The Dread King: Book One of The Larken Chronicles Read online

  “How can that be?” asked Larken. “If someone hasn’t used Talent, how can the loss of it hurt them?”

  “It’s normal once you think of it,” replied Jaris. “Let me ask you a question. Do you think much about your fourth toe?”

  “My fourth toe? You mean the one next to my little one?”

  “Yes, the one next to the little toe.”

  “I guess not,” replied Larken. “Why?”

  “Well, first of all,” replied Jaris, “I didn’t ask about the small toe because we actually think of it sometimes. But let’s say that you spend most days unaware of your fourth toe. However, if I were to cut it off, you would miss it even beyond the pain of its loss. We use a lot of things every day that we aren’t aware of. That’s how it is with Talent. A lot of folks have a small amount of Talent that they are unaware of. If it is lost, however, they will notice the loss, and it will hurt. Any amount of Talent is a part of a person’s personality and mind—that’s where the hurt will be felt.”

  “What happens to them?” asked Larken. “Do you just turn them out?”

  “No,” replied Jaris. “We aren’t monsters. If someone is handicapped by silencing, we take care of them for the rest of their lives. The ones with families are sent home with a stipend to support them and their families. Those without families are kept at the castle and given whatever jobs they can handle. They help us remember the results of our failures. Because it is we that have failed them, they are treated with the utmost respect. No one is allowed to abuse them or take advantage of them. They wear a green armband. If you see one, treat him with courtesy and respect. To do otherwise will gain you swift and sure punishment. We don’t take this lightly.”

  “OK,” said Larken. “But what about flaws that I might have? Can’t you tell that without testing? I mean, wouldn’t it be apparent if someone were flawed in their mind?”

  “Not really,” said Jaris. “Let’s see how I can explain this. You live in Ox Run, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” responded Larken.

  “Has there ever been a crime in Ox Run that never got solved?”

  “A few,” said Larken. “Ox Run isn’t a big place, and not much happens there, but every now and then something will get stolen. Sometimes no one knows who did it.”

  “Well, the person who did it knows,” said Jaris. “And that person is probably walking around in the middle of Ox Run.”

  “Well, maybe, sir. But what does that have to do with what we were talking about?”

  “Just this,” said Jaris. “That person has a flaw. They have an urge or had an urge to steal, but it’s completely hidden from those around him. It’s not apparent, but it’s there. However, they don’t feel that it’s a flaw. It feels right to them.”

  Jaris paused as Larken silently considered this.

  “Larken, I’m not an expert in this area, but I have seen the Healers do some amazing things. They’ve helped a lot of people get over a lot of serious problems. Some of those problems were apparent, but some were only shown by the effect that they caused later.”

  “So, the Healers can fix anything they find?” asked Larken.

  “I wish I could say that, but they can’t even fix all of the physical problems. There’s a limit to their Talent, and that is especially true with mental and emotional problems. There are a lot of so-called flaws that are simple problems to be solved, wounds to be Healed, or minds to be trained. We can Heal a lot of these and train people to cope with a lot more. There are some things, however, that can’t be Healed. I’m not an expert in that, so I don’t really understand it. I trust the Healers to guide us in that area.”

  Jaris went on to explain to Larken that, even if one were not flawed to any extent to be dangerous, no strong Talent could be allowed to continue to be fully independent. Strong Talents were given a choice between being Bonded to the king or being silenced. Larken thought that this was harsh, but the commander maintained that an unbonded strong Talent was dangerous to the citizens of the kingdom. Jaris related some of the troubles that the three kingdoms had had with wilders recently. Most of the stories had not been made public since the Warders did not want the general public to know that self-developed Talent was an ever-present possibility.

  By the end of their meeting, Larken had concluded that, like it or not, he had no alternative but to be tested.

  “OK,” said Jaris. “Then we’ll set up the testing.”

  Gahen interrupted them. “Lad, before we go to dinner, I want to demonstrate your strength to Commander Jaris.”

