Chapter Two – The well-worn roads of Beldur
Andin slept well for the first time in weeks, finally free from the mission in Eida. He rose with the sun and sipped coffee while he read. He read a historical account of the Plane of Torment. Portal openings to the hostile planes were rare and calamitous. It was impossible to predict where the yearly portal doorway would open to. Every portal opening was a tenuous time for the civilized planes.
“Garruk the Torturer,” Andin read aloud, the god of the Plane of Torment, a terrible foe who was the unmatched threat to the civilized planes. The door to Torment had opened in Beldur only once; information on the plane was scarce. Bellos entered Andin’s room, “There will be a council meeting at noon.”
“Father did you ever enter the Plane of Torment when the door opened?” asked Andin. Bellos’ boyish face hardened, “We pushed through briefly to see if their portal site was more defensible, we stayed only a day.” He paused, “That was a hard time Andin, every township in Beldur sent warriors, and Beldur lost many of its sons and daughters.”
“Did you face Garruk?” Andin had always been curious about the hostile planes. “Yes, the third day was the crescendo of their assault, Garruk lead the attack personally.” Bellos’ anger seeped into his voice, “I’ve never encountered such a tremendous foe; the sacrifices we made to push his forces back were terrible.”
After the thrill of the mission in Eida, Andin found it hard to take his return to study seriously. Books and sparring would no longer satisfy him. He snapped the textbook shut and headed to the training room to exercise. Drills and spells that were normally challenging felt easy to the fire prince now; he had tasted the empowering ecstasy of survived danger.
He bathed then put on his fitted tunic. The swirling vapors of steam from his coffee held his attention over the droning councilman. A detail obsessed, skittering man was the log keeper for all the critical supplies of Beldur. His meticulous nature made him perfectly suited for the role; but heinously boring to the young prince and his likeminded father.
“Gegin, I truly appreciate your thoroughness; but for the sake of brevity, just summarize our trade with Eida, and tell me, are we set on supplies for the coming winter?” said Bellos with grace. Gegin shuffled his papers to the last sheet, “Oh… I’m sorry milord I’ve done it again haven’t I? Yes, overall the trade went quite well.” Gegin went on, “Our supplies are triply sufficient for our predicted needs through the winter milord.” Bellos smiled and thanked his diligent record keeper.
The normal agenda items had been covered, the council became tense. They had all wondered why Lord Bellos had ordered the portal site cleared before the closing. “Though normally my policy is openness with my decisions; please be patient with me before I reveal the purpose of the portal clearing. As always my desire is for the safety and prosperity of my people – but in this instance discretion is absolutely necessary.” Bellos’ voice was cool and commanding.
“Milord do you have an idea as to when we will be informed of the portal clearing; as well as the likely secret mission to Eida that it implies?” asked Councilman Svoi, the Headmaster of the College of Beldur. Bellos smirked, “Svoi as always your perceptiveness encourages me; unfortunately I cannot know when the time will be right to shed light on the matter.”
Bellos finished, “Though I ask you forgo asking me or Prince Andin further on this subject, I encourage you to continue to piece the puzzle together as best you can.” With that Bellos stood from his chair at the head of the council table and took his leave.
Andin followed close behind, “Father after my visit with the townships I’d like to continue my training outside of the palace.”
“But not back at the college either?” Bellos guessed.
“No, I’d like to train near the Void Scar.”
“Don’t let your success in Eida embolden you; you may go, but Headmaster Svoi or another capable mage will need to accompany you.”
“Yes father,” Andin bowed and left his father’s side. Andin returned to the council chamber. The members of the council were standing in small groups discussing the meeting. Some were relaxed, others spoke fervently. Andin walked to the group with the headmaster and the baroness. “Ah the young prince returns, you know my offer still stands; you could shed this government nonsense and work at the college full time,” said Headmaster Svoi.
“Perhaps a counter offer headmaster; would you like to train with me at the Void Scar?” Andin deeply respected this man. “The invitation is also for you baroness; once I’ve finished visiting the northern townships I will be training there for at least two weeks.”
“How long will your visits to the townships take?” asked Svoi.
“All of autumn; I’ll be at the Void Scar the first two weeks of winter,” replied Andin.
“Plan on my attendance young prince, though I cannot guarantee you the full fourteen days.”
“If things are going well in the eastern townships I will accompany you as well,” answered the baroness.
