Chapter 14
"Good morning, your Highness. Happy birthday."
Henry rolled over onto his side and opened his eyes slowly. He was momentarily confused, the sheets softer than expected and the bed a lot wider. Once he cleared the cobwebs from his sleep muddled mind, the prince remembered that he was home in Danmoor, Mythesti's capital city and home to the royal family.
"Good morning, Adam," the prince greeted his personal servant. "What time is it?"
Adam smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening. "Their Majesties wanted to let you sleep in, your Highness, to ensure that you are well rested before this afternoon's events. It is midmorning."
Henry groaned and rolled onto his back, stretching his arms above his head. Ah, yes, he thought to himself, today's events.
The prince had received special permission to return home from Master Rylan's in order to be in the palace for his birthday. After he'd returned from his final walkabout in the spring, Henry had bided his time and finished his lessons while waiting for his sixteenth birthday. This momentous occasion marked not only his passage into adulthood, but also the end of his ten years of magical training, culminating in his master's test. Both his birthday party and his test were scheduled to take place this afternoon.
Heaving himself up into a sitting position, Henry scanned his room, the room he'd not spent more than a day or two in for the past ten years. The decor had changed since he'd moved away as a child, and now the room was decorated as appropriate for an adult. The furniture, once white, was now a rich golden hued wood, and the pastel colours had been replaced with a rich blue accented with red, the royal colours. Here and there were stylized ravens, the kingdom's symbol. Overall, Henry liked how it all looked, and he made a mental note to find out who'd decorated the suite in order to thank them for their work.
The boxes holding his accumulated belongings from his years away were piled in a corner, waiting until Henry had a few moments to unpack and put things away. One of the servants had offered to do it yesterday afternoon when he'd arrived home, but Henry wanted to do it himself.
"I have a late breakfast here for you, your Highness," Adam told him when Henry swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. "It is light, as I've been told you won't want much in your stomach for what's to come."
Henry walked over to the small table and padded chairs set up in the nook created by the bay window at one end of his room, lifting the cover from the platter holding his food. His eyes roamed over fruit, bread and cheese, and he paused to consider what he felt like eating.
"Is there something wrong, your Highness?"
Henry turned, surprised by the tremulous sound in his servant's voice. It was the second time he'd heard the tone from a servant, the first from the maid who'd wanted to put away his belongings. It struck him as worth investigating, and he was quick to assure Adam that everything was fine. Showing the truth of his words, Henry sat down and began to eat.
Following his meal, the prince bathed and then dressed, getting ready for his master's test. That would come first, followed by a light lunch, and then a gala dinner and dance in celebration of Henry's coming of age. He suspected that he'd be allowed to sleep late tomorrow as well, recovering from today's exertions. After that, Henry would take his place at his father's side, the confirmed heir to the throne.
When he felt ready, and before anybody could be sent to fetch him, Henry made his way down the large spiral staircase to the main floor of the palace. As he walked, he tried to take deep breaths to centre himself, starting to feel nervous. After all, this is what he'd been working toward for so many years, and it would finally prove to everyone that he was, in fact, the mage spoken of in the prophecy.
There were people in the ballroom when he arrived, Master Rylan and Master Cedric among them, and Henry felt his breath catch when he saw a trio of other journeymen waiting off to the side, their rank easily identified by the length of their staff, equal with Henry's own. He'd forgotten that this test wasn't a private, single person affair, but was instead a group test. When someone noticed Henry's arrival, a hush fell over everyone. The prince caught sight of his parents off to one side, unfamiliar expressions on their faces. Could that actually be pride he was seeing?
"Excellent!" Master Rylan exclaimed. "Now that we're all present and accounted for, we can begin."
Henry's master gestured for both the prince and the other three journeymen mages to approach, and the four master mage hopefuls gathered inside of a loose half-circle of master mages and gathered witnesses. A mage Henry didn't recognize took a deep breath and rapped his staff on the floor three times.
"We are gathered here to witness the growth of journeymen mages to the rank of master," the mage intoned. "Gentlemen, lady, please step forward."
Henry did as he was told, and the other three stepped forward a moment later.
"The master's test is a serious matter," they were informed. "Many mages choose never to take this risk. Do you all understand that this test could have serious consequences? You could have your gift burned from you, or even die while undertaking it."