  “That’s highly irregular, Gahen. We should approach the Council first.” Jaris frowned.

  “Commander, just trust me on this. We may have to bend a lot of rules for Larken.”

  After a moment of silent contemplation, Jaris nodded. “OK, I’ll trust you on this. What do you want to do?”

  Gahen had Larken and Jaris stand a short distance from each other. “I’m going to ask Commander Jaris to try to force you back, Larken. You’ll feel a push that may feel strange, but you’ll see what I mean. I want you to try to keep your stance. Don’t push back any harder than you’re pushed, but push from inside you. Understand?” asked Gahen.

  “No,” replied Larken.

  “Good,” said Gahen. “I’d be really worried if you did.”

  Gahen went to stand beside the commander. “Go ahead, sir, but I would advise you to start slowly.”

  “OK, Gahen. You’ve made your point,” replied the commander. Looking at Larken, he asked, “Are you ready?”

  “I guess so,” replied Larken.

  “OK, here we go. I’ll start gently.”

  Almost immediately Larken felt a desire to step back, but remembering what Gahen said, he stiffened his will and mentally pushed back. He was rewarded by feeling the desire change into an external force pushing against him that was not physical but was nonetheless real. The force began to grow, and Larken pushed back harder. At some point, he realized he had closed his eyes and had centered himself just as he did to lift a heavy object. The pressure increased until he felt himself straining against it. He felt himself give way by two steps. Extending his arms as if to fend off the force, Larken dug in and pushed back harder to stand his ground. Suddenly the force stopped.

  Larken found himself almost falling forward when the force suddenly stopped. His entire body felt tired and strained as if he had run a mile carrying a heavy weight. The commander held his Blade in both hands and faced Larken with an expression of disbelief. The Blade was glowing with a blue light that quickly faded. Sheathing his Blade, the commander asked Larken, “Are you OK, lad?”

  “Yes, sir, I think so. Just a little winded,” answered Larken, joining the commander and Gahen. “What happened?”

  “You just resisted me, and you did it un-Bladed,” replied the commander.

  “Resisted? You drove me back,” replied Larken.

  “Lad, I am a Warder of the first rank. Only King Andreas has more strength than I do with a Blade. I pushed you with enough force to drive ten men at least thirty yards, and you only moved a couple of steps,” said the commander. “Gahen, I see what you mean, and you can wipe that smirk off your face.”

  “What does he mean?” demanded Larken. “It’s getting frustrating not knowing what people mean when they talk about me.”

  “Nothing bad. Believe me on that,” answered the commander. “Have you ever heard about the hornet that killed the toad?”

  Larken nodded, remembering the popular fable about the toad that had tried to eat a hornet, only to find that the hornet was more than he could deal with.

  “Well, Larken, we have a nice, neat system built for handling Talent in Shropanshire, and Norland and Grealand have about the same system for their needs. In fact, we help each other out as much as possible. But our system is built for dealing with what we consider normal levels of Talent. You, Larken, may be the hornet that this toad can’t swallow.”

  Chapter 4: Training

  At din
ner, Larken discovered that Melona had already been tested. She had strong Talent for both physical and emotional healing and was remarkably free from emotional flaws or quirks. She was to begin training immediately and would be Bonded as soon as it could be scheduled. Melona was bubbling over in her excitement.

  “Oh, Larken,” Melona exclaimed. “Isn’t it exciting? Last month we never dreamed that we would be in Sarkis together.”

  “Yeah,” said Larken, somewhat less enthusiastically.

  At that moment, another blue-robed Healer joined them. Taz introduced her as Amanda, the First Healer, or current leader of the Healers. Amanda said that she would personally supervise Melona’s training. Amanda seemed younger than Taz but had a more settled countenance.

  Taz was even more loquacious than normal in discussing Melona’s upcoming Bonding. After a few weeks of training, Melona would be Bonded to her Crystal. Melona would be allowed to pick a crystal from the castle’s store of quartz crystals. She could have it shaped or left rough, for at this point it was only quartz. Talented Healers would tune it to Talent before Melona’s Bonding.

