Legacy 4
by Redkage
The sun had yet to come over the horizon in the kingdom of Elterra, and Alron had already gotten out of bed and washed his face. He always woke up early in the morning, and even though he had stayed up last night due to the ball, he wasn’t about to change that anytime soon. After all, if he slept in he wouldn’t be able to see the beautiful sunrise. Even though he had been living in the castle for ten days, he still found himself in awe at the sunlight creeping across the forests and fields until it finally landed upon the city. Looking outside the window, he couldn’t help but think he was gazing at a masterful painting of the landscape.
The scene was serene and peaceful, yet there was something missing. It only took him a moment to realize that it was too quiet. Every morning Jasper would be in the gardens down below and playing his flute. This morning, however, he was nowhere to be seen. Although it was normal for people to break their routine from time to time, especially after a grueling night of cleaning up and making formal apologies, Alron couldn’t help but feel curious as to the reason.
Throwing on his robes, Alron headed out to visit Jasper. “Let’s see, his quarters were in the north western wing, if I remember correctly.” Even though the Palace was huge, it was still easy to navigate thanks to its organized sections.
As Alron approached Jasper's room, he saw that there were people running in and out, and there was a small crowd of servants and officials waiting in the hallway. Now beginning to become worried, Alron quickly pushed past everyone and managed to make his way to Jasper’s room.
“Jasper?” Alron knocked on the door as he entered.
Jasper’s quarters was large, solidly built and well crafted, and yet the decor was simple and humble, just like the man. There were no fancy ornaments, pointless draperies or ornaments, just the bare essentials such as a desk, a closet and cabinets. Jasper himself was lying on his bed, surrounded by a dozen physicians.
“Jasper, are you alright?”
Jasper looked rather pale and wheezed with every breath. “Like I’ve been telling these old fools, of course I'm alright! Now let me out of–” He was cut off when he fell into coughing.
“You are certainly NOT alright.” Alron reached forward and pressed his palms against Jasper's forehead and chest. Although it looked pretty ordinary, he was actually scanning his body. After five seconds he pulled back. “It’s nothing serious, just a small case of the flu.”" For a moment there he thought he had felt a trace of magic behind it, but knowing Jasper he must’ve tried to heal himself with his limited knowledge and failed.
“Then tell these people to let me go do my duties already!” Jasper glared at the doctors, then threw another coughing fit.
“That I cannot do,” Alron shook his head. “Even if it’s not serious, you still need to rest.”
“I can rest later,” Jasper pushed himself up, “I have too many things to do to.”
Alron didn’t bother to argue as he pressed his hand against Jasper’s forehead once again and cast a sleeping spell. Jasper’s eyes drooped, but still he refused to lie back in bed.
“You’re definitely my former student to be able to resist my spell this much.” Alron smiled fondly at him.
“You don’t understand…” Jasper said drowsily as the spell got even stronger. “If I don’t…Tyrune…”
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause too much trouble.” Alron reassured him. “Now, sleep.”
Unable to fight it any longer, Jasper’s eyes closed, and he fell back into bed already snoring lightly. After tucking him in, Alron pulled out four polished stones from his pockets and placed one at each corner of the bed. He then said, “Until the setting of today’s sun, keep Jasper bound within these stones, I command thee in the name of The Enlightened One.” Alron looked turned towards the nearest doctor and handed him a small vial. “The spell will keep him sedated until lunch time. When he wakes up, give him some broth with one…no, three drops of this to put him back to sleep again.”
“What about…?” His eyes wandered over towards the stones.
“That’s just a special spell that’ll keep Jasper in bed,” Alron said. “Knowing him, he’d actually crawl out and try to go to work in his sleep. Now, go inform everyone before the rumor becomes even wilder.”
“At once, Master Alron.” The physician bowed before leaving.
“Now then,” Alron smoothed out his robes. “I think it’s high time that ‘His Majesty’ learns of his duties for the day.”
From Jasper’s room, it didn’t take long for Alron to reach the royal bedchamber. It was rather easy to spot, seeing it had a very ornate pair of heavy double doors that stood out. Grabbing the handles, he tried to open the doors but found they were stuck fast and barred from the other side. Alron considered pounding on the door and yelling, but why cause so much of a ruckus? He chanted while running his hand on the wood in a large circle. When he was done, he actually stepped through the door itself like a ghost and entered the room.
