Najal
“Papa! Papa!” a young girl shouts as she runs into the manor through the garden door. “Papa! I did it!” An older gentleman stands as the little whirlwind of energy bounces into the library. He smiles as she breathlessly stops in front of him. “Papa! I did it! I finally did it!” she gasps.
“You did what, Najal? Bring the angels of light down from the heavens?” he smiles at her.
“Papa! Don’t be silly. I can’t do that yet. I summoned the wind though! I concentrated real hard because I wanted the big apple from the top of the tree. And then it was there! In my hands! I must have summoned the wind to knock it down, right? Right?” she manages to gasp out in a single breath.
For moment, the gentleman’s brows furrowed at the mention of summoning the wind, but then they relax. “Najal. Young one. You didn’t summon the wind.”
A look of disbelief crosses her face. “But Papa…”
He smiles. “No Najal, it wasn’t the wind you summoned. We don’t summon the elements. But you did use magic. You grasped the apple in your mind and pulled it to you. That was very good.”
Najal beams back at her father and she leaps up to hug him. “I did good?”
“Yes, Najal. You did wonderfully. Someday you will be a very powerful mage. It is good that you are showing signs so early.” He sets her down. “You should tell your mother of this also. She will be very proud of you.”
“She’s not my mother, Papa.” Najal says, scowling. “But I’ll pretend because it makes her feel better.”
“Thank you for correcting me about my magic Papa.” Najal smiles as she turns. “I must have pulled real hard because all the trees shook their branches and my dress flapped around too.” Then she rushes out of the library shouting “Mama! Mama! I did it!”
Her father stands there, shocked into silence. His daughter hadn’t used pure force. She had used the elements. That would need to be corrected soon if she was to have any hope of reaching her full potential. The elements were the domain of the dragons. Using elemental magic was anathema to all that Talimos stood for. It could be smelled out by the dragons and that was not good. The dragons were returning and using elemental magic just made it easier for them to corrupt and possess mages.
He sat down at his desk, pulled out a sheet of paper, and starting writing a letter.
Dear Grandfather Corus (or should I say Headmaster Selthin),
Your great grand daughter has shown her potential, for today she used magic for the first time. While she is only five years old, I feel she should be enrolled at the Academy as soon as possible in order to help curb her use of the elements. She has a firm natural grasp of magic and the power to back it up. Your advice is welcome as always.
Your grandson,
Ajel Taithonur
He folded the paper and as he flicked his wrist, the letter disappeared with a crack.
—-
“Najal?” Ajel called. “Where are you, girl?” He shook his head. “I have never heard of anyone this young being so unenthusiastic about her birthday.” he muttered.
“Najal!” he called again.
“Yes, Papa?” a copper-haired girl said, opening the doors from library. “I was reading, I didn’t hear you the first time. I apologize.”
Ajel smiled. “Najal, you know what day it is today?”
Najal smiled. “Yes, Papa. I know. It’s my tenth birthday.”
Ajel almost laughed at the sly look that crossed his only daughter’s face. “And you aren’t clamoring for presents? Are you well?”
“Papa! I’m ten. I do not ‘clamor’ anymore. I expect. I demand. I occasionally ask. But I do not ‘clamor’. That’s for little children.” she said with almost a straight face.
“Whoa ho ho, young one. Is that so? And what do you expect today?” he asked, thoroughly amused.
“Papa, I expect the love of you and Mama and Grandpa Shunus and Grandma Naddeni and Headmaster Selthin. That is all.” she said.
“Headmaster Selthin? Not Grandpa Corus?” asked Ajel.
“Papa, if I am to go to the Academy, I should remember that Grandpa Corus is the headmaster there and so I should address him as such.” she said, seriously.
Ajel sighed. “He will be disappointed at that, Najal. It will be a blow to him that he has been demoted from ‘Grandpa’ to ‘Headmaster’.”
Najal giggled. “Papa, he knows I love him. But if I’m going to be a student, I’ll have to maintain proper decrum…decorm…decorum.”
