Rampage, p.21
Rampage, page 21
part #1 of Land of the Elementals Series
They spoke for long hours, stopping only when a servant knocked on the door with lunch. Karria found Kya to be great company and was glad to have made a friend like her on her first day here.
The sun was beginning to set when she left Kya’s room and headed towards the throne room. She walked down the long corridor, looking at the colorful tapestries on the walls, and was soon standing before the large doors again. Stopping before the guards, she waited for one of them to announce her, before walking in to see the king and queen.
27
Karria entered the large throne room and looked around. The king and queen sat at a table along with a third elf that Karria had not seen before. The table looked whole and undamaged, so they’d either fixed or replaced it since Karria’s outburst the previous day. A servant walked up to her then and escorted her to the table where she was seated next to the stranger, an elf who appeared in his early forties. He wore a long brown robe and a knotted rope was tied around his waist. A small medallion in the shape of a Goldenleaf tree leaf hung around his neck.
“Karria, welcome,” Blyss said with a smile. “May I introduce Vartan, headmaster at the Goldenleaf School of Magic?”
Karria inclined her head to the man.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Vartan looked to Blyss with a smile.
“You were right, Your Majesty. She is quite a polite young lady.”
Karria blushed a little at the compliment but was then distracted by a number of servants who chose that moment to enter, all bearing covered dishes. A steaming plate of roast duck and stringy vegetables was set in front of her. Her mouth began watering at the smell.
Alvine chuckled at the look she was giving her food.
“Let us eat first. Then we will talk,” he said.
And with that, everyone dug in.
Karria could not remember a time when she’d tasted better duck. The skin was crunchy, and the meat was tender and moist. She was surprised when she once again polished off everything on her plate. Vartan looked over at her empty plate with a raised eyebrow.
“Tell me something, Karria. Are you still hungry?” he asked.
Karria, much to her embarrassment, nodded her head, and Vartan’s eyes grew just a bit wider.
“Let me explain my odd question,” he said, setting his fork down. “The more magic one has, the more energy their body will consume. Thus, strong Mages, even the lower Tier ones, will have to eat a lot more than the average person.”
“Well, that would explain why I’ve been eating so much lately,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “I thought something might be wrong with me.”
“Not at all,” Vartan answered. “We have many types of Mages at our school, so this is something that I’m used to seeing. However, even my most powerful students would be satisfied after finishing nearly four pounds of roast duck and a pound of vegetables.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully before turning to the king and queen.
“I’m sorry for taking over this meeting, Your Majesties, but this is all quite fascinating,” he said, bowing his head.
Alvine just waved his apology away.
“We were aware that the girl had powerful magic and that is why we asked for you specifically. Do you think she would benefit from general schooling, or should she be in private lessons?”
“Well, from a practical standpoint, she is a few years behind others her age,” Vartan began. “However, due to the power she displayed, and the nature of her magic…” He trailed off here, thinking again.
“I would say she needed a private tutor, but she would still benefit from going to class as well,” he finished.
“What would you recommend?” Blyss asked, cutting into the conversation.
Vartan thought for a second and then looked at Karria.
“Tell me, girl, which would you prefer? You will need a tutor either way, but going to regular class would still be beneficial, though not completely necessary to your overall education.”
Karria didn’t even have to think about this question.
“I would like to join a regular class,” she said confidently. “But I would ask that you put me in the same class as Kya.”
Vartan looked at her in puzzlement.
“Why would you ask that?”
“She is the only friend I currently have, and I believe it will be easier for me to adapt if I had someone I knew there with me.”
Vartan thought for a moment before slowly nodding.
“Yes, you are quite right. It is beneficial to learning, as well as mental wellbeing, to have a familiar face in a strange place. I will allow you and Kya in the same class.”
Karria smiled and thanked him.
“Now, as for the matter of where you will be staying?” Vartan asked. “The school has dormitories, and we have a few open beds available…”
Blyss cut him off here.
“She will be staying with us,” she said in a no-nonsense tone. “This girl has no family, and we owe her a debt for bringing Sylvester back safely. It is, therefore, our duty to provide for her.”
The headmaster nodded as if he’d been expecting this.
“Now, for the last matter before I go. I would like to perform a magical aptitude test. It will tell me what you will be capable of given time and training. It will also give your teachers and tutor a good idea of where to best focus on developing your talents.”
Karria looked to the king and queen, but Blyss just waved her on.
“Have a good night, dear, and do come see us in the morning. We would love to speak with you over breakfast about your results from tonight.”
“I will. Thank you, Your Majesty,” Karria said.
She stood and followed the headmaster, bowing to Alvine and Blyss before exiting the room.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they headed out into the main corridor.
“I had a room prepared in advance. We normally do this kind of testing in the school, but we wish to be discreet. After all, this will be the first time a human will be joining us in recent history. As far as I know, the last human to join our school was here over four hundred years ago.”