The first thing that struck Alron as he went in was the smell. It took an enormous amount of willpower to keep himself from gagging at the overpowering musk. A little could be quite arousing to a normal person, but this was simply overpowering. Just how could anyone stand living in this kind of stench? It would probably take years to air out this room properly.
Inside it was dark since the curtains were still closed. The royal bedchamber might’ve once been a rather beautiful room, but now it seemed rather…well, even Alron couldn’t think of a word to describe it. If anything, it looked like the room of a barbarian brute. There were pieces of armor and mail shirts casually tossed about and racks holding different kinds of heavy looking weapons. On the shelves were a collection of different kinds of ale tankards along with several bottles of rare alcohol with most of them nearly empty and also, oddly, objects like marbles, small toys and random seeming objects that would belong in a child’s toychest. In the center of the room was a bed so massive ten people could sleep comfortably with plenty of space. However, the bed contained only a single, oversized, snoring lump under the covers.
With a flick of his fingers, all the curtains opened to allow the blinding light to pour in. Tyrune involuntarily flinched and groaned as he burrowed himself deeper under his covers.
“Rise and shine Your Majesty.” Alron said as he walked over to the bed. “You have a long day ahead of you.”
The big lump just grumbled something barely audible. “Go away…” he said groggily.
“That I can’t do, Your Majesty.” Alron said as he grabbed a hold of the blanket. “Today you’ll be getting a taste of what a real king has to deal with.” When he finished speaking, he yanked the covers off of Tyrune.
It was then that Alron discovered that His Majesty, King Tyrune of Elterra, slept in the nude.
Once again, Alron was graced with the sight of Tyrune’s bare torso. Tyrune’s broad shoulders and lats took much space on the bed, and his chest looked like mountains from the way he was lying, with 8 abdominal hills in their shadow. However, even though Alron had seen Tyrune’s upper body on several occasion, he hadn’t had the chance to take a look at the lower body. True, there had been that one time in the baths, but he had been in such a fury that Alron didn’t take notice of it. Now, however, Alron could see the individual heads of those tree trunk thighs, the magnificent swell of the calves.
And also a foot long one eyed monster lying dormant.
Immediately Tyrune bolted upright and grabbed a pillow to cover his privates. “Do you mind!?” he snapped.
“It’s not as if it’s something I haven’t seen before,” Alron told him. “I’ve seen plenty of men naked many times.”
“That’s not the point!” Tyrune grabbed another pillow and threw it at Alron, who dodged it easily. “What the hell are you doing in here? I thought I locked the door!”
“Locked doors mean very little to a Master Arcane Wizard,” Alron informed him. “If you’ll just apply yourself to your studies, you will learn many spells that you can use for any situation you can think of.”
The only spells I wanna think of are ones to shut you up. Alron heard Tyrune’s thought inside his head.
In a split second, Tyrune was suddenly vaulted off the bed and suspended upside down in the air. “Hey!” Tyrune yelled. “Put me down!”
“You’d best learn some manners soon, for your sake,” Alron reprimanded him. “Now then, will you be a big boy and dress yourself, or do I have to do it for you?”
Tyrune began to open his mouth for another hot retort, paused, and then grumbled. “I’ll change myself,” he growled in a low voice. “So put me down already.”
So he can learn after all, Alron noted with a smirk as he gently set Tyrune back down onto the bed. “I’ll see to your breakfast, so make sure you’re all dressed and ready when I come back.”
“Fine, I got it. Now get out!” Tyrune said impatiently.
His smile broadening, Alron slipped out the same way he slipped in and took three steps towards the kitchen.
“Watch out!”
Half a second later the crystal chandelier that had been suspended above him crashed into his hastily constructed shield spell just an inch above his head. After Alron jumped out of its way, the chandelier resumed its descent and struck the ground.
“Are you okay, sir?” the servant who had shouted the warning went up to Alron.
“Yes, thank you.” Alron nodded gratefully. If the warning had come just a moment later…
The man inspected the wrecked object. “It looks like the ceiling broke apart from the weight,” he observed. “I suppose in an old castle accidents such as this begins to occur.”
“I suppose so,” Alron agreed.