“Until then,” Andin bowed and left.
“Take care young prince,” said the headmaster. Andin left them. “Do you think he knows anything of the portal clearing?” asked the baroness. “Undoubtedly,” answered Svoi. The council room had cleared out. The headmaster and the baroness stood together alone for a moment. Their hands gently touched.
Andin put a few critical items into his leather satchel and locked his room as he left. He headed to his father’s chamber – he was absent. Andin wrote a short note to his father and exited. Councilman Bostil was the head of Interior Affairs, “Ah Prince Andin, I have your survey route prepared.”
“Hello Councilman Bostil,” Andin took the stack of papers Bostil handed him.
“There are some minor preparatory notes for a few of the townships but nothing critical has been brought to our attention,” noted Bostil as he eyed the map of Beldur. “Have you visited the northern townships before?” Bostil asked.
“Yes, but not on official business,” replied Andin.
“When will you be leaving?” inquired Bostil.
Andin detected a subtle hint that Bostil was seeking something from him. “I’ll be leaving immediately,” Andin couldn’t hide his knowing smile. “Bostil… just ask,” chuckled Andin.
Bostil sighed, “You’ve grown up much too quickly prince!” Bostil was smiling nervously. “It was just that I hoped you might consider taking something with you for the survey.”
“What is it?” asked Andin, curiosity sparked.
“Well I’ve been fiddling with the design of the clockwork cartographers we bought from Pelagos,” Bostil paused. “I think I may have improved it somewhat, and was hoping you would test it for me.” Bostil lifted up the conical gizmo and opened its three legs standing it upright.
“That’s twice as big as the regular ones,” said Andin unexcitedly, who always preferred to travel as light as possible.
“Yes, unfortunately even after filling the empty space beneath the display parchment I simply couldn’t make the modifications any more compact,” regretted Bostil.
“Well what does it do?” asked Andin still curious despite its bulk.
“It has all the same functionality of the normal cartographers; it will display your location relative to major land and astrological features it detects. But – a normal cartographer will not check the position of the plane itself relative to the sun.”
“Wait, are you saying this can tell us where we are in the void?”
Bostil was excited now, “Precisely! This is new territory entirely Prince Andin! Finally a chance to gather real data on where we are in the universe, and just maybe…” the councilman went silent.
“You’re trying to prove your theory aren’t you? That the other planes lie in the same area in the void as our own, Shell Theory right?” Andin had finally realized the full picture of Bostil’s scheme.
“Yes, but I need your help, the edges of the plane are dangerous, and more impo
rtantly fire magic alone is too imprecise to operate the device accurately. Ideally it needs light magic, but your earth and fire combined should work.”
Andin raised his eyebrow, “Weren’t these things built to use water magic?”
“Technically yes, but I believe light magic would be a superior choice; you will still be able to operate the device, at least enough to make some important measurements.” Bostil’s excitement wouldn’t be tempered.
Bostil reviewed the operation of the clockwork cartographer with Andin. Though the device itself was complex, running it was straightforward. Andin cut off the zealous councilman once he realized his lesson had turned into a lecture on the mechanics behind his near-planar Shell Theory. He said his goodbyes to Bostil and headed to the palace entrance.
“Oh I’ve missed you,” lust slipped into Andin’s voice. He grabbed the fabric covering his love and ripped it off. The smooth curves of his steamcycle were as elegant as he had remembered them. He checked the water and oil levels, both were carefully topped off.
“That should do it,” Andin wiped his hands clean, his motor bike was ready for the journey. He gripped the heat exchanger with his right hand and began heating the water.
Soon the boiler held enough pressure to drive the pistons. The rear wheel bit into the dirt and snow and Andin set off. The fire prince steamed through Caldvik and into the countryside. The rolling terrain was stabbed with craggy thrusts of volcanic activity. In Beldur the snow always fell and the lava always flowed. Andin was quickly in the open countryside.
For the next three months he would live on the road, hopping from town to town. The townships were largely autonomous, but the palace and council were active in their pursuit of successful governance. Each township was visited by an official at least twice a year; often more.
Andin’s hand grew hotter as he increased his speed. Steam exhaled out of the exhaust in a long white tail as the bike flew down the roads. The bike was limited only by the strength of its operator. The demand of a long ride was great even for an accomplished fire practitioner. Andin rode hard.