Aymil.

Aymil could sense Wilrik's need. He kissed the boy's neck then collected some spit in his hand. He reached down and rubbed it over his cock which had started to get hard as soon as he heard Wilrik enter the room. He rolled the two of them over so that he was lying on top of Wilrik and he pressed his cock into the boy's ass. Wilrik gasped at the pain of the rough entry but pushed his ass back against Aymil's cock. A few thrusts later, Wilrik's groans of pain turned into moans of pleasure.

32 – Rynil

Rynil woke up just as the sun broke the horizon. He smiled briefly as he remembered when he used to wake up at this time because of his dream; now it was just habit. He quietly climbed out of bed, trying not to wake Karl. Rynil was excited to start the day. Today was High Harvest Day, which celebrated the autumn equinox. As was customary for all the seasonal holidays, there would be a day of tournaments, including the tournaments for each group of the Pages and Squires. There would also be the jousting tournament for the Knights, which was the one all the commoners and all the nobles over sixteen, cared about. Rynil's focus though, was on the first year Squires' Tournament. He would get an opportunity to earn a higher rank, which would get him a better duty assignment. A chance to earn a higher rank was just the second best thing about the day, Mikel had been given permission to leave the Tower in order to compete in the tournament. Lord Velarik and Sir Valen had decided that if the day went well, then Mikel's confinement to the Tower would end. Rynil was confident that things would go well today.

Rynil put on the leather pants and jerkin that he was going to wear during the tournament, as he had no reason to dirty an extra set of clothes. Once he was ready, he picked up his helm and left without waking Karl. Rynil was glad to see the boy sleeping peacefully through the night again, untroubled by nightmares. Karl had returned to sleeping in the bed he shared with Rynil when Sir Luken had recovered from his injuries and was back on his feet. Karl no longer slept pressed up against Rynil though; he did not want to fool around, or even cuddle anymore. Occasionally, when Karl would cry, the young boy would let Rynil hold him. Fortunately, for Rynil, he was able to spend some time exchanging blowjobs with Mikel a couple times a week, so he no longer needed to rely on Karl for his release.

When Rynil reached the kitchens, he grabbed himself some bread and cheese. He wolfed them down then helped himself to some milk. After finishing his own breakfast, he assembled a tray of food for Sir Luken and Karl, which he gave to Bekka, one of the servant girls. He instructed her to deliver it to their rooms, and wake Karl. Bekka gave him a "Yes M' Lord" and curtseyed, making use of her loose fitting shirt to show off her budding young breasts to the cute young blonde haired noble boy. Rynil smiled, he had long ago given up trying to explain to Bekka that he was unlikely ever to be more than a 'Sir'. After about the third time she did it, he realized she knew better and was just doing it to flirt with him. He did watch her swaying ass as she left carrying the tray of food for Karl and Sir Luken.

Rynil was still worried about Karl, even though he no longer felt Karl was in danger of being seduced by a Demon. The Page was no longer having nightmares, but he was still melancholy and sulked about the Keep. He knew Karl would prefer to spend the entire day in bed, but if he did that, Sir Luken would berate Karl for being lazy, and Rynil for not making Karl get up.

As Rynil left the kitchen, he grabbed an apple. His next stop was the small Temple of the Warrior that was located inside the Keep. When he entered the Temple, he saw Brother Yoris and Acolyte Stefan talking quietly up by the altar. His gaze was drawn to the Stefan as he approached, the Acolyte had bright red hair, a rarity in Selarn, and green eyes that struck Rynil as sad. When the pair heard Rynil approaching, they stopped talking and turned towards him. Stefan's eyes immediately lit up and the fourteen-year-old Priest in training smiled at the twelve-year-old Knight in training. It was Brother Yoris though that spoke, "Good morning Squire Rynil, are you here for a blessing before the tournament?"

"Yes, Brother," said Rynil. It was customary for the Pages, Squires, and Knights to all come and offer a prayer to The Warrior, and receive his blessing before competing in a Tournament.

"Well you are the first to arrive this morning, so yours will be the first blessing of the day, a most fortunate blessing," said Brother Yoris.

"Huh? Do they get weaker as you do more?" asked Rynil naively.

Brother Yoris laughed, "No, I have just been trying to get more people to come earlier to spread it out. Half the Knights like to wait until the last minute, thinking it might wear off. Which it doesn't, the blessings of The Warrior are there for all that seek his aid in battle." Brother Yoris took his position next to the altar and Acolyte Stefan stood a step behind him.

Rynil repeated the words of the standard prayer to The Warrior, "Warrior give me the courage to face my opponents, give me the strength to defeat them, and if today is to be my end, may I prove myself worthy of a place by your side."

"The blessing of The Warrior be upon you, may your courage never falter, your strength never fail, and your valor never waiver," intoned Brother Yoris. Acolyte Stefan stepped forward and rubbed a small amount of blessed oil on Rynil's head. "Go now, young warrior, may your performance today make your family proud," finished Brother Yoris.

"Thank you Brother, thank you Acolyte," said Rynil as he rose. Stefan was still smiling at him. The pair nodded at him, and then he turned to leave. As he was about to exit the Temple, Brother Yoris wished him good luck.