Ajel smiles. “Of course you will, little one. But only at the Academy and in public. Here, you don’t need to. As a favor to me, can your great grandfather still be Grandpa Corus when he visits?”
“Are you sure, Papa?” she asks. He nods and Najal smiles, “Ok!” Then her smile fades. “Papa? When is Mama coming back?”
Ajel sees the tears well up in his daughter’s eyes. “Najal, dearest. I don’t know where your real mother is. She left a long time ago for reasons I don’t understand. And my other wife left because she thought she loved us but then changed her mind. It’s just the two of us now.” He gathers Najal into his arms and holds her tightly.
Just then, there is a loud knocking on the door. Ajel releases his daughter. “Why don’t you wash up while I see who’s there?” He smiles at her and she dashes off.
She stops just around the corner and listens as her father opens the door.
“You! Why do you have to come on this day? Of all the days?” he demands.
A feminine voice says, “Ajel. How nice to see you. You know why I’m here. All debts come due at one time or another. This just happens to be the time for this particular debt.”
“No! You can’t be serious! It’s her birthday, damn it. You can’t expect me to pay now! Come back tomorrow and I’ll make it worth your while.” he snarls.
“I’m afraid that’s not how it works, Ajel. And you know it. You either pay now, or may all the gods have mercy on you because I won’t.” she hisses. “You made a deal. A blood pact! You must honor it.”
Ajel laughs. “In this you are mistaken, Ithen. The blood pact was not of my own volition. It has no power over me. Or did you forget that, dragonspawn?”
Ithen’s voice crackles with energy as she laughs. “You fool. Consorting with the dragonborn was of your own volition. That binds you to us with or without the blood pact. The blood pact merely sealed your fate.”
Another voice booms from outside. “Ah. Ithen. So nice of you to show up. You will make a wonderful present to my grand daughter.”
Ithen laughs. “Shunus. Your son is a fool and I’m simply here to call in a debt that he owes me.”
Shunus replies, “Hardly! You must stay and introduce yourself to my grand daughter. It will be good for her education to learn of the person that drove away my daughter-in-law and corrupted my son. Besides, it will give me time to think of new ways to kill you since the first three times don’t seem to have held.”
Another female voice adds, “Shunus dear. That’s not exactly fair. Ajel hardly knew what he was getting into. After all, Ithen is a shifter. Not that a man shouldn’t know when his wife is being impersonated.”
Shunus chuckles. “Very true Naddeni. Very true.”
Najal couldn’t stand it anymore. She ran around the corner and stood in the middle of foyer. “You evil, evil creature. GO AWAY!” she screamed, pointing at Ithen. Ithen’s eyes widened as an immense force slammed into her chest, throwing her across the yard. Najal stalked out after her and stood over Ithen’s unconscious form. “YOU! WILL! NEVER! HURT! MY! PAPA! AGAIN!” she screamed, as flames crackled and lightning sparked around her. She reached forward to grab Ithen when a pair of hands calmly grabbed her wrists.
“Najal, no. This is not the right way.” said a calm voice. “You must focus. Don’t let your anger erupt. Let it flow from you. Let it build up like water behind a dam.” As the voice spoke, the flames subsided and the lightning stopped, but the air shimmered as pure force built up around Najal.
“And then, when it’s just right, release it as if you were stepping on an insect.” the voice said.
Najal’s eyes burned as she stomped on the ground. Simultaneously, an enormous impact shattered the air and Ithen’s body vanished into the ground. All the remained was a burned spot on the grass where a lightning bolt struck. Najal looked at the person holding her wrists. “Grandpa Corus,” she said as she fainted into his arms.
—-
Najal woke in her bed and looked around. Sitting in a chair at her bedside was an old man who was rocking back and forth and softly humming to himself. “Grandpa Corus?” she whispered.
“Ah child. You are awake.” He smiles at her. “You gave everyone quite a scare. I am relieved to see you have recovered.” He stands up and takes two steps to cross over to the bed. He leans over and gives Najal a light kiss on the forehead before sitting next to her on the bed.
