Richard Tuttle - Winged Warrior

“It has been a long time since I saw so many happy faces, Marshal,” grinned Harmagan. “Lead the way.”

“I am still uneasy about this,” admitted Wyant. “Not one of your men refused the black stripe on his scarf. Am I really to believe that all of the Jiadin have accepted the move to return to the tribes?”

“All of the Jiadin in Meliban have,” replied Harmagan. “There are still those in Taggot. That is why I sent six men there. I cannot force the rest of the Jiadin to make the same choice as we have, but those six will be persuasive. Truthfully,” he smiled, “I cannot imagine any Jiadin not accepting the chance to rejoin the tribes. Living in a city has been like a prison to us. I am sure that those in Taggot will feel the same. It is high time that Grulak and his plans be discarded as past mistakes. The wars of the horsemen are over. Now we join with our brothers to bring death to the invaders. Lead on.”

“I will have to take you at your word,” nodded Wyant, “but I must warn you. The location of Angragar must remain a secret. If the Motangans find out where the lost city is, many of us will die trying to defend it. I prefer to meet our enemy on the plains as any horseman would.”

Bakhai sat cross-legged on the roof of the temple in Angragar. His head was bowed, and his eyes were closed. Behind him stood Yltar, the head shaman of the Qubari tribe. Yltar’s eyes were focused on the distant jungle, although he was too far away to see that which he wanted to. Instead he gazed blankly, listening to the voice coming through the air tunnel. He nodded in satisfaction as his lips turned upward in a smile.

“Well done, Bakhai,” congratulated Yltar. “The tyrik is following your instructions perfectly. The range of your abilities is wonderful.”

For several moments, Bakhai did not respond. Suddenly, Yltar’s face clouded with concern. Bakhai opened his eyes and smiled as he rose to face the head shaman. Yltar saw the smile on Bakhai’s face and started laughing heartily.

“You did that to Almos, didn’t you?” he asked accusingly. “How did you know that the mound of fire ants were nearby?”

“The tyrik told me,” grinned Bakhai. “Shall I call off the ants?”

“No,” laughed Yltar. “Let Almos practice his own animal-talking to get them to stop attacking him.”

Both men laughed for several minutes until Yltar finally regained his composure. His eyes turned serious as he gazed upon his student.

“Communicating with such a primitive species over that distance is quite an accomplishment,” Yltar mused. “Your power is far greater than I would have ever imagined. It is greater than even your father’s, and he was a powerful shaman. We must work together to develop your skills more fully.”

“That is why I am here,” shrugged Bakhai. “I want to learn.”

“You are here to learn the ways of the Qubari shaman,” corrected Yltar. “I am talking about more intensive training. Your skills are so impressive that I want the Astor to place you in my care. There are ancient spells that no recent shaman has been able to duplicate. I think you may have the power necessary to try them.”

“What kind of spells?” asked Bakhai.

“Qubari magic is unique in many ways,” explained the head shaman. “It is human in nature, but it is blended with elven magic. I know of no other people who combine magics as the Qubari do.”

“What are the differences between human magic and elven magic?” Bakhai frowned in confusion.

“Human magics are centered on the elementals,” explained the shaman. “They primarily seek to control the elements of this world and harness their powers. The Khadorans, for example categorize their mages as having power in one of the four elemental areas, sun, air, water, and soil. The air tunnel spell is a good example of human magic. The mage sets up a corridor of air and then manipulates the pressures within it to obtain the desired effect.”

“And the elves?” prompted Bakhai.

“Elves have a totally different concept of magic,” replied Yltar. “Their spells revolve around senses and feelings. It is a more intangible branch of magic. They seek to influence nature and allow life forms to provide the changes that they desire. The expedited growth of plants and animals is an example, as are their spells of compulsion. Instead of directing outside energy to affect an object, they use the object’s own life force to accomplish their goal.”

“But mages can do both,” frowned Bakhai. “Princess Alahara is quite capable of throwing a fireball or casting an air tunnel, yet she knows elven magic as well.”

“Correct,” nodded Yltar, “but few elves see magic through the eyes of a human. It is not that the mages are incapable of such deeds; it is that they do not think in such terms. The Qubari, however, were human shaman that were taught elven spells to enable them to protect Angragar. For generations we have used elven magic to nurture the jungle and communicate with the animals.”

“So animal-talking is an elven art?” asked Bakhai.

“By its very nature,” nodded Yltar, “although I do not know if the elves still practice it. I look forward to the days when elven mages return to this land so that I may learn what magics they still focus on.”

“Mistake will know,” shrugged Bakhai. “Rejji said that she was learning magic in Elvangar.”

“You must learn to call her Princess Alahara,” cautioned Yltar. “We do not want to offend our elven friends.”

“Sorry,” sighed Bakhai, “but I knew her before she became a princess.”

“I understand,” smiled Yltar. “You will learn. Let’s go talk to Rejji about you becoming a full fledged shaman.”

They left the roof of the temple and walked across the plaza to the administration building. They looked in the Astor’s office, but Rejji was not there. Walking the corridors of the complex, they finally found the Astor in one of the large meeting rooms. The leaders of the free tribes were all present and voices were raised to alarming levels. Yltar and Bakhai slipped into the room to listen.

“I can’t imagine what Wyant has in mind,” scowled Yojji, leader of the Kheri tribe. “The Jiadin were sent to Meliban and Taggot precisely to keep them away from Angragar. Why in the world would he bring some of them here?”

“We should ride out and confront him with that very question,” stressed Adger, leader of the Mutang tribe.

“And before he gets much closer,” added Blaka, leader of the Extala tribe. “Already the Jiadin will have been able to narrow down the location of the lost city.”

“I will not have the free tribes confronting Wyant and the Jiadin in an aggressive manner,” warned Rejji. “While I am as surprised as you are about this development, I have a great deal of faith in Wyant. The Marshal of Fakara well knows the reason that the Jiadin have been kept separate. It was his idea in the first place.”

“So you are just going to allow them to continue on their way here?” asked Yojji.

Rejji looked around the room as if measuring the degree of hostility present. His eyes landed on Yltar and Bakhai, and a smile crossed his lips.

“No,” answered Rejji. “A delegation from Angragar will go out and meet Wyant and the Jiadin, but it will not be members of the free tribes. I will go myself to find out what the situation is. Yltar and Bakhai will accompany me.”

“The Jiadin may turn on you,” cautioned Blaka. “You should have protection.”

“I will be protected,” Rejji assured the tribesmen. “Not only by Bakhai and Yltar, but Kaltara will be with me as well. What better protection could I have?”

The tribesmen grumbled, knowing that they could not argue with the Astor.