After exiting the Temple, Rynil left the Keep and made the short trek to the main stables. There was a small stable, commonly referred to as 'the Lord's Stable', inside the Keep for the Lord's horses, but the rest of the horses, those belonging to Knights, Squires, and Pages, were stabled outside the Keep. Rynil greeted the grooms as he made his way to his stall. Inside was a large four-year old chestnut colored gelding named Axe. Rynil named the horse for the large axe shaped white patch on its neck. Axe had been a gift to Rynil from Lord Velarik, although the Lord claimed it was a reward for Rynil's bravery in defeating the demon. Gift or reward, Rynil was grateful for a new horse to call his own. He still missed Star, killed by the bandit's crossbow bolt. His father had given him Star four and a half years ago when he had left home to come to Telisan Keep to be a Page.

Rynil played his usual game with Axe, hiding the apple behind his back. The horse knew that Rynil had brought him a treat, since he always brought a treat with him. It reached its head over the stall door and pressed its head into Rynil's side trying to get to the apple. The boy relented and held the apple out for Axe, who grabbed it out of his hand, retreating a step and started chewing the fruit. Rynil knew he was not supposed to get too attached to his horse, but it was a weakness he had. Knights were powerful warriors on horseback, and their horses were often the first casualties when they entered combat. Rynil had already experienced this when the bandits first took out Star and then sought to subdue him. Still, it would likely be years before he saw combat again, so he figured he could afford to get a little attached to Axe.

After Axe finished the apple, Rynil put the tack on the horse; he chose a riding saddle for this morning since it was the easiest to get on the horse, and he was just going for a short ride. Besides the riding saddle, there were also saddles specially designed for jousting and for combat. Once Axe was ready, he walked the horse out of the stable, put his helm on, then mounted and took a ride around the Keep. He enjoyed riding in the morning, it helped him relax and think through what he needed to accomplish that day.

While he was riding, he summoned the sword case and rested it on edge of the saddle in front of him. It was awkward to balance the case in front of him and retrieve the sword while riding, but Rynil managed to get the sword out. He then sent the case back to its hiding place. It was comforting to hold the sword in his hand. Rynil could sense Galaxth's power. Sir Valen had told him that the sword was connected to some plane of magic and would channel magic back to that plane to protect him, but Rynil also felt a special warmth from the sword and holding it energized him. Holding the sword also reminded him of Sir Alred. He missed the old man. Even crippled and lying in bed, Sir Alred taught him more about what being a Knight meant than Sir Luken had. Rynil wondered if his former Knight would approve of the Squire he was becoming, of his relationship with Mikel, and of the decisions he was making to preparing himself for the coming battle.

Rynil knew he needed to make use of each day to prepare himself for what was to come. He stayed within sight of the Keep, since Lord Velarik had insisted that he no longer go wandering any further than that without permission. When Rynil noticed a small crowd starting to gather at the tournament grounds, he summoned the sword case back and reluctantly put Galaxth away before he headed back to the stable. Once he had taken care of Axe and had all the tack put away, he headed over to join the crowd at the tournament grounds.

Wooden posts enclosed the jousting field with a rope forming a fence to keep the spectators out of the field. There was a small pavilion on one side of the field that was usually reserved for the Lord and his family but since the Lord's family was still at the capital, today Lord Velarik, the Lord's Champion, the Chamberlain, Sir Valen, and Sir Luken would sit there. Posts that would eventually be fitted with a rope to form a list divided the jousting field for the opposing jousters. However, before that happened, the field would be used, first by the Pages and then the Squires for their tournaments. The Pages would be competing in a wrestling tournament while the Squires would be fighting duels with wooden swords and shields.

A small tent city of shops and several temporary open-air taverns were erected to host the Knights as well as the townsfolk from Telisan and the surrounding farming villages. The holiday festivals were a time when the nobles and the peasants mixed freely. Rynil stopped by one of the shops and bought a sweet roll, he could afford the occasional treat for himself, especially since the last of his baby fat had melted away over the past few weeks as he added magical training to the demanding physical training of Squires. When he arrived at the tournament field, they were just finishing up with the tournament for the first year Pages. He tossed his helm down at the edge of the field near the pile of wooden swords and shields that were waiting for the start of the Squire's tournament.

Rynil was not particularly interested in the Page's tournaments, so he made his way over to the side of the pavilion to read the posted pairings for the first round of all the day's tournaments. A small crowd of Pages and Squires had gathered around the boards to learn their initial pairings. Rynil pushed his way to the front and examined the list for the first year Squires. It was as he expected, Rynil and Mikel had been ranked at the bottom, based on their finish during the King's Day Tournament. Rynil was surprised to find himself ranked last and Mikel ranked second to last. When he saw their opponents though, he understood.

Ranked first, Squire Johan, the King's Day Tournament winner, would be Rynil's opponent, while Mekrin, who had finished second, would get to face Mikel. By ranking Rynil last, the Lord's Champion had arranged an easier pairing for his nephew Mekrin, who was still hampered by his wounded knee. The Lord's Champion had known that if he kept Mikel ranked last and Rynil ranked second to last, that Rynil would have easily defeated Mekrin. What the Lord's Champion did not know is that Rynil had been training Mikel how to fight with a sword. Rynil believed that Mikel might have a chance to defeat Mekrin, especially if he was willing to take advantage of Mekrin's injury.

