My white hair glinted in the moonlight, illuminating a small clearing and creating a slender silhouette of my body on the ground.
I had gone out to collect firewood but accidentally ventured out too far. I had lost my way home. Now it was after dark and after doubling back twice, I was starting to wander.
“Oh no,” I whispered, “Raven, what have you gotten yourself into now?”
Father always told me not to go so far, he always said to leave a trail, but I, Raven Sparrow, was stupid and did not follow his instructions.
I kicked the dirt angrily, dropping the wood in my hands. I looked at my surroundings: I was standing at the edge of a small, moonlit clearing. It was filled with moonflowers and soft grass.
All of a sudden, I heard a loud growl in front of me. Curious, I drew closer, only to see a fearsome pair of black eyes lurking out of the shadows. Startled, I jumped back, tripping over a piece of wood I'd dropped and landed with a thud on my back.
Out of the tangle of trees and bushes that surrounded me, a menacing black bear revealed itself, looking bloodthirsty.
I got up slowly and carefully, stepping back, just the way my father taught me to do when encountering a wild bear, especially one of this size.
The bear snarled, it moved closer to me. I felt its breath, I closed my eyes and my muscles tensed. I kept walking backward, slowly and carefully.
The bear didn’t stop coming at me, it took a few more steps towards me and then reared up and emitted a loud growl.
The trees shook, birds scattered, and leaves began falling. The bear swung its paw up, I emitted a silent scream. I closed my eyes, unable to do anything.
All of a sudden there was a flash of movement and I was pushed away. Looking up, I saw my father, Haliad Sparrow, a sword drawn, and with an intense gaze.
“Raven! Get back!” he shouted, “Leave this to me!”
I scrambled back, leaning on a tall oak. I was utterly petrified, not only for myself but now for my father as well. He swung his blade towards the bear experimentally, but the bear barely flinched.
A roar pierced the air, my father held his ground. The bear’s eyes were incredibly black, like an endless void.
The bear charged, my father thrust his sword into the bear’s shoulder, but its claws still raked his skin. He howled in pain and fell to his knees. The Bear did not react to the sword stab which resulted in a large bleeding cut. As the bear advanced, the sword protruding from his skin fell out and clattered, bloodstained onto the grass.
Meanwhile, my father was breathing raggedly and his clothes hung in tatters. Through the ripped cloth of his shirt, I could see red claw marks. He turned to me and said, “Raven, run back to camp, I’ll distract him.”
My lip quivered, I answered, “N-no, I-I’ll stay and h-help,”
“No!” my father shouted, getting up, “you need to be safe.”
I listened but didn’t move, I was frozen in terror.
My father put up his hands against the bear’s shoulders to keep it from charging, but it wasn’t enough. I watched in horror as the bear bit my father’s shoulder and flung him into a tree. The bear then turned to me. Its teeth were splattered with blood, both his and my father’s. He was about to bite me as I stood, petrified, and barely breathing.
“Ahhhh!” My father screamed, I saw him with his sword in hand, running through the clearing, splattering blood everywhere. He made enough noise to attract the bear’s attention. The bear swung his head to see him. My father took his chance and stabbed its head, unlike the last time, the bear reared back and roared. He barreled into my father’s chest, then raked its claws in deep. My father simply pushed his sword further, and the bear leaped off of him and ran in a pained frenzy. Finally, he collapsed limp and breathing.
“Father…” words escaped my mouth as I hurried over next to him. He was heavily wounded, and his breathing was heavy.
“Raven…” he said, “it looks like I won't make it.”
“No… I can still save you. I just need to get back to camp…”
“Raven, have I not taught you well enough to know when someone is dying?”
I didn’t answer, I was too scared. “I can care for you no longer,” he made out, “go find a mage named Herman, he’ll help you. Tell him you should be trained as a warrior-mage.”
“An m-mage named H-Herman?” I asked, tears rolling down my cheeks.
“Yes, promise me this, so I may depart in peace,” he said,
“O-of course f-father, I’ll do as you say.”
My father smiled and closed his eyes. I waited, but he did not open them again. I wept, he was gone, my father, who raised me for thirteen years. I silently cried myself to sleep.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7h0VT733zE
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYyvns0Ws8
The next morning it dawned bright and clear. The sky was blue, the breeze was perfect, and the forest seemed to be full of life. Too bad last night killed the mood. I had dragged my father’s body to our camp, which lay deep in the Dystian Forest. Then I dug a grave. This took most of the morning and it was midday by the time I was done.
I laid my father in the hold I had dug, he collapsed his sword in his hands and wore fresh clothes. Slowly, I covered him with dirt.
I found a large piece of thick bark and stuck it in the ground. Carefully, I carved: Haliad Sparrow, the best dad a girl could have.
I stared at it for a while, contemplating my feelings. It seemed as if everything happened too quickly. If you had asked me yesterday that I'd lose my father a few hours later, I wouldn’t have believed it. Now he is gone because I went out too far to get firewood.
I got to my feet, father taught me better than to mope around, he’d want me to pick myself up and do what I needed to.
He had told me to find a mage named Herman. I had never met someone named Herman, so I had no idea where to start. I remembered a brief explanation of a “Mage” by my father. He said a mage is a sentient being that uses magic. Most mages have magical blood such as elf or dwarf. That was pretty much as far as I got on that subject.