“Now, before a lot of questions start to bubble out of you, let me answer some of them now. First, you did nothing wrong. Ithen was a creature of the dragons. Rewards are given for ridding the world of them. Second, your father is fine, sort of. Ithen’s death released the magic that was bound in the pact between them and he is suffering from that backlash. Third, normally students must prove to the headmaster that they deserve to be admitted to the Academy. You have nothing to prove. Your actions today showed that you belong there. And lastly, it is your birthday.” He smiled and gathered Najal into his arms. “Happy birthday, child.”
Najal squirmed a little and looked up at her great grandfather’s face. “Does this mean that I have to call you ‘Headmaster Selthin’ now?”
Corus smiled. “No child. While we are in your house, I can be Grandpa Corus.” He stands up and extends a hand to Najal. “Now, let us go down to your birthday party.” Najal grabbed his hand and leapt out of bed. Together they walked down to the family room where Shunus and Naddeni were helping Ajel deal with the aftereffects of the shattered pact. Ajel appeared to have aged several dozen years. His hair was stark white and one of his legs was twisted and wasted. He couldn’t walk without the assistance of a stave and even then it was a stumbling, stilted walk.
Najal screamed and ran to her father. “Papa! Papa! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!” she yelled and clung to Agel. Ajel gasped and coughed. “Child. Not so hard.” Najal loosened her arms a little. Ajel took a deep, shuddering breath. “Najal, let this be a lesson to you. Never make deals with the dragonspawn. This is just the ‘reward’ for profane actions such as mine.”
Tears streaked Najal’s cheeks. “No Papa.”
Shunus shook his head. “Fine talk for a birthday celebration, Ajel. Fine talk indeed. Najal, this is your birthday. What do you wish to do?”
Najal sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I want my father to be whole again.”
Naddeni sighed. “Unfortunately, Najal, that is not possible. Your father’s blood pact has broken his body and his magic. He will not get much better than this and he is forever marked.”
Najal shook her head in denial. “Then all I want is to go to the Academy. That’s where I belong now.”
Ajel looked sharply at her in disbelief before staring at Corus. “Corus, no. She’s not ready. Not now.”
Corus looked from Ajel to Najal and back. “Ajel, you no longer have a voice in this decision. Najal has proven her strength and ability to me. It is her decision whether she wishes to come to the Academy with me or stay here. With you.”
Ajel paled at the disdain in Corus’ voice. “Grandfather, please. She’s too young. You see that, don’t you?”
Corus shook his head slowly. “No Ajel, my grandson died nine years ago. You may not call me that. Ever. And while Najal is very young, she has now seen more deception than most and she really does belong at the Academy. Her strength and ability must be trained lest the dragonspawn find a way to exploit it. Najal, is it truly your wish to enter the Academy? You will be the youngest there by several years and while I won’t be able to protect you directly, I will certainly ensure your safety to the best of my abilities.”
Najal, tears flowing freely at the exchange between her father and great grandfather, nodded slowly. “I wish to enter the Academy, Headmaster. With all my heart.”
Ajel fell to his knees and cried. Corus nodded. “Very well, Najal. Shunus, Naddeni, please help her pack. I have a few things to say to Ajel. In private.”
Shunus nodded. “Yes father. Come along Najal.” Naddeni glared at Ajel before turning and following Shunus and Najal.
—-
Najal hid her hands in the sleeves of her robe as the boys surrounded her. “Najal”, says one of them. “So nice of you to walk around after curfew, alone.” A savage, malicious grin crossed his face. “Boys, let’s bring her to the headmaster. After all, she did resist us.” The other five boys all chuckle. A brief flash of panic washed over Najal as they advance on her, but it quickly gave way to anger. “If you want me to resist you, don’t be surprised if you get hurt,” she said. As she removed her hands from her sleeves, bright red flames crackle around her fingers. Before anyone could utter a sound, the flames leapt from her hands and wove themselves into a shell around all of them. With a flick of her hands, the flames erupted from a softly crackling shell into a roaring inferno and cascaded down around her to form a ring that completely encased her would-be attackers.