"Damn, this is not fair," said a voice from behind Rynil. He turned and saw Johan standing behind him, slightly off to the side. Johan was a muscular young lad, with the typical brown hair and hooked nose of the local Telisan nobility. He was clearly upset at having to face Rynil as his first round opponent. Rynil was afraid that Johan would blame him for his low ranking, since it was a result of his having offered a draw to Mikel during the King's Day Tournament.

"Sir Galreth is obviously favoring Mekrin," said Johan when he saw Rynil turn around and look at him. "Now one of us is going to end up with a crappy work assignment, all because Sir Galreth is playing favorites," continued Johan.

Rynil nodded, "Yes, I noticed that. Mekrin's leg is not fully healed, so Sir Galreth is favoring him." The two boys smiled at each other and shrugged; there was nothing either could do but accept the injustice. "Good fortune to you," offered Rynil.

"To you as well," replied Johan.

Rynil turned away from the pairings and found a spot to watch some of the Page's Tournaments. The second year Pages, boys of nine, were wrestling. Some of the younger Knights were officiating the matches, making sure the boys did not use any dangerous holds and declaring the winners when one of the boys finally managed to pin the other. As he was watching the second year Pages, Rynil noticed Sir Luken arriving. The burned Knight used a cane and slowly made his way to his seat in the pavilion.

A few minutes later, Karl arrived, just in time for the first round of the third year Page's Tournament. Rynil got up and made his way to the edge of the tourney field so he could watch Karl's match. Karl had done well at the King's Day Tournament, so he had a favorable first round pairing against a smaller boy named Randall. As soon as the match begun, Rynil noticed that Karl was being passive and letting Randall go on the attack. Randall made a sloppy dive for Karl's leg that should have been easy for Karl to avoid while presenting an opening for a counter. Instead, Randall was able to wrap up Karl's leg and drive the larger boy to the ground. Karl put up a little resistance, but he was obviously not giving it his best effort. Randall quickly pinned Karl and the Knight judging the fight declared Randall the winner. Karl got up and walked off the field. He did not stop to talk to anyone as he headed back towards the Keep.

Rynil shook his head and frowned. Karl's behavior was unacceptable. A Knight could not let his emotions get the best of him in combat. Losing loved ones was common in times of war and conflict; a Knight had to be able to put all that aside and do his duty. He got up and went to find Karl so he could to talk to him.

When he got to the door to their rooms, Rynil heard Sir Luken yelling at Karl through the door. Sir Luken was berating Karl for his tournament performance. He was yelling that while it was acceptable to be bested by a better opponent, it was blasphemy to lose because he was not even trying. It was an insult to his opponent. It was an insult to all his trainers. It was an insult to the spectators, and most of all, it was an insult to The Warrior. Finally, he said that if Karl was not willing to act like Knight, he was wasting everyone's time and he would be better off leaving. As Rynil opened the door, he heard a loud slap.

When he could see past the door and into the room, he saw Karl down on the ground sitting on his ass and holding the side of his face. Sir Luken turned and gave Rynil a look filled with hatred. The Knight turned back towards the ten-year-old Page, "If that had been a real fight, you would have not have even deserved an honorable death." He then turned and pushed past Rynil to leave the room and head back to the tournament.

Rynil went over to see to Karl, but the boy got up and fled into their bedroom. "Get out! Just leave me alone," shouted Karl. Rynil sighed and left Karl alone. Perhaps he would be able to talk with the distraught Page after the tournaments were over and Karl had a chance to calm down.

The fourth year Page's Tournament was in progress when Rynil made it back to the tournament field. He glanced up at the pavilion and saw that Sir Valen had arrived. He quickly started scanning the crowd looking for Mikel. He spotted the boy's unruly mop of black hair over near the posted pairings.

Mikel was also dressed in a suit of leather armor. It looked new, but Rynil could tell by how easily the boy moved in the leather that it was already broken in. Rynil smiled as he thought about how sexy the young apprentice looked in the armor. It was a nice change from the usual tunic and hose; it made the skinny wizard in training appear tougher. Rynil guessed that Sir Valen knew some spell that would have saved Mikel the discomfort of breaking in a brand new suit of hardened leather armor. Rynil made his way over to where Mikel was examining the pairings.

"Mikel," called Rynil. Mikel had a frown on his face as he turned around, but immediately broke out into a smile when he saw Rynil. "You are facing Mekrin," said Rynil.

"I saw," replied Mikel. "You said I would be fighting Johan," said Mikel.

Rynil snorted. "Sir Galreth is trying to favor Mekrin. Since we tied for last place, it is his discretion as to which one of us he ranked last. But, I think you can beat Mekrin. His leg is still hurting him and it cannot support all of his weight when he lunges. So, if you hang back and make him come to you, his attacks will be weak since he will not have his legs under him properly. Watch his footwork, it will give you chances to get him off balance and vulnerable. Also if you can manage to get a hit in on his wounded knee, the pain may be enough to force him out," advised Rynil.