  The Bonding ceremony would be in the main audience hall of the castle and open only to Shropanshire’s leadership and special invitees. It would, however, be accompanied by a public holiday and festival on the castle grounds. The ceremony would begin with speeches from the king, the first chair of the High Council, and the first Healer. Then Melona would take a pledge to use her Talent for the benefit of Shropanshire and humanity as a whole. The pledge would be formally accepted by Shropanshire’s Council and the Healer leadership. Next, using their Talents, the Healers would Bond Melona to her chosen crystal and to her pledge. With the Bonding, Melona’s chosen gem would become Crystal, and Melona would become a Healer. Melona would then begin a lifelong quest to perfect and further her Healing Talents. Her duties would be limited and closely supervised at first, but they would grow with her increasing skill.

  The process would be similar for Larken if he made it that far, but his Bonding would involve both Healers and Warders as well as a Talented smith. When Melona asked about Larken’s prospects for Bonding, Gahen answered guardedly, “Well, we all agree that he has Talent, but he hasn’t passed the Healer examination yet. I think that he will pass, but it’s far from automatic, especially with Larken’s views about Warders.”

  “But I thought that you had changed your mind about Warders, Larken,” said Melona.

  “I guess I have,” answered Larken. “I mean, I don’t think they’re as bad as I used to think.”

  “But you’re not sure if you want to be one,” finished Taz for Larken.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” admitted Larken.

  “That’s why his future isn’t as sure as yours,” said Gahen. “We can’t force anyone to become a Warder, and Larken is far from convinced that he wants to be one. But I’m sure that we’ll bring him around.”

  “And just how are you planning to do that?” asked Melona.

  “Well,” said Gahen with a chuckle, “we’ll just make him my partner until he agrees to be Bonded. That just might be punishment enough to work.”

  * * * * *

  Larken was aroused the next morning by the general bustle of the soldiers in his barracks getting ready for the day. After his morning ablutions and a hasty breakfast, he was taken by Gahen to the Healer Hall, a wooden building adjoining the north wing of the castle. They were met there by Commander Jaris, Taz, Amanda, and two other Healers. Taz introduced Larken to the other Healers, Leona and Dionne.

  Amanda led them to a comfortably furnished room off the main corridor. “Do you understand what we are trying to do?” she asked Larken.

  “I think so,” said Larken. “You’re going to test me to see what Talents I have and whether I am too flawed to use them safely.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “Yes,” admitted Larken.

  “Good, you’re honest,” said Amanda. “Let me make you less nervous. You’re going to sit in this chair in the middle of the room. We’re going to sit around you and place our hands on you. You might feel a warm sensation, or you might feel dizzy. The sensation differs with each person. A few get nauseated or feel suffocated. If you do, just raise a hand, and we’ll stop. We’ll try as many times as it takes. It may take a few times for you to get used to the sensation.”

  “What if it doesn’t work?” asked Larken.

  “Don’t underestimate our patience,” laughed Amanda. “We’ll simply keep trying until you get so tired of the procedure that you relax. That’s all we need. Don’t worry. You simply have to sit there; the rest is our responsibility. OK?”

  Larken nodded but still felt a bit uncertain about the process.

  Amanda continued, “As we explore your capabilities, you might find yourself remembering past moments, even things that you thought or wished you had forgotten. It may be painful, not in the physical sense, but in the emotional sense. That is part of the procedure. Also, we will Heal you of minor hurts and buried conflicts that we find. However, we won’t Heal you of any major problems. That’s not our specialty, and even though Healer Dionne and I have some Talent in that direction, we’d rather leave that to our most Talented Healers. It takes quite a bit of skill and time to Heal the inner person. Also, we don’t do that without the person’s consent. But don’t worry, we’re only going to look and, maybe, pull out an emotional splinter or two. OK?”

  “I guess so,” replied Larken, feeling even less certain than before.

