Travelers: Alexander, the Forsaken

[PART THREE: FORSAKEN]

Alexander studied religiously each night he had to share with Glade. He was receiving a pension from the king for living costs, and life was good. The child was born healthily, the house was finished, and Grace was moved in.

The child was named Alexander the Third, after his father. Alexander was pleased to follow the tradition. Alex spent most of the days at home and oversaw the build project. His weekday evenings were occupied by Glade and her lessons.

It has been nearly 10 weeks since his arrival to the kingdom from his job. Alex was kind of buzzed from not having a job in such a long time, but he also considered this time to be training. He learned a few more simple spells, like Push and Pull. He hasn't gotten to use his powers yet; he would have to do quests again in order to unleash his powers.

Alex entertained the ideas of questing once again. He got excited just thinking about it. The next time he went to the castle, he put in a request to see the king. He then met with Glade.

"Welcome back, Alex." She purred. She prepared tea for the two of them, and poured them each a cup. "Do you think you have a solid grasp on the material? You seem to have a good handle on it, but I just want to make sure."

"Yeah, I'm pretty good. Honestly I'm excited to learn more spells. All of the ones good for battle." He was pumped up. "May I start choosing what I learn now? I like to learn best that way."

Glade put a finger over her lips and thought about it. "Why not. You really have been diligent. What do you want to learn about?"

"You have said before that I have a very powerful aura, right. So I want to learn spells that use my aura. Are there any spells to encourage my allies or something like that?" Alex asked.

Glade smiled, "There's a spell literally called encourage which does exactly that. You reach out with your aura to touch everyone near you, and you bolster their strength, dexterity, and constitution. This effect lasts until you either run low on source or fall," She dictated from memory. "A very powerful spell. You seem to know what you are looking for, hm?" She put on a look of mild suspicion.

"Ah, no. It was a lucky guess. I just learned from the textbooks well," He put out, "Besides, Allies are everything. You prevent them from falling and they prevent you from falling as well. It's all around the best strategy for the battlefield." He was purely focused on his strategies. "I want to control the battlefield best, and that seemed like the best way to do it."

"Ah. Well, I'm sure the knights are best to learn those from. They all have a dedicated roster of spells they use in each war game." She said with mild spite.

"Do you dislike the knights, Glade?" Alex asked.

Glade made a pained face. She couldn't muster any words at first. "I find them despicable. They are extremely pompous, and I hate every one of them. There are rumors that if they don't like you they put out a rumor that you're a witch. After I heard that I was shocked, and the king did nothing! I really liked that student, too." Glade was resentful. "At least if it happens with you I'll have proof it happened twice and something will have to be done."

Alex paled. "That... that could happen to me?" Alex imagined suddenly having to flee in the midst of the night, and he was angry. Everything he's built up in 10 of his 18 years of life would be crumbled.

"I'm afraid so Alex. I was going to warn you when I thought you were ready, but now seemed like the best time to introduce you to the idea that it might very well happen, and you have to be prepared." She looked down solemnly. Their teas were untouched.

Alex took his, and drank half of it in one gulp. It was only warm now, which dulled the sugary flavor of the tea. How sad, Alex thought. To think men of 'honor' would stop so low as to rat out other source-touched people. Could it be jealousy?