Mikel frowned, "That doesn't sound like a very honorable way to win."

"True, but now that you are a Squire, you are bound by 'The Code' and if someone questions your honor, you get the right to challenge him to a duel to defend against the insult, which you can easily win since you will have just beaten him. Did your Master not tell you about 'The Code'?" asked Rynil.

"Code? No he didn't and how come I haven't heard about this Code before now?" asked Mikel. He started to panic that there was yet another of set of rules he needed to learn. He did not want a repeat of the Squire Games where the spectators had felt he fought without honor.

"We do not tell the peasants about it. We do not want them using it against us. Besides, it is forty-five volumes and almost none of you peasants can read. I am really surprised you have not already been assigned to read it. Sir Valen is neglecting your 'Noble' education," answered Rynil.

"The Deceiver's got your tongue," said Mikel in disbelief, as he got wise to Rynil's teasing.

"No honest!" claimed Rynil as the corner of his mouth finally started to defy his attempts to maintain a serious expression. Usually Mikel was the one making up wild answers to Rynil's questions to see how long he could keep him believing something absurd. It was easier for Mikel to do it when he answering questions about magic, but occasionally he was able fool Rynil with wild tales about the life of the peasant folk. As he learned more about how magic actually worked and how peasants really lived, Rynil was getting better at not falling for Mikel's made up stories.

Mikel noticed the change in Rynil's expression, "Not only does the Deceiver got your tongue, but he used it to hold your mouth open and stuff it with horseshit!" Both boys broke out laughing at Rynil fooling Mikel for a change.

"Yeah, but it distracted you for a bit. By the way, while there is not a formal code, there are a lot of customs, and one of those customs is that you do not complain about an opponent taking advantage of an injury. That is because another custom is that you are not to compete if you are injured. So, if Mekrin wants to compete, he will not admit he is injured. Unless it is so obvious that the Knight judging the duel has to step in, everyone will just pretend there was no injury to take advantage of" explained Rynil.

"But still isn't it a bit dishonorable to exploit an injury?" asked Mikel.

"What injury?" smirked Rynil, "Ask him, he will tell you he is fine."

"Really?" asked Mikel, wondering if Rynil was trying to trick him again.

"Trust me on this one; you will see," promised Rynil.

"You still going to honor the terms of our bet even though our pairings are reversed?" asked Mikel.

Rynil smiled, "Yes."

"Good, now we both have a chance to win," said Mikel as he returned the smile.

"Oh with this kind of wager, we were always both going to win," said Rynil, making Mikel blush.

Sir Galreth called for all the first year Squires to assemble on the tourney field. Rynil and Mikel headed to the center of the field with the rest of the Squires, picking up wooden swords and shields, along with Rynil's helm, before lining up in their respective pairings. As Rynil was facing off against Johan, he glanced over to his right where Mikel and Mekrin were preparing to fight and gave Mikel an encouraging smile.

"If anyone Squire is injured, he must withdraw now. Is there anyone that needs to withdraw?" asked Sir Galreth. Mekrin frowned but did not give any other response to the question. Rynil turned to his right and flashed Mikel an 'I told you' smile.

Sir Galreth gave a quick summary of the rules. This tournament was scored using points for touches, rather than the beating your foe into incapacity system that was used in the Mid Summer's or King's Day Tournaments. Landing a solid blow was worth various points depending on where it connected. A blow to a limb was worth one point, to the torso was two points, and head shot was worth three points. The first Squire to earn five points won the duel and advanced.

"Any questions?" asked Sir Galreth. None of the Squires responded. "Very well, at your Judge's command," said Sir Galreth, turning control over to the Knights that were acting as judges for the pairings. Sir Kendrik was acting as Judge for Rynil's match with Johan while Sir Ulmar was acting as Judge for Mikel's match with Mekrin.

Rynil tensed and readied himself. He looked at Johan and saw the boy was staring back at him, ready to spring into action. Rynil fought the urge to glance over at Mikel once more before the fight begun. Johan was a very quick and clever fighter so Rynil knew he would need to keep his attention focused on him. One of the Judges three pairings away, said "begin" and many of the boys started, even though that was not their judge. Rynil and Johan both responded as well leaping forward and making faints followed quickly by their Judge, Sir Kendrik, signaling to begin.

The first round matches were usually the longest. All the boys were rested and fresh. For several minutes the field was filled with a cacophony of clatter as wooden swords struck each other or were blocked by a wooden shield. Rynil and Johan both attacked sparingly trying to let the other take the initiative and waste their energy. Neither boy wanted to be the first to tire. Soon calls of "touch" begun to be shouted out.

To Rynil's right, Sir Ulmar called out a touch. Before he could think, Rynil started to glance over towards Mikel and Mekrin's fight. Realizing what he was doing he stopped and looked back to where Johan's sword was already hurtling towards him. Rynil reflexively jerked his shield up to try to block the oncoming blow. Anticipating that Rynil would over react, Johan's sword went low and smacked Rynil hard in the leg. "Touch" shouted Sir Kendrik.