“I’ll have the repairman handle this, as well as submit a request to test the foundations and structure to prevent further accidents like this from occurring,” the servant said more to himself than to Alron.
“Please do,” Alron said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go arrange His Majesty’s breakfast.”
“What are we doing here?” Tyrune asked as Alron made him sit in the small, uncomfortable seat behind the desk. The chair squealed in protest at the amount of weight put on top of it, but amazingly it held.
“Jasper is sick today, so you’ll have to resume your duties.” Alron stressed the word ‘your’ in order to remind the big brat just whose work Jasper was always dealing with. Tyrune may be king in name, but the one who really managed the kingdom was Jasper. Alron was hoping this was enough to knock some responsibility into that thick skull.
To his surprise, Tyrune gave the briefest of mumbles before diving into the huge stack of files. Alron hadn’t even known if Tyrune could even read, and yet here he was, leafing through the files and mentally taking note of everything. It wasn’t long until the first official came knocking.
“Your Majesty,” he said, acting surprised to actually find Tyrune sitting in Jasper’s chair, “I have urgent business that needs to be attended to.”
“I’m sure you do,” Tyrune replied calmly. “Out with it.”
The official blinked. “Pardon?”
Alron watched as Tyrune’s eyes rolled upwards. “What is it that needs to be taken care of?”
“Err, this is really something Jasper should look into,” he started.
“Well Jasper is sick today, so I’ll be taking over in the meanwhile. Now out with it!”
The official jumped, obviously not willing to defy the orders of a seven foot tall man with a short temper much less his liege. “Well, Your Majesty, the dragonborns are beginning to become rowdy and dissatisfied with their quadrant. The lizard men want to expand into the surrounding areas with or without our consent.”
“Have another tavern built near the back of their territory.” Tyrune told him. “That’ll keep them satisfied until hunting season kicks in again.”
The official was taken aback from the response, but after thinking it over he realized it would work. Perhaps it was a bit crude, but still a usable idea. “I’ll contact the carpenters right away.”
“You do that,” he told him coolly. After that was done, Tyrune turned towards Alron, who was looking straight at him. “What?” he demanded.
“Oh, nothing.” Alron replied, still a bit stunned at what he just witnessed. Was this the same Tyrune?
After the news of Tyrune sitting in for Jasper spread, it didn’t take long for all of the heads, directors and officials to start crowding the tiny office, each of them clamoring urgency and waving documents in the air.
“Your Majesty, please look at this. It’s important that this be completed immediately!” One official practically shoved his sheet into Tyrune’s face.
Taking it, Tyrune gave it the briefest glances before tossing it into the always growing pile of papers. “A bill for trade can wait at least a week before it needs to be reviewed. Now Silvo, according to these records the Duke of Korridum has already filed eleven previous taxes on different things.”
“All of the taxes are within restricted guidelines, Your Majesty,” the man told him.
“By themselves the taxes are bearable, but when all of them are taken together, it would drive the average hard working farmer to eating their shoes and tree bark for food.” Tyrune frowned thoughtfully. “Rescind the taxes on coarse flour, dairy products and beans immediately. It’s not much at the moment, but at least it’ll get them to start eating again. Have someone look into the Duke’s accounts, and also send in an investigation team to see where the duke’s money goes. If it turns out he’s being too irresponsible and exploiting the people, then remove his title and have him arrested.”
“At once Your Majesty.” The man bowed and left, and another man appeared in his place.
“Your Majesty, the villagers of Dolmar wants approval to cut down parts of the Dolmar forests.”
“Why would they want to do that?” Tyrune inquired.
“They wish to cultivate more farmlands, sire.”
“They should have enough lands to make a nice profit. Is there any valid reason for the deforestation?”
“The harvests of that area have been declining every year. Even though they work just as hard from dawn until dusk, the crops do not produce the same amount as it did before. At this rate, they’ll soon cross the borderline towards poverty.”
Tyrune went silent for a while, astounding Alron yet again. “Hmm, you said they’re working the same, correct? Do they plant the same crops in the same fields year after year?”
“Unless my information is incorrect, yes, that is the case.”
“That’s their problem,” Tyrune told him. “They’re exhausting the land by planting the same crops over and over again. They should have revitalized the soil ages ago. Tell them to plant two-thirds of their lands with clover and beans and one for their crops. When the new season comes, they’ll need to rotate it so that each third will have two cycles of rest before it’s used again.”