Karria marveled at the opportunity she was being given. To be the first human student in over four hundred years was quite an honor.
They walked further down the hall and soon emerged out into the open entryway. Here Vartan turned and headed down one of the side corridors. He turned a few times, leading her deeper into the castle, before coming to a flight of stairs descending down to a lower floor.
Karria followed a bit nervously as they went deeper underground. Finally, they arrived at the only iron door she’d seen in the castle so far. All the doors she’d seen so far had been made out of wood.
Vartan knocked twice, the sound echoing off the walls. The door opened with a groan, and an elderly elf woman stood before them. She did not look happy to be there and gave Karria a once over before closing the door behind them.
“Karria, this is Professor Palmine,” the headmaster said. “I thought you might need a tutor after speaking with The King and Queen earlier today, so I asked her to meet us here to evaluate your magic aptitude.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Karria said with a bow.
Palmine just grunted in way of response.
“Well, are we gonna get started or what?” she asked brusquely. “I don’t feel like standing around all night.”
“Of course. We will begin momentarily. Karria, would you come over here and place your hand on this orb?” Vartan asked, indicating a large, clear glass sphere mounted on an odd-looking pedestal.
She walked over and placed her hand on it. It was warm to the touch and seemed to be humming slightly.
“Now, I want you to close your eyes and follow my instructions.” Vartan continued.
Karria did so, and he began to speak.
“Now, close your eyes and concentrate inward,” he began in a slow, soothing voice.
“I want you to look through your body for your Origin. The Origin in every Mage’s body is the place where their magic is first formed. It will appear as a Core or sphere of light. Every Mage’s Origin is located in a different spot, so don’t be alarmed if it turns up somewhere odd.”
Karria did as she was told, looking inward and focusing. After a few minutes, she could begin to feel a light thrumming coming from the back of her skull. When she concentrated harder, a dimly glowing sphere came into a blurry kind of focus.
She tried to tighten her focus and was rewarded when the image began to slowly sharpen in her mind’s eye. Soon a pulsing Core came into focus. It was bright, and all colors of the rainbow swirled through it. The core was small, and tiny beams of lights seemed to be shooting from it to various parts of her body. She tried to follow a few, but they were too quick, and she soon lost track of them.
“I can see it,” she said, as if in a trance. “There is a glowing sphere in the back of my skull. Small streaks of light seem to be coming off it, but they are moving too quickly for me to follow.”
“Good,” Vartan continued in that same calm voice.
Karria’s eyes were closed, so she could not see the look that passed between him and Palmine.
“Now, I want you to concentrate on your Origin, and imagine trying to guide some of those streaks of light towards your hands.”
Karria focused a bit harder, her brow creasing in concentration as she tried to will the streaks passing from her Origin to shoot to her hands, instead of random directions. Nothing happened at first, but slowly, she noticed the small beams of light were moving in the general direction of her hands.
“I think it’s working, but I’m not sure,” she said in an uncertain voice.
“There is no need to fret,” Vartan kept the same tone of voice, once again shooting Palmine a look.
Palmine, for her part, was now watching Karria very carefully.
“Now I want you to imagine all those small beams collecting in your hands. When you think you might have done this, try and imagine all that light pouring out of you and into the ball beneath your hands.”
Karria nodded and began to concentrate again. She felt a light tingling in her hands already and imagined that all the beams firing from her Origin were collecting in her palms. Her hands tingled even more now, and she felt a light pounding begin behind her eyes.
She grimaced a little in discomfort but pushed through the pain and imagined that all the collected energy in her hands was now flowing into the glass sphere. She felt something then, an odd tugging sensation along with an intensifying of her headache. Finally, it became too much for her and her concentration slipped.
She turned away from the ball, holding her head and opening her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Headmaster. My head is hurting too much for me to concentrate. I guess I’ve failed the test then?”
Much to her surprise, the headmaster didn’t immediately answer. It was then that she noticed the odd lighting in the room and turned back to the glass sphere.
A rainbow of colors, the same as her Origin, swirled around inside the glass sphere, making light dance on the walls and ceiling. Karria stared in open amazement as the light seemed to form into different shapes until it became too dazzling for her eyes, and she was forced to turn away.
Vartan was smiling broadly, and Palmine had a thoughtful look on her face, as well as one of grudging respect.
“What does this mean?” Karria asked. Her head still hurt, but she was too curious to care.
“Well, let me explain how the test works, then you will understand what you’ve just accomplished,” the headmaster began in an excited voice.
“Normally, when we ask a student to search for their Origin, they have no success whatsoever. It normally takes around six months for most to be able to find it with regularity. Of the rare few who manage it on their first try, only a small handful can successfully identify their Origin’s pattern of behavior,” he continued. “You, for example, have beams of light firing off at random. Others may have it conduct through their bones or their muscles.