Rynil stepped back and gave Johan a salute. Johan returned the salute. Sir Kendrik said "One point Johan," and held up one finger on his right hand. "Continue."

The two boys traded more blows as they shifted back and forth. Soon Sir Ulmar called out a touch next to them. Rynil again started to look in that direction but, also lunged forward with his sword. He struck Johan in the chest while blocking Johan's sword with his shield, which he had kept low.

"Touch" called out Sir Kendrik. "Two points Rynil," he said, then raised two fingers on his left hand. The boys saluted each other. "Continue," instructed Sir Kendrik. When Sir Ulmar called out another touch, neither boy flinched but instead they both smiled at each other. They continued to strike at each other, trying to find some break or momentary vulnerability. The shouts of "touch" around them lessened as most of the other fights concluded. Sir Kendrik kept pressing them to pick up the pace.

Finally, Johan footing slipped a little and his shield was just a bit too slow as his arm grew tired; Rynil's sword connected with Johan's shoulder. "Touch" called Sir Kendrik. He raised another finger on his left hand, "One point Rynil, now at three, Johan at one." The boys saluted each other, "Continue."

Rynil noticed Johan was flexing and rotating his shield arm, trying to work some feeling back into it. He jumped forward and launched into a series of attacks seeking to test Johan's shield arm. As he suspected it was a little slow responding. Rynil sought to exploit the vulnerability and made an attack to get up over Johan's slow shield arm. Johan's shield suddenly reacted lightning fast and he blocked Rynil's attack while bringing his own sword across and striking a glancing blow to Rynil 's leather helm. "Touch," called out Sir Kendrik. Rynil glared across at Johan, who smiled back. "Three points Johan, now at four, Rynil at three." The boys saluted, "Continue."

The boys traded blows for another minute then Rynil, not wanting to give Johan time to lay another trap, took the initiative and started driving Johan backward. He pressed forward hard and sought to prevent Johan from regaining any ground he lost. Eventually Johan ran out of room and felt the rope defining the edge of the tournament field brush up against his back. Rynil's sword came in overhand and Johan blocked it with his own sword. The force of the stroke drove Johan's sword down, so he moved his shield to protect against Rynil trying to strike him when he brought his sword back up. Instead, Rynil swung his own shield high and over Johan's lowered shield, hitting Johan in the side of the head with it. "Touch and winner!" shouted Sir Kendrik.

"Huzzah!" shouted Mikel from behind Rynil.

"Well fought," said Johan as he gave Rynil one last salute.

"You as well," replied Rynil as he returned the salute. He then took off his helm and quickly turned to Mikel, who had waited out on the field after his own match was finished, "Did you win?"

33 – Mikel

Mikel paced around the main room of the Tower. He ran out of things to do to keep himself occupied while waiting for Sir Valen to escort him to the tournament field. The first thing he did this morning was dress in his suit of hardened leather armor. He already used his magic to make sure it was polished and looking like new for the tournament. Mikel had worn it constantly since Sir Valen had given it too him a month ago, only taking it off before Rynil was due to visit for their training sessions. He felt a little awkward wearing it, as if he was playing dress up, so had hidden it from Rynil. He was afraid that Rynil would think he looked funny in it.

Once he was dressed, he went upstairs. He found a breakfast of bacon, hard-boiled eggs, fruit, and bread laid out on the table for him. He alternated between taking a bite to eat and practicing his fighting footwork. He knew he did not have a chance to beat Squire Johan, his opponent for the first pairing, but he was hopeful that he could at least make a decent showing in the fight. Rynil was sure that if Mikel just showed he had put effort into learning how to fight like the rest of the boys, it would earn him some respect with them.

There was little else to occupy him once he was finished eating. He paced and practiced his footwork. Finally, Mikel heard footsteps on the stairs. "Apprentice, I assume you are ready to depart for the tournament," said Sir Valen as he entered the room.

"Yes, Master," responded Mikel as he picked his helm up off the table and bounded to the door. While Mikel wished Sir Valen would have just magically teleported them to the tournament field, the walk down there did not take very long. When they reached the pavilion they parted ways with Sir Valen wishing him good fortune before going to take his seat.

Mikel looked around for Rynil, but did not see the Squire's blonde head anywhere, so he went to go check on the pairings. He saw that he was matched up against Mekrin and frowned. Mekrin hated Mikel since they first met, and Mikel was sure that Mekrin taking a crossbow bolt to the knee when the two of them had rushed the demon's henchman, while Mikel escaped unhurt, had not improved the boy's opinion of him. He suspected that Mekrin's hatred of him had grown since then, although he had not seen or talked to the Squire since the incident. Perhaps Sir Galreth had changed the rankings so that Mekrin could get revenge on Mikel. Perhaps Mekrin was going to try to hurt him during their match.

Mikel heard someone calling his name and turned around to see Rynil standing behind him. He immediately smiled when he saw his friend. Mikel was nervous about the upcoming tournament, but Rynil explained why Sir Galreth had changed the rankings. Then he gave Mikel some advice on how to beat Mekrin. Finally, Rynil distracted him for a bit, even getting him to worry about some formal code. The next thing he knew, Sir Galreth, the Lord's Champion, was summoning them to the field to begin the tournament. Mikel put on his helm and followed Rynil out onto the field, picking up a sword and shield with the other first year Squires.