“The farmers won’t like the idea of smaller crops,” the man said hesitantly.
“They don’t have to like it; it’s a royal decree,” Tyrune told him. “They may whine and complain, but in the long run it’ll save their butts. Still, if they really need some immediate help give some basic food staples to the lower class who qualifies. Once they’re breaking even again moderately tax them until they pay us back what they owe.”
“I’ll get on it right away, Your Majesty.”
And just as Tyrune was about to take a breather, an impatient man burst into the room and held out a scroll. “Your Majesty, please sign this quickly!”
Tyrune glanced up at it, then waved it away. “Denied.”
“Your Majesty, you can’t deny this!” the man cried out. “This bill is vital to promote…”
“Your family?” Tyrune raised his head and arched an eyebrow. “Don’t take me for a fool. This bill clearly states that the Crown will give the Manford House leverage over vital decision making concerning changes in the market prices. If you take me for a complete fool to just sign this without knowing what it says, then perhaps a demotion to the scullery is in order.”
The man’s eyes bugged out. “P-please forgive my behavior, it won’t happen again!”
“It better not.” Tyrune muttered. “Next!”
Alron watched the whole thing from the side, amazed. When he brought the boy into this room, he had only wanted to allow him to flounder under all the pressure of being a real king before jumping in to help him. Instead, Alron was the one to be taken by surprise. He never would have expected Tyrune to actually be good at ruling. Gods, Tyrune even sounded like intelligent! For a moment, Alron actually saw Tyrune as a real, grown man instead of a troublemaking spoiled teenager.
Perhaps there was hope for him yet.
“Stand aside!” commanded a loud, voice.
All noise inside the office ceased as the everyone moved to the side to allow a man in robes approach the desk. Immediately Alron recognized that arrogant swagger as Nirvan, who was followed by his assistant…Silas, if he remembered correctly. The moment Alron saw the other wizard, he stiffened up.
“Boy!” Nirvan barked at Tyrune. “Just what do you think you’re doing!?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Tyrune waved at the stack of papers on the desk. “My job.”
“You know full well you can’t rule until you’ve been approved by the mage council and officially crowned!” the wizard said.
“His Majesty is merely filling in for Jasper,” Alron announced as he stepped forward. “Though I must say, the boy is doing quite a wonderful job with his work. Not only is he bright, but a sound decision maker.”
Tyrune whirled on Alron. He was blinking in confusion at the rare compliment. Nirvan, however, snorted.
“Alron! Just what the blazes are you doing here!?”
“Are we going to have a repeat of last night’s conversation?” Alron smirked.
“Not unless you decide to answer the damned question.” Nirvan’s teeth clentched together. “Now, do you mean to tell me you’re the boy’s new magic tutor?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” Alron patted Tyrune on the shoulder.
“And you still have all of your limbs intact? Fascinating,” Nirvan remarked.
“Almost as fascinating as to see a High Mage Councilman so far away from the capital and sticking his overly large nose in other people’s businesses,” Alron remarked in return.
“You two know each other?” Tyrune looked between the wizards, confused.
“Oh yes, Nirvan and I go way back.” Alron smiled down at Tyrune. “The both of us used to argue about magical theories for hours on end.”
“Only because you insist on making such absurd claims,” Nirvan added. “Naturally I felt it was my duty to correct him, since I only acknowledge solid facts.”
“Nothing in this world is truly solid,” Alron declared. “Why, if people didn’t question those so-called ‘facts’, we would still believe that the sun revolves around the world and not the other way around.”
“We are much more advanced than our ancient ancestors.”
“Speak for yourself; I’m old enough to be your great grandfather.”
Unexpectedly, Tyrune laughed. “This is great! The both of you are practically at each other’s throats! This is better than any dull play I’ve ever watched.”
“As I recall, your situation isn’t quite a laughing matter,” Nirvan turned his attention back to Tyrune. “Do you really intend to ignore your magical powers and endanger the lives of hundreds, no, thousands?”
“Please, not this lecture again,” Tyrune sighed tiredly. “I get it enough of that from him.” He jerked his head in Alron’s direction.
“Then he’s not doing it properly if you’re still so nonchalant about this,” Nirvan fumed.
