Alternate Universe
I do not own the Magnificent Seven nor do I make any money from this story.
All copyrights apply.
Thanks to my beta readers.
I love the Dragonlance series and Lord of the Rings. Taking the elves and dwarves from both and the orcs from LOTR and the draconians from Dragonlance I have put them with M7 in a world of magic, along with other creatures. The Seven are mages of Four Towers each one has his power and order he belongs to, they also all have swords and a weapon of choice.
Sarahana had always wanted to be a mage studying at Four Towers and she was finally getting her wish in a way. She adjusted her already immaculate outfit straight. Knowing she looked good she headed towards a group of men practicing swordplay just outside the town walls. As she rode closer she saw there were seven men, they were all joking and fooling around as they practiced. Sarahana saw, tossed to one side, a pile of coloured cloaks. They were mages. Her luck was getting better all the time. As she rode up they stopped and when she was close enough, one of them came forward and greeted her."Good day to you, kind sir. Is this Four Towers?" she asked knowing full well it was.
"Yes, it is. My name is Buck Wilmington and your name, my lady?" said the ladies man coming up to her horse.
Sarahana smiled sweetly at Buck.
"My name is Sarahana Silverton and I was hoping to study magic at Four Corners."
"I’m sure you’ll be most welcome, may I escort you to the Towers?" asked Buck
"My thanks but I do not know the names of your friends," pointed out Sarahana.
Studying the seven, she recognised JD immediately. But she knew he would not know her. After a hasty introduction Buck led Sarahana to the town of Four Towers. The rest of the seven remained behind.
"Was it just me or did the lady Silverton look amazingly precise and beautiful?" asked Ezra
"I would never had though you would notice something like that," laughed Vin
Ezra gave Vin a tight smile,
"I do notice attractive woman Mr Tanner. It occurred to me that if she had been riding long hours she wouldn’t have been looking quite so perfect."
There was silence for a second. "He’s right," said Josiah
"The dust from the road alone would have settled on her," said Vin
"Isn’t Silverton a elven name?" asked JD
"Yes and no. Elves and humans use it," said Vin
"She looked kinda familiar," said JD
"Let’s get back to town. Keep an eye on her," said Chris, "Do you have something to add?" he asked looking at Ezra who was staring after Sarahana with a thoughtful expression,
"I’ll have to get back to you on that one," said Ezra his poker face in place.
As they gathered up their gear JD gave an exasperated sigh,
"I suppose I must carry Buck’s gear as well, seeing that he’s gone back already."
"Here I’ll help you," said Nathan
+ + + + + + +
While Buck chatted merrily to her, Sarahana studied the surrounding area. Grassland stretched as far as she could see, but she knew the forest was just out of her site. They pasted though the town walls, the road ran straight up for 500 meters it ended in a large square courtyard with a tower on each corner. The town of Four Towers spread round them. Sarahana could see groups of mages in coloured cloaks drifting from one tower to the next. For the first time in an age she felt happy.
"I take it from your smile, you like the look of the place," said Buck
"Yes, I have dreamed of being here for so long, to see it…" said Sarahana breathlessly
"Tell me," she said suddenly, "What do the colours of the cloaks stand for?"
"They are the colours of the Orders. There are seven Orders and they each have a colour to represent them," answered Buck
"What are the Orders?" asked Sarahana
"Earth which is green, healing which is yellow, fire brown, red illusions, white novice, blue water and black which is telekinetic. I am of the Order of Blue," explained Buck
"I don’t see many black cloaks, why not?" asked Sarahana
"It is the highest order. Chris is of the Black Order," said Buck
"What would I be?" asked Sarahana with almost childish enthusiasm
"Firstly you are tested to see if you have a talent for magic. You would then have to start out as a novice, the Order of White. Then you get tested again for which Order you belong. Some people stay a novice for a long time before they find their Order," answered Buck
"Oh, how long is a long time?"
