bundling Avelice in her blanket for a trip to the
castle. The baby was rudely awakened by her mother’s sudden
movements and began to cry loudly, but Alia was so distracted that
she took little notice.
“The collars,” she told him barely able to
contain the exhilaration that had so suddenly energized her, “I
might know how they work.”
Xander opened the door for Alia and they
hurried to the castle as fast as the old man’s bones would take
him. The Collective knew that most of the domains had been
evacuated long ago and the collars were believed to be what was
being used now to hold the domain magicians captive in some as yet
undiscovered location. If there was a way to break the spell, then
the numbers of the Collective would swell and they could demand the
surrender of the kingdom by whatever terms they set.
***
“A spell that could sever the mind from the
body-“ Ryonus mused at Alia’s query, “Yes, there is such a spell. I
am well aware of it, but it is no master level skill. Anyone with a
fair degree of talent in the manipulation discipline could cast
such a spell with relative ease.” To Xander he added, “I used that
very spell on Mantellus in Baj to make him appear dead.”
“Yes, I remember,” Xander darkened as he
recalled the failed prison break in which the only one to escape
was Mantellus Firekin who was thrown into a mass grave, believed to
be dead.
Avelice had settled somewhat since being so
impolitely disturbed from her sleep, but she threatened to begin
her crying anew at any moment. It was only the rhythmic bouncing of
her mother’s knee that kept the child happily entertained.
Ryonus explained, “That particular spell
weakens the connection between brain and body to the point where
all voluntary functions cease completely and non-voluntary ones
like breathing and the heartbeat are slowed to the point of being
nearly undetectable. The effects are slow moving to prolong the
effect. The spell takes a long time to activate and wear off, but
there are other versions of it that can paralyze the body in an
instant, but wear off much sooner.”
Alia absorbed Ryonus’ words, which rang true
with her own ideas regarding how the collars worked. She had seen
the collar work several times on test subjects and the effects were
not that much different than what Ryonus was describing. “But the
collar that we have has been active for at least two years. How
could such a spell work indefinitely? I find it hard to believe
that the kingdom has a magician that powerful on their side.”
“It would require either a group of very
powerful magicians or…” the master of manipulation fell silent.
“Or what?” Xander demanded.
Ryonus shook his head; “It would require a
tremendous amount of source energy from humans or other members of
the higher races.” His eyes inadvertently shot to Xander, who
nodded. “That would mean the siphoning of the magical energies-
either directly or through the blood source- of several people to
power one collar. If there are hundreds of these collars as we
believe-”
“Then it would require the genocide of a
small city,” Alia finished for him, “but that is not the kind of
news that could stay hidden for long.” Everyone had heard the
stories of Xander’s destruction of Colum from the magicians he
freed there. Alia didn’t want to admit that a part of her feared
her father for those actions and that was perhaps part of the
reason that she felt safer outside of the castle’s walls.
“Ryonus said ‘higher races,’” Xander
corrected her, “He did not say it had to be humans.”
“The orcs,” Alia stated showing that she
understood her father’s meaning. When she interrogated Zakux he
said that entire orc villages had been disappearing along the
border with the kingdom. “Did we cause this to happen? Could it be
that in an attempt to better control the magician population the
king would risk war with the orc tribes to power the creation
castle. The baby was rudely awakened by her mother’s sudden
movements and began to cry loudly, but Alia was so distracted that
she took little notice.
“The collars,” she told him barely able to
contain the exhilaration that had so suddenly energized her, “I
might know how they work.”
Xander opened the door for Alia and they
hurried to the castle as fast as the old man’s bones would take
him. The Collective knew that most of the domains had been
evacuated long ago and the collars were believed to be what was
being used now to hold the domain magicians captive in some as yet
undiscovered location. If there was a way to break the spell, then
the numbers of the Collective would swell and they could demand the
surrender of the kingdom by whatever terms they set.
***
“A spell that could sever the mind from the
body-“ Ryonus mused at Alia’s query, “Yes, there is such a spell. I
am well aware of it, but it is no master level skill. Anyone with a
fair degree of talent in the manipulation discipline could cast
such a spell with relative ease.” To Xander he added, “I used that
very spell on Mantellus in Baj to make him appear dead.”
“Yes, I remember,” Xander darkened as he
recalled the failed prison break in which the only one to escape
was Mantellus Firekin who was thrown into a mass grave, believed to
be dead.
Avelice had settled somewhat since being so
impolitely disturbed from her sleep, but she threatened to begin
her crying anew at any moment. It was only the rhythmic bouncing of
her mother’s knee that kept the child happily entertained.
Ryonus explained, “That particular spell
weakens the connection between brain and body to the point where
all voluntary functions cease completely and non-voluntary ones
like breathing and the heartbeat are slowed to the point of being
nearly undetectable. The effects are slow moving to prolong the
effect. The spell takes a long time to activate and wear off, but
there are other versions of it that can paralyze the body in an
instant, but wear off much sooner.”
Alia absorbed Ryonus’ words, which rang true
with her own ideas regarding how the collars worked. She had seen
the collar work several times on test subjects and the effects were
not that much different than what Ryonus was describing. “But the
collar that we have has been active for at least two years. How
could such a spell work indefinitely? I find it hard to believe
that the kingdom has a magician that powerful on their side.”
“It would require either a group of very
powerful magicians or…” the master of manipulation fell silent.
“Or what?” Xander demanded.
Ryonus shook his head; “It would require a
tremendous amount of source energy from humans or other members of
the higher races.” His eyes inadvertently shot to Xander, who
nodded. “That would mean the siphoning of the magical energies-
either directly or through the blood source- of several people to
power one collar. If there are hundreds of these collars as we
believe-”
“Then it would require the genocide of a
small city,” Alia finished for him, “but that is not the kind of
news that could stay hidden for long.” Everyone had heard the
stories of Xander’s destruction of Colum from the magicians he
freed there. Alia didn’t want to admit that a part of her feared
her father for those actions and that was perhaps part of the
reason that she felt safer outside of the castle’s walls.
“Ryonus said ‘higher races,’” Xander
corrected her, “He did not say it had to be humans.”
“The orcs,” Alia stated showing that she
understood her father’s meaning. When she interrogated Zakux he
said that entire orc villages had been disappearing along the
border with the kingdom. “Did we cause this to happen? Could it be
that in an attempt to better control the magician population the
king would risk war with the orc tribes to power the creation
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