Mikel lined up opposite Mekrin, while Sir Ulmar stood off to the side, waiting to act as the Judge for their duel. Rynil and Johan were to Mikel's left. Sir Galreth asked if anyone was injured and needed to withdraw. Mikel glanced across at Mekrin, who scowled briefly but said nothing. Mikel turned and caught Rynil giving him an 'I told you so' smirk. All too soon, Sir Galreth was done explaining the rules. Mikel turned back to face Mekrin and extended his sword in salute. Nearby, one of the Knights acting as a Judge called out "Begin" to his charges and most of the young Squires rushed to attack. Caught off guard, Mikel was barely able to get his shield up in time to block Mekrin's attack. "Begin," called out Sir Ulmar.

Mikel struggled as he tried to remember everything that Rynil tried to teach him in the last few weeks. Mekrin had him on the defensive and it was not long before Mekrin's sword slipped past his shield and struck him in the shoulder. "Touch," called out Sir Ulmar. He held up two fingers, "Two points Mekrin." They saluted each other, then Sir Ulmar motioned with his hand and said, "Continue."

Mikel gave up on trying to remember everything Rynil had told him and instead just watched Mekrin and reacted. Mekrin again immediately attacked. Mikel noticed that, rather than using a sideways stance, with his shield side in the front, Mekrin was using an open stance with his shoulders square. Mekrin's attacks seemed quicker, but less powerful than he remembered Rynil's being in training. After a blocking a couple of attacks, Mikel figured out the reason they were less powerful. Mekrin could not push off from his right leg, because of his wounded knee. Normally, a Squire would have his left shoulder forward and the shield providing cover. Then, when he would attack, he would extend forward off his back right leg and attack with the sword. But, Mekrin's right leg could not support his full weight in a lunge, so he was only taking a small step when he attacked, which limited his reach.

The next time Mekrin attacked, Mikel stepped back out of his reach instead of blocking the blow. Mekrin stumbled a bit as he had expected his sword and his momentum to be stopped by Mikel's parry. Mikel took advantage and was able to land a blow on Mekrin's sword arm. Sir Ulmar called out the hit and awarded a point to Mikel. Mekrin glared at Mikel as the two boys reset themselves to their starting positions and saluted each other. "Continue," barked Sir Ulmar.

Mikel remembered all the time Rynil spent drilling him on his footwork. The young fighter had always been shoving him with his shield and knocking him off balance whenever Mikel would forget his footwork. When Mekrin attacked this time Mikel stepped into the attack and parried with his sword and banging his shield against Mekrin's shield. This knocked Mekrin backward and his right leg buckled. Mikel's sword sliced across quickly and struck Mekrin's helmet. "Touch, three points. Mikel has four points, Mekrin two," called out Sir Ulmar. Mekrin fell to the ground and grabbed his right knee. Mikel stepped back, unsure of what to do.

Sir Ulmar stepped over to Mekrin, "Are you alright Squire?"

"Yes Sir, I will be fine," said Mekrin. He grimaced as he got back up to his feet and picked up his sword and shield. He hobbled back to his starting position, supporting almost all of his weight on his left leg. The boys saluted each other and Sir Ulmar gave the signal to resume.

Mekrin did not go on the attack this time. He stood in a guard position and just waited. Mikel made a couple feints, and then lunged forward, his sword slicing low towards Mekrin's left leg which could not be quickly moved out of the way. Mekrin whipped his sword across aiming for Mikel's head, but the peasant boy's lunge was a little deeper than Mekrin had expected and his wooden sword just nicked the top of Mikel's helmet. Meanwhile, Mikel's sword struck Mekrin's leg. "Touch, one point Mikel. Squire Mikel wins five points to two," declared Sir Ulmar.

"I hit him, it should be a draw," whined Mekrin.

"Your strike did not score, it was not a solid hit," explained Sir Ulmar, his tone indicating the issue was not open to further debate.

Mikel stood there in shock for a moment, not believing he had actually won. Mekrin limped off the field, not bothering to salute or congratulate his opponent. Mikel heard the clash of wooden swords, realized Rynil was still fighting, and waited out on the field watching as Rynil and Johan fought. Eventually Rynil managed to prevail. "Huzzah!" cheered Mikel.

Rynil and Johan exchanged a final salute and complemented each other. Rynil took off his helm, turned towards Mikel and asked, "Did you win?"

Mikel stood there for a second speechless, just staring at the sight of the beautiful blonde boy, his sweaty hair clinging to his brow. It dawned on him that they had both won the wager. "Yes! You still going to honor our bet?" asked Mikel.

Rynil blushed. Mikel thought the blonde boy looked even cuter when his cheeks turned red. "I will if you will," said Rynil.

"Well since we both won our first match, who will get to go first?" asked Mikel.

"How about whoever wins the most pairings," suggested Rynil.

"So you mean you get to go first," responded Mikel smirking.