  Larken sat in a low chair in the middle of the room, and Amanda, Leona, and Dionne arranged their chairs around him. Leona and Dionne sat at each of Larken’s sides and placed their hands on Larken’s arms. Amanda sat behind Larken, placing her hands on his shoulders. She asked Larken to close his eyes and relax. For a moment, Larken felt nothing happening. Then he began to feel as if his whole body were heating up and vibrating. Memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, began surfacing unbidden in his mind. He remembered walks with Melona and arguments they’d had. He relived his training under the smith at Ox Run and the pranks he and the other apprentices had played. He remembered his morning schooling under the village teachers, the summer evenings spent fishing, and the winter days spent hunting. He also remembered many instances of ridicule from the village children. Then, he began to remember snippets of a dark-eyed woman who held him and played with him when he was a baby. He thought that he might be remembering his mother, but the memories were fragmented and difficult to hold.

  He felt that it was important to remember his parents and his early childhood, but each time he focused on a memory of his early childhood, it slipped away. He grew increasingly frustrated with his inability to grasp his early memories. And, while he desperately wanted to remember them, some part of him was afraid of the memories that lay just beyond his reach.

  Larken felt the probing of the Healers increase in intensity. He wanted to help them, but grew increasingly anxious as they probed deeper and harder. Larken began to sense that there was an inner core of memories within him that shouldn't be brought into the light. At first, he had tried to help the Healers in their efforts, but with their increasing efforts, he felt resistance being marshalled against them. It was as if the inner core of memories was a separate thing from him, with a will of its own which resisted being probed.

  He tried harder to delve into that inner core, redoubling his efforts to breach its boundaries. He was frustrated at having the memories denied to him. However, as the Healers continued to probe, something began to change within him. His frustration at his inability to remember gradually turned into anger at being probed. The Healers’ presence in his mind, which had been a source of comfort and assurance, began to feel alien and intrusive. What right did they have to intrude in an area of his life that he had kept hidden so long? That area was hidden to him, but it was also a part of who he was. He didn’t want it revealed, especially while others were watching. He began to believe that something bad was hidden there—somet
hing that he didn’t want exposed. All the guilt and doubt that he had ever felt about himself surfaced in his mind as the Healers continued to probe. He knew that, if the Healers pushed much more, dark secrets that should be kept hidden would be revealed.

  His cooperation with the Healers changed completely into resistance to their probing. He tried to push the Healing presences away, but they flowed around him and continued to probe. He felt the emanations of assurance and security continue from them, but suddenly those assurances felt like trickery and guile.

  Larken began to panic. He felt as if the intruding Healers were going to destroy him. He felt that they were not helping but attacking him. Suddenly, he knew that the probing presences were not friends, but enemies that sought to cripple him and to steal something from him that was uniquely his. Whatever that something was, it had to remain hidden. He needed to protect himself and his secrets from them. He struggled to force them out, but he couldn’t get a grip on them. They were not physical, and they were not like the force that Commander Jaris had used. Nothing that he tried had any effect upon the violating presences. His panic grew as he realized that he had no effective defense against them. As they pushed harder and harder at the darkness that shrouded his hidden memories, Larken became overwhelmed by a frenzied panic. But even his panic had no effect on the Healers’ energies being used to probe his memories.

  Larken knew that, if they were not stopped, the Healers would uncover what lay hidden within him, and he knew that once it was uncovered, it would destroy him. Larken flailed about mentally to find anything to stop the Healers from reaching his hidden memories. His body was paralyzed; he could not raise his hand to make them stop. He began to scream inwardly, not only in panic, but also in absolute rage at the intrusion of others into his mind. Then, Larken sensed a stream of energy and power close by. The power was of the same energy that the Healers used. Desperately, he seized the stream of power and gathered it to him. With this new power, he could attack and push the probing presences away. Fueled by rage and panic, he attacked the presences and threw them from his mind. He let the power surge through him, reinforcing his rage. He gathered his will to lash out with a killing blast to destroy those who sought to violate him.