"Well, it all depends. It could be any thing from days to months, a year or two," said Buck with a shrug.
"A year!" exclaimed Sarahana
Buck laughed
"Do not stress yourself, that is rare. Besides on the first test them can tell how long it would take you to learn. Except for JD, they have no idea how long it will take him."
Sarahana was going to ask about JD but they had arrived at the courtyard, a stable hand was coming to take their horses.
"OH!"
Sarahana turned to see Buck standing looking at his horse, he looked up at her and grinned,
"I forgot my gear. JD’ll bring it."
Sarahana got off her own horses taking her saddlebags off, she asked
"So you know JD?"
Buck suddenly got a feeling of ‘wrong’.
"Yeah, somewhat," he said vaguely
"Are you okay?" asked Sarahana. "You look suddenly pale."
"Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Er.. We should go and get you tested," said Buck with a click of his fingers.
"Right now?" asked Sarahana slightly surprised
"Why wait, it takes a few minutes. Then you will know and you can start tomorrow," answered Buck as he set off towards on of the towers. Giving her a guided tour,
"This is the North Tower, the towers are at the points of the compass. From the top you can see the Indigo Mountains, so called ‘coz from afar they appear to be indigo. That’s where the dwarves live, well some of them. To the east is the coast, thou you can’t see it. Supposedly there are elves in the eastern side of the forest but no one credible has seen them. And there are of coarse the elves of the south side, who every one has seen."
"What’s to the West?" asked Sarahana
Again Buck got an odd feeling
"The Black Forest and yes, you can see it. But the West Tower is hardly used, you would have no need to go there unless you wanted to see the Black Forest."
Sarahana shook her head not trusting her voice.
When they had reached the tower, she followed Buck in. It was cool and dim inside, standing in the middle of the entrance chamber stood a man dressed in black with a bright red sash round his waist. A woman shortly joined him, she was also dressed in black but wore green around her waist. They bowed their heads in greeting when Sarahana and Buck had reached them. Buck returned the greeting automatically, Sarahana hastily followed his lead.
The man turned to her,
"Greeting and welcome to Four Towers," he said kindly. "My name is Vangelis, Master of the Order of Red and this," he motioned to the woman on his left, "is Helena, Master of the Order of Green."
"But she’s a woman shouldn’t she be called Lady," interrupted Sarahana
"Speak when spoken to," snapped Vangelis "Magic is not a game, play with it and you will die." He paused for a second, "Which might or might not be a loss but you could take others with you. You are a Master whether you are male or female."
There was a tense silence, then Vangelis and Helena held out their hands. Vangelis right and Helena’s left,
"Your hands please?" asked Helena not unkindly
Sarahana put down her saddlebags and placed her hands in theirs so that they formed a circle. Helena and Vangelis closed their eyes. Sarahana stood statue still her eyes darting between the two. After a few minutes, they opened their eye and released her hands.
Helena smiled, "You have a lot of potential, Sarahana Silverton, half-elf. You have been trained to use your power and you have been. Luckily you have not been using it long so you will be able to study here. You are hiding something, I can’t see what it is, mayhap your elven heritage, but it’s too sinister to be something that simple. Time will tell what it is." Helena glanced at Buck, "For week or two you shall be the Order of White, then tested for your Order. Do you have any questions?"
Sarahana shook her head, at the same time she heard someone else enter the tower,
"Good," said Helena
"Maritika shall show you to the ladies sleeping hall," said Vangelis indicating the new arrival, who smiled, "She takes care of the new comers."
Sarahana smiled back noticing that Maritika was wearing a pale green dress,
"Um, I do have a question," said Sarahana
"What is it?" asked Helena
"Is there a Master of the Order of White?"
"No, you can not master the art of being a novice, but in council meeting there is an Order of White representative. Only then does Maritika wear ceremonial robes, while we wear them all the time," answered Helena
With that said Vangelis and Helena turned to leave, Buck started to leave as well but Sarahana called to him,
"May I not see you again?"