“Of the rare few who can identify their Origin’s pattern on the first attempt, none have been able to get their magic to bend to their will. So, you can imagine how rare it is to not only do all of that but also externalize it on your first attempt! In other words, even though you’re only at Tier 1 in your magical abilities, you are at least advanced enough already to keep up with the third-year students at this school!” he said with excitement.
Karria was more than a little shocked at this overload of information, but there were still a few things that she didn’t understand.
“What does the glass sphere do exactly? And why does my head hurt so much whenever I use my magic?”
“The glass ball is a method we use to identify three key things: Potential, magic type, and ability. Most students only find their magic type in their third year, when they can successfully externalize it into the sphere. You already knew you magic type when you came in, and while rare, it is not unheard of.
“Your friend Kya is an example of this. She knew almost immediately of her Connection magic, as some have an innate sense of self. The color in the sphere will tell us your type of magic. Most Mages only have one solid color, or in rare cases two or three. The rainbow pattern you see confirms your Mythic magic type.”
Karria nodded her head again, understanding a little better now, but the headmaster was still not done.
“Now, normally, the glass sphere would only fill partway and give off a dull light. I have only once seen it filled more than halfway or seen a glow that could give more light than a torch. Yours, however, filled the sphere completely and lit this entire room in brilliant color. This tells us that you have more magic potential than anyone I’ve yet to meet, and the glow tells us of its intensity, which is quite high, I might add.”
Karria had begun to smile here. She’d had no idea she was this powerful or that she had this rare of a talent. She opened her mouth to speak, but Palmine cut her off.
“Don’t go getting ahead of yourself, girl!” She snapped. “Just because you have the potential to be great, doesn’t mean you are now!”
Vartan nodded at this, and she continued.
“The mere fact that you feel pain at the slightest use of your magic means that you have much to learn,” her voice softened a bit, and she continued. “In time, you will learn control, and the pain will go away, for the most part.”
Her voice hardened again, and she met Karria’s eyes with a steely gaze.
“But let me give you a warning. Do not, under any circumstances, use more magic than you are capable of. The moment you feel your head hurt, cut it off immediately! Lest you end up a drooling, mindless husk of your former self. I have not lost a student yet, and I don’t plan on losing one now!”
With that, she left the room, grumbling about being too old for this kind of work.
Vartan watched her go with a bemused smile on his face.
“Well, Karria, it has been quite the exciting night,” he said, pulling a small vial of green liquid from his pocket. “Drink this to help with the magic fatigue. It tastes foul, but your headache will soon be gone.”
Karria nodded her thanks and downed the liquid with a shudder.
“That’s a good girl,” he said, patting her on the back. “School will resume in two days’ time. Kya will show you around to your classes, so you don’t get lost. Now I recommend a good night’s sleep to get rid of any residual ill effects of overusing magic. I wish you a good night, my dear.”
“Goodnight,” she answered, and with that, she headed out of the room.
As she walked back to her room, her mind began to work quickly. She had a lot of information to process and not a lot of time in which to do it.
Maybe Kya could help her out?
With that in mind, she headed to her friend’s room. Despite the headache, she couldn’t afford to go to sleep just yet. She had a lot to talk about.
28
Arbor peered down the long tunnel, seeing a light up ahead that had nothing to do with the glow stones on the walls. He could also feel the temperature beginning to drop and wrapped the heavy cloak tighter around himself.
He, Grak, and Hord were on horseback and were finally nearing the end of a week-long journey out of the mountain. Even though he could feel the air becoming colder, Arbor was glad to be out of the mountain. It had felt oppressive and dark inside, despite all the glow stones, and he missed the fresh air and open skies.
“Looks like the end of the tunnel up ahead,” he called back to the others.
They rode on for another minute before emerging out into bright sunshine. Arbor looked around in astonishment. The entire world was white!
He’d never actually seen snow before, but he had heard rumors about it.
They were quite high up the mountain and looking into the distance, he could see the noticeable change from the snowy mountains to the arid Flatlands. Arbor still had a hard time believing that just moving a few feet in one direction could cause such a drastic change in temperature. The Flatlands truly were unique.
Hord came up beside him, his eyes searching the terrain before them.
“I think it would be best to dismount here and go on foot until we reach more level ground. Otherwise, the horses may slip, and that wouldn’t be good for our health.”
Arbor didn’t know anything about this region, so he deferred to Hord’s judgment.
The three of them dismounted and were soon trudging through a foot of fine powder. The going was tough. It was even tougher for Arbor as he’d decided to try a new training method to strengthen his body’s resistance to his magic. Now he was constantly keeping a steady flow of magic pumping through his body in ever-increasing amounts, resulting in constantly sore muscles and sensitive skin. He also found that he became hungry more quickly, and it took a lot more food and water to satisfy his appetite.