Rynil smiled, "Well, yeah, unless you got a better idea."

"No. Considering until a couple minutes ago I didn't figure I'd get a turn at any time soon, that's fine," said Mikel.

Rynil smiled slyly, "I was always going to let you try it too. The bet is really just an excuse."

"Well, if you weren't going to let me I was going to use a spell to enchant you so that I could have my way with you. I already learned one that will make you do whatever I want," said Mikel.

"Yeah, I know. I think you cast that on me long ago," smiled Rynil.

Mikel almost reached out to pull Rynil into a hug and kiss the beautiful boy, but he remembered they were standing in the middle of the tournament field. That fact was brought home when Sir Galreth called out to the victors of the first round pairings to come to the center of the field for their second round pairings. There had been twelve boys fighting in six pairings during the first round, so there were six boys left for the second round. The Lord's Champion started calling off their names and pairing them together. He looked over at Mikel and Rynil, and smirked before he announced, "Squire Mikel will fight Squire Rynil."

The two boys looked at each other. Rynil gave Mikel an apologetic look, while Mikel gave a resigned nod then smiled back. They could not even fault Sir Galreth for pairing them since he was supposed to pair the best and the worst in each round, so that barring any upsets the best half of the fighters would advance each round.

They put their helms on and took their places. Sir Ulmar was serving as their Judge. They saluted, and then Sir Ulmar signaled for them to begin. Mikel held his guard position while Rynil advanced slowly. They exchanged a couple basic attacks that the other was easily able to block then riposte. It reminded Mikel of their training sessions in that Mikel was pushing his skills to their limit while Rynil was barely trying. "Stop going easy on me or our bet is off," said Mikel.

"You sure you are ready? I do not want to hurt you," said Rynil.

"Yes, I'm ready. You aren't going to break me; I can handle a bit of pain," replied Mikel, not quite sure if they were talking about the duel, the bet, or both.

"Squires, stop talking. Start fighting. We do not have all day," barked Sir Ulmar.

Rynil leapt forward and Mikel realized how much the young warrior had been holding back during their training sessions. Rynil's sword was a blur as it quickly knocked his own sword out of position then slapped against his rib cage. Mikel tried his best, but the duel was quickly over as Rynil slapped Mikel again in the torso then in his arm to get the five points need for victory. Rynil gave Mikel a guilty look as they saluted each other after the fight.

Rynil accompanied Mikel over to where the wooden swords and shields were piled, waiting to be used by the next set of Squires after the first year Squires were done. "Sorry" he said to Mikel.

Mikel reached over and put his hand on Rynil's shoulder, "Don't worry about it Rynil, I don't need to be as good a fighter as you. I have other ways to protect myself." He then gathered a tiny bit of magical energy and used it to send an electrical spark from his hand into Rynil's shoulder.

"Ouch," exclaimed Rynil as the electric jolt surprised him, making him jump and drop his sword. "That hurt," he said as he frowned at Mikel.

"Good, I'd rather have you mad at me then feeling sorry for me," said Mikel. "Don't worry, I'll kiss it and make it all better after you win the tournament," promised Mikel.

Rynil gave Mikel a sly smile, "Well the jolt went straight to my dick and it hurts too."

It was a couple minutes before the other two duels were finished. Sir Galreth told Rynil that he was getting a pass on this round since he deemed him the best fighter of the three remaining Squires. Mikel had to leave the tournament field while Rynil waited the outcome of the between Squires Tresen and Marton. The two boys were evenly matched and their fight was close, with Squire Tresen eventually prevailing five to four.

The tournament rules allowed Squire Tresen a moment to rest before he and Rynil faced off in the final. Sir Kendrik stepped forward to serve as judge for their fight. Their fight did not last that long, it was anti-climatic compared to the close duel between Rynil and Johan. Squire Tresen was taller than Rynil with a longer reach, but Rynil was stronger and more skilled. After a long exchange, Rynil finally landed a blow on Tresen's arm. Tresen was able to respond and get a shot in on Rynil's leg.

Mikel noticed Rynil smile as he resumed his starting position. The two exchanged a couple quick attacks and counters, their swords were moving two fast for Mikel to track when Rynil scored a hit to Tresen's ribs as Tresen's sword struck Rynil's arm. Sir Kendrik ruled both hits valid, so Rynil led four to two. It only took another minute before Rynil was able to land a blow on Tresen's leg to win the fight. The pair saluted each other and then Sir Galreth declared Rynil the victor of the tournament.

Rynil and Tresen dropped off their swords and shields then Rynil approached the Lord's pavilion. He pulled off his helm and bowed to the Lord Velarik. The Lord stood and smiled at Rynil, "Congratulations on your victory, Squire Rynil. You have been blessed by the Warrior this day and brought honor to yourself and your family. I salute you and all your brothers." He thrust his fist out in salute. He picked up a laurel wreath that was resting next to him. He walked down, crowned Rynil with it, and handed him a small coin pouch.