“NAJAL!”. Her name cracked through the air, even above the roar of the fire.
As suddenly as it erupted, the fire is extinguished as the headmaster advanced across the courtyard. “How dare you use such profane magic! You will go to my office immediately. I will deal with you there.” She stood frozen in front of the headmaster, staring blankly at him. “Now GO!” commanded the headmaster. Najal’s shoulders slump in defeat as she trudged across the courtyard towards his office. Behind her, the six boys lie on the ground in pools of sweat and urine, shuddering in fear. As Najal walks away she hears the headmaster say “As for the six of you…” and a tear runs down her cheek.
She is sitting on the bench outside the headmaster’s office when he returns a quarter mark later. He opens the door and gestures for her to enter first. She stiffly gets up and walks in. The headmaster follows her and then walks around her to sit at the enormous, ornately decorated cherry and iron desk. Najal stands facing him with her eyes squarely on her slippers.
“Najal, you know the prohibition on elemental magic, yes?” She nods.
“And yet you persist in using it. Why?” She chokes down a sob.
“Why Najal? Tell me why you continue to use the forbidden arts,” the headmaster commands.
Najal looks up at the headmaster with fear. “Headmaster, I don’t mean to. I panicked and was angry. Jolak and his friends pick on me constantly and tonight, with no one around, I was scared. It just happened.”
“Najal, I am not asking about tonight in particular, but your teachers continue to mention that despite repeated warnings, all of your magical works continue to use elemental forces. This can not continue.” The headmaster waves a hand and a large, gold bound book floats from a shelf to his desk. He opens it and draws a quill from the inkwell on his desk.
“I am going to make note of this, Najal, but be warned. Any more of these reports from your teachers or of these outbursts and, Ioun help you, I won’t be able to protect you, no matter that your family practically built the Academy.” He looks up from his writing. “You are incredibly talented, young one. But you need to focus that talent in an acceptable direction. Now, go back to your dormitory.” With a flick of his wrist, the door opens again. Najal turns and heads out of the office, her shoulders shuddering from her silent crying.
The headmaster watches her leave with a sad smile on his face. When she turned down the hallway towards the dormitories, he sighs. “Such talent. If only she can control it she will be a great one.”
—-
Out of hearing of the headmaster, Najal trudged back to her dormitory. After quietly slipping back into her room, she lay on her bed and softly cried herself to sleep.
—-
The next morning, she woke up as the sun peeked over the walls of the academy and the early morning sounds of the servants started to carry through the air. Without thinking, she quickly grabbed her pack and started tossing her books in. As she continued to pack, a smile crossed her face. Her scribing tools quickly follow. She then carefully wrapped her alchemy tools in layers of spare clothing before packing them as well. With a quick glance at her wardrobe, she grabbed two changes of work robes along with her more elaborate formal robes and packed them as well. Lastly, she very carefully packed a special set of richly brocaded robes that were given to her by her parents when she was accepted to the Academy. She carefully hefted the pack and tossed it over one shoulder before heading out of her room.
—-
By now, students and staff alike are starting to wake up and head to their various morning tasks. Najal is very glad that she was able to purchase this pack, despite the extraordinary cost, as it’s outward appearance is always the same, no matter how much she put in it. As such, no one takes much notice of the student walking through the courtyard with a mostly empty pack slung over their shoulder. The only one that does is the headmaster, who is watching from his office. He simply shakes his head as Najal heads towards the main gate. As she reaches the gate, the headmaster sighs and wiggles his fingers at an envelope on one of his shelves. The envelope disappears from the shelf and reappears in one of the outer pockets of Najal’s pack, looking for all the world as if it had been carelessly stuffed in the pocket. Najal continues out through the gate and the headmaster sighs as his great-granddaughter walks out of the Imperial Academy of Force and Faith.