Buck grinned at her,
"I shall fetch you for dinner tomorrow night and you shall meet my friends. Good Day."
Sarahana picked up her saddlebags and followed Maritika out the door.
Sarahana was disappointed, she had expected some grand ceremony or at least an oath swearing to do good or something along those line but there was nothing like that. In a way it was good she did not have a lot of time and she still had to find JD.
Buck went quickly to a local tavern called Ti Saloon meeting ‘the tavern’ in the old tongue. He knew the others would be there after the training session they had had that morning. As he walked in he saw them sitting at their usual spot with all his gear on the table, JD looked up as he came over
"Buck, I brought most of your gear," he said pointing at the table
Buck stopped short. "What do you mean most of my gear?"
"I couldn’t carry your sword, shield, helmet and broadsword and my gear, I’ve only got two arms," explained JD
Buck leapt forward, searching the table
"You did not leave my broadsword behind? You will loose one of your two arms."
Not seeing the sword, he turned to JD,
"That was a gift of honour. And very expensive. You don’t just leave it lying around."
"Exactly," said Chris, who stood. Sticking out his hand the sword suddenly appeared in his hand. "Next time you chase a woman…"
Buck suddenly swore, "That’s what I came to talk to you about, Sarahana. She’s half elf and not only does she have talent but she has been taught how to use it."
"You can learn about magic anywhere," said Vin
"Yes, I know that but she gave no indication of knowing any magic and when she asked about …er … the Towers…er …she was, she was-"
"It would appear the our esteemed companion is at a loss for words," said Ezra "Do I sense maybe some, dare I say it, love?"
Vin burst out laughing followed shortly by Nathan and Josiah
"NO!" yelled Buck, which caused everyone to laugh harder
"Mr Dunne, I think it would be best if you went to get some refreshments for our love stuck friend," said Ezra with a smile
As soon as JD had left, Ezra turned serious
"What were you trying to say?"
Laughter stopped
"How did you figure that out?" asked Nathan
"Well, because Mr Wilmington has the tendency to say what he wants to say, to stumble over your words like that, I assumed you had something to say that you did not want Mr Dunne to hear and I have some things to tell of my own," said Ezra with a shrug
"Yeah, it’s about Sarahana Silverton," said Buck
"What about her?" demanded Chris
"She knows JD and when she asked about him I felt something odd, like a warning of sorts. I know she is up to no good. I know it. And Helena hinted as much," explained Buck
"There is no doubt in my mind there is something odd about her, ever since she rode up to us this morning, so I went to the library to look up teleportation," said Ezra
"And?" said Chris, wondering why he always had to pry information from Ezra.
"I think some one teleported her here, some one very powerful," finished Ezra
"There is some thing else, when she was tested, Helena said she was hiding something," said Buck
"She’s been tested?" asked Chris
Buck nodded
"Did Helena say what she was hiding?" asked Nathan
"She though it might be her elven heritage but she was not sure. She said it was too sinister to be that. But she did hint what Sarahana was not to be trusted," said Buck
"You said that already. I want her watched, sit in on her lessons, no better still we’ll give them to her. I also want to meet her," said Chris
"Good and well, ‘coz I invited her to dinner tomorrow so you could meet her and see for yourself," said Buck.
+ + + + + + +
Sarahana spent a frustrating morning learning about the principles of magic, she soon realized that Helena had told no one that she knew about magic. That afternoon she was told to find the main library and make a list of all the different Orders of Four Towers. Since Buck had already told her, she went down to the town to explore. She was disappointed to find it as ordinary as any other town she had been to. She was about to turn and head back when she was a small bookshop on her left and went to have a closer look. The signboard was a deep maroon with gold writing, ‘The Clarion Book Shoppe’. Curious Sarahana when inside, she was greeted by a blond woman with a warm smile,
"Hello, are you looking for anything?"