“Hey, I get by.” Tyrune shrugged. “I mean, I only blow things up when I try to use magic. Every other time I’m pretty much normal.”
He’s right. Alron frowned. Tyrune should be discharging magic left and right. However, the most I’ve seen of that is that overwhelming aura…
“‘Getting by’ is not acceptable!” Nirvan pounded the butt of his staff on the floor. “Even a child can learn how to cast a spell to light a candle! Silas, show them.”
“H-huh? Me?” the smaller man squeaked. For a moment Alron had forgotten about the other man who came with Nirvan. Now that he had a closer look, Silas didn’t look like much. He was a thin man with raven dark hair tied messily back in a ponytail. The glasses weren’t the best fit for him as they kept on sliding down his nose. His clothes were nice enough, though, a outfit for a servant or so.
“What are you waiting for, get to it!” Nirvan barked.
Silas jumped and pointed at a candle and said a few short words. A small tiny flame flickered up…and ignited a scroll.
“Oh no!” Silas jumped forward, threw the scroll onto the ground and quickly stomped on it to put out the fire. “I’m sorry, sir! So sorry!”
Both Alron and Tyrune couldn’t help but laugh as they watched Nirvan’s face grow a deep crimson red.
“You think this is funny, do you?” Nirvan seethed. “Well let’s see if you find this funny. By order of the High Mage Council, if Tyrune does not master the Elven Arcane Archfire spell by the end of this year, he will be detained and imprisoned in the Towers of Solitude.”
“But sir,” Silas piped up, “a decision like this should be discussed and cleared with the other members first.”
“Are you questioning my authority!?” Nirvan hissed at him, causing the assistant to take a step back. “Line fourteen of article six of magical threats states that when concerning a threat of level five or higher, a councilman may make this decision on his own without the need for the Council’s consent. This is well within my power, and by the gods I am using it to put a stop to this looming menace there!” He pointed an accusing finger towards Tyrune.
Alron’s face visibly paled. “What!? Nirvan, you ask the impossible! The Elven Arcane Archfire spell is something only a handful of wizards have managed to cast! For Tyrune to be able to learn that spell within the span of a few short months is nigh impossible!”
“Even so, that is the level of control he requires for his powers,” Nirvan said stubbornly. “If he is unable to cast and control that spell by that time, for the safety of everyone around him he must go to the Tower.”
Alron was shaking with fury. “Nirvan, you’re wrong. Tyrune may be a stubborn, thick headed impossibly spoiled boy…”
“Hey!” Tyrune growled.
“But he doesn’t deserve to be put away!” Alron stepped forward and placed a hand on Tyrune’s shoulder. “I swear on my name and title that Tyrune will obtain control!”
“You do, do you?” Nirvan suddenly grinned slyly. “Silas!”
The assistant jumped. “Y-yes Master Nirvan!”
“Write an official document stating that if should Tyrune fail to meet the requirements, Alron the Enlightened One shall be stripped of his title as well as his position on the High Mage Council.”
“Y-yes sir!” Silas pulled out a sheet of paper and immediately began writing away.
“Well then Alron, I’ll see you at the end of the year.” Nirvan gave them another oily smile before departing with Silas in tow.
Alron gripped his staff so tightly his knuckles popped. “Boy, put down your work and come with me.”
“What? But someone needs to take care of this!” Tyrune waved at the stack of papers.
Impatiently, he pointed at a random official. “You! Manage the accounts here. You are there strictly to organize and handle the documents. If I discover that you have made a grave error or attempt to abuse your position, I shall make sure you receive your due punishment.”
The man gulped and nodded.
Without bothering to warn Tyrune, Alron cast a teleportation spell and within a blink of an eye they were in his quarters. Tyrune, who had been sitting in a chair, suddenly found himself with nothing between his bottom and the floor.
“Omph!” Tyrune grunted as he fell onto the ground. “Hey, we could have walked!”
“Time is of the essence now. Every little moment counts,” Alron said, quickly throwing up barriers around them. “Until you mastered the Archfire spell, everything else is hereby canceled. You shall devote all of your time solely to magic, and by the divine grace of the gods, we shall make that deadline!”
Tyrune gaped at him, then sank his face into his hands. “I am so dead.”