"We understand," the four journeymen answered together.
"And is there any among you who no longer wish to proceed?"
The mage running the ceremony met each of their eyes in turn, and not one of the four journeymen chose to back down. The mage nodded.
"This test requires a fair amount of space," he said. "We will now adjourn outside."
There were doors leading from the ballroom to the gardens, and servants threw these open at the mage's words. Everyone turned toward the fresh air, and the master mages led the way outside, journeymen following, and then the witnesses. They all moved to a large, open area of the gardens, where some of the master mages made a loose circle. There were five of them, one for each element, and Henry caught Cedric's glance as his former mentor took his place in the circle. Cedric looked worried, but Henry's gaze was drawn back toward the Spirit mage who was overseeing the test before he could puzzle out why.
"This is a trial by combat," the Spirit mage informed the journeymen, and Henry was barely able to stifle his gasp of surprise. As with the journeyman test, the specific details were kept quiet until this moment.
"The purpose of this test is to appraise your abilities as mages, both your ability to use your magic and your ability to improvise under pressure. You do not necessarily need to be the last one standing in order to be declared competent enough to earn the master rank. Good luck."
Henry wasn't sure what to do, having never been in a magical combat before, but he knew something that he shouldn't do. To his right, two of the journeymen were casting shield spells, and as they rippled into effect, Henry could tell immediately that these two were both Air mages. Their shields were transparent and nearly invisible, just a rippling in the air as the conjured winds swirled around them, something that his own shield of rock would never be. No shield for him, not if he wanted to know what was happening around him anyway. The third journeyman didn't bring up a shield either, indicating to Henry that he either didn't think he needed one, or he was an Earth or Fire mage. He couldn't quite see the gem in the top of the man's staff to determine which.
This quick appraisal of his situation took only a few seconds, but it was long enough for Henry to be the only mage who hadn't cast a spell yet. He grounded his staff and uttered the words to the first spell that came to mind, the plant growth spell. It was late summer and they were outside in a garden full of plants, so there was no end to what he could direct the magical energy to, and Henry chose one of the Air mages to target.
With a little extra power and concentration, he was able to get the grass inside the shield to grow upward, entangling the man's legs. It took a few moments for him to notice, but when he did, he started to struggle against the plants entwined around his ankles and calves. The mage's concentration wavered and his shield came down, something that the oth
er male journeyman was quick to take advantage of. With a word and a gesture, the mage finished forming the spell he'd begun, hurling a small fireball at the still struggling Air mage. The man was hit in the chest, and still trapped by Henry's entangling plants, he fell over backward with a shriek. The prince didn't know if the cry was from surprise or pain, but he had no time to worry about it, as the Fire mage began casting again.
Henry took a deep breath and began to gather energy into himself for a spell. He wasn't certain if it would be offensive or defensive in nature, and so he let the energy pool within his body while he waited to see what would happen next. The Air mage was safe within her shield, which she's extended to prevent Henry from repeating his little trick, so he let her slip into the background for a moment. The Fire mage was the bigger threat, and so Henry began to spin the energy inside him into spears of rock to hurl at the man.
Later, if any of the witnesses were asked to explain what they saw next, everyone would describe an unlikely series of events that just happened to align into the magical equivalent of a perfect storm. The Fire mage finished his spell, hurling a fireball at the Air mage before throwing a second fireball at Henry about two seconds later. The first fireball hit the Air mage's shield just as she was bringing it down to hurl an attack of her own, a lightning strike aimed at Henry. The fireball got caught in the swirling currents of air to slingshot around the Air mage and hurtle toward the prince as well.
Henry, seeing three attacks coming toward him, froze as a panic attack hit. That moment of indecision before he started to twist his rock spear spell into something defensive was enough of a delay so that when the first fireball hit, Henry was defenceless. The second fireball and the lightning strike were only seconds behind, hitting the prince before he even had a chance to fall to the ground. Henry was falling, however, and this fact meant that his staff was no longer in contact with the ground. The energy he'd had inside his body for his own spell had nowhere to go as his spell was unfinished, but it also had no direction, as Henry's concentration had broken when the first attack hit. All Henry could do was writhe in pain as spell energy ripped through his body, a body that was being pummelled by fire and electricity at the same time. His screams were mercifully brief, the torment of what had happened driving him quickly into unconsciousness.