Michael Manning - The Archmage unbound

“You are. You are stronger than before, possibly faster as well. You also possess extra reserves of energy, so you will not tire quickly. In times of need you can draw upon the earth itself to increase your strength even more but it is unwise to do so. The more you use, beyond what you have now, the faster you will change,” I replied.

“Change?” he asked.

“Into stone,” I answered. “The strength you have now you can use safely, for decades at least. Eventually you will start to notice changes, when that happens it will be time to retire and give up your extra power. I will help you release the bond then.”

Dorian grinned, “So we’re like Penny was?” He was clenching and unclenching his fist slowly as he spoke. I could almost see him trying to decide what to test his newfound strength upon first.

“Not exactly,” I said. “You are not bound directly to me for one thing, which means that if one of us dies it isn’t a death sentence for the other. You are bound to the earth. The power you gain from it will probably be similar to what Penny gained from me, but I think there will be differences. Not the least of which is the risk that if you draw upon extra strength too often you may begin to turn into stone yourself.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Dorian replied. “A warrior made of stone would be nigh invulnerable.”

“A man of stone has no care for the things you love. Nor could he have children,” I said bluntly.

Dorian’s face went still as he considered it. I could almost see the exact moment Rose entered into his thoughts, for a blush appeared on his cheeks.

Harold could see it too, “Perhaps it would be best to take care of the ‘having children’ part of it sooner rather than later Sir Dorian, just to be safe.”

That was the first sign I had encountered of Harold having a sense of humor. I definitely approved. “Mind your manners… ‘brother’,” Dorian snapped angrily at the younger man.

Together the three of us walked from the chapel. “Rose did say something about meeting with her father. I wonder what that’s about,” I pondered aloud. Dorian shot me a look that warned me not to speculate further so I stopped there. He’d had enough stress for one day I figured. As we stepped through the doors we met Penny and Joe McDaniel waiting outside for us.

“Is your ‘secret’ ceremony finished?” she asked.

Dorian was already looking for a distraction so he clapped Harold heartily upon the back. “Meet our newest knight!” he exclaimed. Unfortunately he hadn’t anticipated his strength and Harold was sent hurtling face first into the opposite wall of the corridor. If Penny had been a foot or two to her right he would have knocked her down.

“I think you two should be careful for a while, until you adjust,” Penny said. I saw her eyes dart toward me for a second with a sad look in them. She never complained but I knew she still missed the bond we had shared when she was my Anath’Meridum. “Let’s go and have breakfast,” she continued in a cheerful tone.

As we entered the dining hall a cheer rose up, echoing from the walls. Penny stepped back and raised her hands with the crowd and I knew she must have organized it then. “Three cheers for Sir Harold!” she yelled and the people responded. Three times they cheered and each time poor Harold’s face got redder with embarrassment.

Dorian smiled enough for both of them. My friend wasn’t shy at all… so long as the attention was focused on someone else. He soon had our newest knight moving through the crowd so that everyone could clap him upon the back as he made his way to the high table. As they went I watched Penny with new eyes. She never failed to surprise me. I hadn’t suspected she was organizing a celebration such as this at all.

Now that she had it was obvious to me that someone needed to do it, but it had never occurred to me. I was grateful again that she had seen fit to marry me. Seeing how the people responded to her enthusiasm gave me even more joy. If something ever happened to me I didn’t worry that they would follow her in my stead, she had already captured their hearts.

She turned to look back as we walked, meeting my eyes with a smile. Her body was swelling at the waist, and in more interesting places, yet her expression still held the sparkle of the girl I had always loved. Something in my face must have told her my thoughts then, for she leaned back and kissed me sweetly. “You look happy,” she said, whispering directly into my ear, the room was too noisy to be heard otherwise.

And that was when I finally realized it. Despite the recent war, despite my father’s death and all the terrible things that had happened, I was happy. My people were cheering, not for me, but for someone else, and I was happy. I had a place, friends, love, and the beginnings of a new family. Certainly there were problems to be overcome still, but at that moment they seemed small. Negotiate peace with the king and then all I would have to do would be to protect the people from a few unnatural enemies. It seemed almost simple.

“That’s because I am happy!” I yelled back at her over the ruckus. She laughed and we sat down to the best breakfast I could recall eating in years.

Sometimes mornings aren’t as bad as they seem at first.

I made sure to get to bed early that night. I had finished Harold’s armor early and he and Dorian had left me to make sure all the fittings were adjusted perfectly. Consequently I made it to dinner on time and spent a quiet evening with Penelope. In short, my day had been almost as good as the morning was.

Penny and I rose early the next day. The preparations had already been made but we wanted to get a good breakfast in before we had to part ways. Today was the day I would be traveling to Albamarl. Rose and Dorian arrived almost as soon as we did, and even more suspiciously, they arrived together. I gave my friend a hard stare as he escorted her to the table and he rewarded me by blushing bright red.

Penny elbowed me and I lost my fierce glare, lapsing into a smile instead. “Don’t tease him Mort!” she hissed in my ear. “He’s terribly embarrassed and it’s taken her months to get him to this point.”

I looked at Penny in astonishment. They’ve been plotting this for months! I thought to myself. I wondered idly whether Dorian had just escorted Rose from her room or if he had been inside… I shook my head. No, that simply wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. “So does that mean…?” I asked curiously.

She gave me a hopeless look. “No! And wipe that stupid smirk off your face!” she told me. I finally complied and we both tried to put on normal expressions before Rose and Dorian sat down with us. I could tell Penny wasn’t really angry though, she had been struggling to keep her composure too.

Dorian held Rose’s chair for her with an expression of absolute concentration. He had the look of a man who knew if he lost his focus for even a second something terrible would happen. I did my best not to stare at him but apparently no one had given my mother the message. She was sitting across from them and she watched him with approval.

“About time you starting courting her properly Dorian,” Miriam observed. Dorian turned red and I had to stare at my plate to avoid laughing at his discomfort.

My friend stepped back from her chair and backed into one of the kitchen servers. The poor girl lost her tray and stumbled forward trying to catch it as fresh baked bread went flying in all directions. In spite of his social awkwardness Dorian had never been clumsy and with surprising dexterity he reached out to keep her from falling forward.

Naturally his hand landed firmly on her bosom and the lass in question jerked backward reflexively. I had given up cataloguing the many shades of pink and red Dorian was displaying but he wasn’t done yet. As the girl fell backward he lunged and turned, swept her up and caught her deftly, while his face shifted to a lovely shade of beet red. All the noise in the dining hall stopped expectantly while Dorian stood behind the high table holding the maid in his arms.