"A book? I don’t know yet, I only got here yesterday," said Sarahana
"Oh, have you been tested?" asked the woman
"Yes, it was a lot simpler than I thought. Buck took me."
"I’m sure he did," she said with a chuckle
"I’m sorry, did I miss something?" asked Sarahana slightly put out
"No, it’s nothing. My name is Mary Travis," said Mary
"Mine’s Sarahana Silverton. Do you know Buck well?" asked Sarahana
"Well enough, he is a old friend of Chris’," answered Mary
"And JD?"
"Oh, you know JD?" asked Mary with a smile
"Yeah, way back," lied Sarahana
"When he was back East on the coast, where his mother worked in a hotel?" said Mary
Sarahana smiled. "Yes, back east. I don’t think he would remember me."
"But he has only been here a year, I sure he will," said Mary innocently
"That may be true, but left a long time before him," said Sarahana "I don’t think I would ever recognise him if I saw him on the street."
"Well, he is easy to find, he follows Buck every where and Buck is really protective of him," said Mary
"I’m sure he is," said Sarahana unthinkingly
Mary frowned. "I thought you didn’t know Buck?"
"Oh! … er …no…I don’t, I must be leaving, I have a dinner date," stammered Sarahana turning and heading towards the door quicker.
Mary watched as Sarahana walked quickly out the shop and up the street to the Towers. She just knew the girl was up to no good, she would make mention of it to Chris when next she saw him.
Sarahana sat by her window staring out, occasionally her lips moved as if she was talking to herself but only she heard the answers.
They have figured out some of the truth of your being there, you will have to kill him tonight, while they are still figuring out the whole thing. Do not fail and DO NOT reveal me!
*I shall not fail. You will not be revealed* thought Sarahana
Only with Him gone can we conquer.
Sarahana bowed her head in acknowledgement. Giving her self a little shake, she started to get ready for dinner. When she was ready she stood in front of the mirror, time to drop this illusion.
"May he see me for what I am."
She smiled at her reflection, after years of planning and missed opportunities, things were finally going in the right direction.
The seven sat waiting for Sarahana at their usual table at the ‘saloon’.
"I thirsty, I’m gonna get a drink," said JD getting up. As JD came round the table, Sarahana entered the room. They both stopped as their eyes met across the room. JD sharp intake of breath caused Buck to turn around, as soon as he saw Sarahana, he stood up his hand on his sword hilt. Sarahana had a hungry smile on her face,
"So, you recognise me."
"I do," said JD "Though I don’t know why."
The rest of the seven were now standing as well.
"There is a saying that tells of people who recognise their killer, I don’t know how it goes and I care little for it," Sarahana said
Suddenly she flicked her hand and flames sprung from her fingers, aimed at JD. Just as quick Chris held up his hand and diverted the flame towards the far wall, scorching the wood. The customers had already left at the first sign of trouble.
"Who are you?" demanded Chris
"You have a poor memory, I told you the first time we met," snapped Sarahana
"You told your name and nothing else," said Chris
"You wish to know who I am? I have been trained since my birth to kill the only one who could destroy all the land." She pointed at JD. "You are him. I missed you last time."
Again she threw a fire bolt at JD. Chris used all his concentration to move JD to the opposite side of the saloon. At the same time Ezra, threw images of JD around the room. Sarahana laughed, "Very clever. Mr Illusionist."
This time she aimed at Ezra, who ducked just in time but all the images of JD vanished. Nathan ran over to see if Ezra was injured.
"Josiah!" yelled Nathan "You’re of the Brown Order, use your fire."
"Silly boy," laughed Sarahana "You can’t fight your own Order."
With a quick look at Vin, Buck drew his sword,
"’Was never really comfortable with magic," he said
"I’ll melt that blade to nothing. Just accept that JD has to die. Fate will have her way," yelled Sarahana
Suddenly Vin stepped forward and stamped his foot, causing a mini earthquake that unbalanced Sarahana. If that moment Buck lunged, hitting Sarahana on the side of the head, she fell to the floor, out cold.
