Return of the Stormcriers

CHAPTER 12 - BY ORDER OF THE PRINCE

    Surprisingly, at no time throughout the week was Matt struck down where he stood in recompense for his blasphemous tirade against the gods. As far as he was concerned this left only two options, they either pitied him and all that had befallen him, or the gods did not exist at all. At least not with enough power to affect the mortal plane in any tangible way. Truthfully, the lack of response or punishment left him in the same, confused place he had been mired in before his prayer. Was it even possible for his question to be answered? He would find no relief or comfort from the divines.

  As he had promised Sylvia, he shared his story with Anthony and Will the morning after his first lesson. Initially, the nobles had simply stared at him in confusion as if they believed he was attempting a terrible jest, or perhaps even insane. At Matt's urging they had asked their father who confirmed to his boys that the princes had informed him personally of the dragons' return. With fear and anger clear on his face, Anthony had immediately proposed that they search for the dragon Aundin in a desperate bid for vengeance and information. He was quickly dissuaded from this course of action by Will, who made it abundantly clear that he had as much hope of killing a dragon as an ant had to move a mountain. The elder son of Isaac quickly resigned himself to focus on Matt's instruction as a positive outlet for his nerves.

The bulk of the next week had been spent on the sprawling castle grounds under the tutelage of Anthony and Sylvia, spending almost every waking moment on mastering control over his newfound powers. While Anthony had initially tightened with worry at the prospect of facing dragons in combat, within an hour of resuming his lessons he was back to tossing lightning from hand to hand, sparks dancing brilliantly around his fingertips, his flare for showmanship undaunted. While his teaching style varied greatly from Nathan's, he proved an apt instructor. He did not place much stock in breathing exercises, choosing instead to teach Matt to control his powers by channeling his emotions in a healthier manner than he had first demonstrated. Matt found that if he focused on his peaceful memories he could maintain the lightning at a reasonable, consistent power, but the more his anger grew, the stronger, yet more unstable, the currents of electricity became.

  After the emotionally overwhelming nature of his first lesson, Anthony and Sylvia, with much moral support from Will, had catered the lessons to be largely focused on the summoning aspect of his powers rather than using them as a weapon. Before each attempt they allowed Matt to spend as much time as he needed to clear his mind the way Nathan had instructed, and while he knew he was nowhere near as proficient in the art as the prince would have wanted, it made it much easier for him to remain in control of the little charges. Much to his delight he could now summon the lightning to his hands almost effortlessly before casting it harmlessly across the practice field. While the energy was relatively weak and not yet controlled enough to do any significant, targeted damage, he was still proud of his progression. Deep down he had been terrified that he was too old to be effectively taught and would serve as nothing but a disappointing waste of potential that the nobles would tire of and quickly discard.

   While his days were spent with the heirs to Dragonfyre, Matt had seen little of the princes with whom he had traveled to the city. Whatever they, and Duke Isaac, had busied themselves with during the week they held close to the vest, but it filled their days, only allowing them the time to dine with Matt sporadically. The few times they did, the men appeared quite serious, bordering on somber, and spoke little. If Nathan had not already been traveling to the city before Matt had informed him of the dragon's return he would have assumed that their business was entirely about the preparation against their ancient foes, but clearly, something more was occupying their thoughts. Were their meetings about the rebellion? Did Isaac have some particular insight into the traitorous eastern dukes? Their silence and secretive behavior only served to raise Matt's curiosity further. He wished he had managed to overhear more of Nathan and Alexander's conversation on their first night together. How widespread did the rebellion go? How many dukes were betraying Verden? Why were they betraying Verden? There were so many questions he could not ask for fear of revealing that he had overheard the Princes talking. Not that any answers they could provide would illuminate much, he knew nothing of the nobles of Verden and even less about the inner politics between them. He doubted that the noblemen leading the rebellion could have the same complaints against the High King as the peasants he had grown up around. What could be motivating them? Was it purely a lust for more power? Or perhaps they had grown envious of the King's treasury.