"Thank you My Lord," said Rynil. He returned the salute then bowed again. Lord Velarik returned to his seat while Rynil headed over to where Mikel and his fellow Squires were waiting. Mikel wanted to reach out and hug him, but he held back in front of the other boys. They showed no such hesitation as the rest of the group congratulated Rynil, giving him hugs and slaps on the back. The group of first year Squires formed a small mob that moved off the field and down towards the fair with Rynil in the center. Mikel followed, not quite sure what was happening.

Mikel felt someone's arm on his shoulder. "Come on, you are expected to join us," said Mekrin. He gave Mikel a little push and the pair followed the other Squires. Mekrin supported some of his weight on Mikel as his knee was obviously still hurting from their duel. "Congratulations on beating me today. I hope you realize that if I had been at full strength, you would not have stood a chance," said Mekrin.

"Yeah, I know," answered Mikel, wary of the boy that had shown him nothing but loathing and contempt. "Where is everyone going?" he asked.

"It is tradition that the winner of each Squire's Tournament buys a round for all his fellow Squires. You may have learned a little bit about fighting, but you still have a lot to learn about being a Squire," answered Mekrin.

The first year Squires destination was one of the makeshift taverns, where they were obviously expected, since there was a table waiting for them and as soon as a Squire sat down a serving wench placed a mug of ale down in front him. It seemed as if there was a predetermined seating arraignment. The boys that won their first round fight sitting on one side with Rynil at the far end, and next to him Tresen, and then Marton next to Tresen. Johan sat across from Rynil and Mikel saw that all the Squires were talking seats opposite their first round opponent.

"Unfortunately we are at the far end of the table as it is pretty obvious we were the worst of the field today, but at least you get to sit on the winner's side of the table," said Mekrin.

Once everyone was seated and had a mug of ale, Rynil stood up and lifted his mug, "We started the day as foes, but now that our tournament is over let us end the day as friends once again. I may have won this day, but you all fought bravely and with honor, so, my brothers, let us all share in the prize. Huzzah!"

Mikel saw the other boys raising the mugs and he followed their lead. "Huzzah!" they called out in near unison and took a drink.

Mikel looked across at Mekrin, who was taking a long drink from his mug. He had a pained expression on his face when he finally looked over at Mikel. "I was wrong about you Mikel. You may be a peasant and you may end up being a wizard, but you deserve to be a Squire. I am sorry for how I behaved towards you when you first became a Squire," said Mekrin. He gestured to the other boys at the table, "Most of the boys here would have panicked and shit themselves, when confronted by that demon and his men, but Rynil, you, and I did what needed to be done. You and Rynil are not half bad for a couple of peasants." Mekrin winked at Mikel and raised his mug to him.

"Uh, thanks I guess," answered Mikel as he raised his mug. They clinked their mugs together then took a drink. The two boys looked awkwardly at each other across the table for a second. Mikel glanced over towards Rynil and saw him looking at him and Mekrin with a quizzical expression. Mikel smiled at Rynil and raised his mug toward his friend. Rynil returned the smile and the toast. The two locked eyes as they took a drink.

"You do know that once he becomes a Knight, his father is going to arrange for Rynil to marry some noble girl, and once you are done with your apprenticeship to Sir Valen, you will be sent to the capital to serve there with the other War Mages?" asked Mekrin.

"Huh?" responded Mikel turning back to Mekrin.

"Like I said, you still have a lot to learn about being a Squire and a noble. Our lives are not our own. We serve the King and our families. It is common for Squires to fool around with each other and have some fun before we become Knights, but we know better than to fall in love or think about spending our lives together. Rynil certainly knows better. He is very popular and is in demand as a bedmate by a lot of the other Squires. He even fooled around with Sir Alek after the feast celebrating King's Day. You are lucky, you get to have sex with him so often; enjoy it while it lasts, because in a few years you two will be lucky to see each other again. Maybe once every couple years Rynil will visit the capital for a tournament or something. He will become a Knight and have a Squire of his own to take care of his needs," explained Mekrin.

"Yeah, Rynil's got a nice cock and gives a great blowjob," said Squire Grener, who sat next to Mikel and had overheard their conversation. "Did he make a bet with you before your match? Do you have to let him fuck you now?" he asked Mikel.

Mikel was shocked, "What? How did you know about that?"

Mekrin laughed. "It is a bit of a tradition. Many of the Squires do it, makes the tournament a bit more fun. I did not make the offer to you because, well given our history, I figured you would not be receptive to it, heh, pardon the pun."

"Yeah, I cannot wait to fuck Rodrik," said Squire Grener, nodding to the boy sitting across the table from him.

Mikel looked over towards Rynil. He saw Rynil and Tresen leaning in close to each other, they each had an arm draped over the others shoulder, and they were whispering to each other. Mekrin was right, Rynil was just using him for sex and would leave him to get married. Tears started to form in Mikel's eyes. He knew it was too good to be true that a boy like Rynil could actually care about someone like him.

"You okay Mikel?", asked Mekrin as he reached across the table and put his hand on top of Mikel's. Mikel looked up at him, struggling to contain the emotions that were on the verge of overtaking him. "By the Gods, did you actually think Rynil loved you? I am so sorry Mikel."

Mikel could not let the others see him cry. He pulled his hand away from Mekrin then got up from the table and rushed out of the tavern.

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