The saloon was silent for along time, Ezra broke the silence,
"Here I thought tonight was going to be filled with mindless small talk only to discover the very opposite."
"Find out who she is," said Chris, he looked at JD "How do you know her?"
"I don’t but I do. I don’t understand it. I’ve never seen her before but I recognized her," said JD
"She knows the answers and I want them," said Chris "Take her to the Tower dungeon."
+ + + + + + +
Sarahana woke reluctantly, she heard voices. Opening her eyes she saw the seven on the other side of the cell bars. Someone was speaking, "It would seam that our sleeping beauty is at last joined the world of the living."
"Shut up, Ezra."
Sarahana snorted. That had to be Chris.
"Sarahana, I know you can hear me, shall we talk or should I just send you to the Mage Council?" asked Chris.
Sarahana thought about it for a minute or two,
"Ask away," she said.
"Who sent you?" asked Chris
"What makes you think some one sent me?" countered Sarahana
"I’m asking the questions," said Chris sharply
"My master and I am not giving his name, so don’t bother asking," said Sarahana
"Was he the one who teleported you here?" asked Ezra, Sarahana laughed
"Very clever, what gave me away?" asked Sarahana
"No dust on your clothes," said Vin, "No sweat on your horse."
"What did you mean when you said you missed last time? How often have you tried to kill JD?" asked Nathan
"JD? This is the first time I’ve tried to kill JD but the third time I’ve tried to kill his line. I did kill your father but unfortunately not before he fathered you."
She smiled at them. "You see, like I said before, he will bring an end to my world and I don’t want it to end, it’s all I have left."
The seven stood in silence for a while,
"Are you really half elf?" asked Josiah softly
"Yes, I am. No one accepted me, the elves say I’m half human and the humans say I’m half elf. Only one person didn’t mock me or hate me and he gave me power. I owe him everything, he gave me life. He found in the streets, a street child with nothing and no one. He saved my life," said Sarahana dropping to a whisper
"At what cost, Sarahana?" asked Chris
Sarahana looked at the floor, after a moment she looked up. Blinking slightly she said,
"None. No cost."
Chris stared at her for a long while; he could not help but feel sorry for her
"If and, I say if, we let you go, would you return to him?"
"I have no choice. Where else would I go? He looks after me," said Sarahana
Chris looked at Vin, Vin shrugged but before Chris could say anything Ezra said, "Of course if we let you reside at Four Towers, you could become a quite a powerful mage, considering you know quite a bit already. From what Helena told me you have quite the amazing ability to enchant those you wish. Is that how you convinced your master to teach you?" asked Ezra, looking her in the eye.
Sarahana stood perfectly still. All traces of the defenseless girl were gone.
"No, he found and taught me, I developed that skill to survive the street."
Suddenly her eyes became glazed and she swayed slightly, just as quickly she was right again.
"You have won this time. But know this next time you will loose, I am not the only one. Events have now started that are beyond your control." She looked at Buck, "Guard your charge."
Sarahana flung her hands in the air. "Collect me!"
As the seven watched her body seemed to blur, become transparent. She gave a final wave before she disappeared.
"What the hell does that mean?" exclaimed Buck into the silence.
+ + + + + + +
Much to JD’s annoyance where ever he went one of the others was there, keeping an eye on him. One night a few days after Sarahana had disappeared, the seven were at their usual table at the saloon,
"What ‘events’ do you think she was talking about?" asked Nathan
"Maybe an rebellion?" said Vin
"What’s that got to do with JD, ‘cause she was determined to kill him," asked Buck
"One thing is for sure, she will try again," said Chris
"What makes you so sure?" asked JD nervously
"Well, she missed this time…" Chris left the sentence unfinished.
"Don’t worry to much about it, we’re always here for you," said Buck with a genuine smile. They spent the rest of the lazy afternoon in silent contemplation.
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