To be honest, I never thought much about magic, much less magical ancestry. My father taught me he was an elf/human mix. He told me a human was non-magical and had a variety of hair and sin hues, hair from light gold to black, and skin from pale white to dark brown. Meanwhile, elves had hues that were much more vibrant. He said elven hair and skin could be any color in the rainbow, they had pointy ears and walked quite gracefully. Their speed and strength were legendary, and their life was quite long. I had learned much of the world was quite mixed with human, elf, dwarf, and giant ancestry in everyone. He said humans and elves were the most common mixture, but almost anyone had those four species in them. Some beings obsessed themselves with only marrying “pure” beings, these were called purists, who had pure lines. Pure humans, pure elves, pure dwarves, there were purists of all kinds, but most places don’t support that thinking.
Since father had elven blood, which was magic blood, he could have been a mage, and since I was his kin, I had elf blood too. This meant that I could be a mage. My father had told me to say I needed to be trained as a “warrior-mage ''. I assumed that the “mage” part made a warrior-mage, so I could become one. I wasn’t sure if white hair like mine was a sign I was magical, but I hoped so.
I started packing my things, lost in thought while doing so, I was thinking so deeply I didn’t realize someone had come until I heard a cough.
I turned around and saw an old man leaning on an oaken staff. He had grey hair, a goatee, blue eyes, and pale skin. His ears stuck out like an elf and were quite tall.
“Who are you?” I asked since I had never seen him before. The only people I’ve seen in my life were my father, and the occasional forester, traveler, and annoying merchants. The rest I've only seen in illustrations.
Instead of answering, he walked around our campsite, his leafy green cloak rippling in the sunshine. I stared at him as he admired our hut. “Uh, hello? I asked who you were?” I said irritated.
He stopped and looked at me with his startling blue eyes. “I trust that Haliad is dead,” he said.
I shot to my feet, simultaneously reaching for my sword. “You knew my father?” I said, “and how’d you know he’s dead?”
“Yes, I did know your father, and I think you know how I know your father has departed,” he said.
I looked at his staff. It seemed as if it glowed. It was made of a polished pack, its top had the source of its light, a small glowing green ball.
I racked my brain, thankfully, much of what I needed to know I was already thinking about. A mage… a mage had a staff and a cloak!
“You’re a mage!” I breathed. All he did was nod. “You used magic to figure out my father was dead, how? Plus, how did you know my father?” I demanded.
“I knew Haliad in his youth, we were quite good friends. When he decided to retire into the forest he asked me to keep an eye on him through magic in case anything happened. If something did, I was to raise you instead.” he said, then he set his eyes on me, “My name is Herman Diarick.”
My eyes grew wide, I let go of my sword, “You’re the mage my father said to find, the mage named Herman.”
It was his turn to be surprised, he said. “Really, what did he say?”
“He said to find you, and for you to train me as a warrior mage,” I said.
His ears perked up at the sound of that, “A warrior-mage?” he asked slowly. I nodded in agreement.
“Well, you better come with me, Raven,” Herman said.
“You know my name,” I observed.
“Yes, and plenty of other things about you, Raven Sparrow.”
At the mention of my full name I jumped. Then decided to come with him as he turned away.
I shoved a few last provisions into my pack and slung it on my shoulders. Then I scurried up close. “Where are we going?” I demanded.
“You’ll see,” he replied, then surged forward.
He was fast for an old guy, I struggled to keep up. The whole time we walked I pestered him with questions, and he simply refused to answer.
I was so caught up in asking I hardly realized how far we had traveled, the sun hung low in the sky, and my stomach growled after practically a whole day of not eating.
Herman suddenly stopped, I was so immersed in contemplating my stomach and questions that I ran into him. As I regained my senses I realized we were now in a beautiful clearing.
The air seemed to shine and flowers bloomed in the summer light. A small pond glistened towards my right, with water so clear you could see the bottom several feet in. To top it all, A gigantic tree, taller than all others and three times as thick glittered on top of a hill. The hill itself sported a house, quite simple and dug out under the hill.
The place seemed so perfect, so… “Magical.” Herman said. I turned to him in wonder, he had taken the words right out of my mouth.
“That’s what you were going to say? Right? This palace seems so magical.” He finished, and he was right.
He gestured to some tree stumps in a corner, their size proportioned like a table, and two seats on either side.
I sat down on the smallest one, he sat on another, larger stump. Then he leaned forward, putting his hands on the big stump like a table.
I let go of the pack on my shoulders. It thumped loudly on the ground behind me. Only now I realized how much my shoulders were aching, and my stomach growled as if to say, “Feed me!” or at least, that’s what I thought.
Herman raised his staff and in a gust of wind, some food settled on the table, with another flick two glasses of water arrived as well.
I was so hungry I stuffed a bagel in my mouth then I started on my meat pie, which was begging to be eaten.
“So, answers,” Herman said, raising his eyebrows at my table manners.
“Umm-hmm,” I said, my mouth full. I forced the food down and took a refreshing gulp of water.
Herman looked at me, then took a bite out of his pie, which he ate in nicely cut pieces.
“So, I knew your father back before you were born, back when he was younger. We met in the capital city of Dysta and became fast friends.”
“Although I was older than him by several years, we treated each other as equals. I was a journeying mage, looking for young and worthy pupils. Meanwhile, he was a hunter and nomad, searching for nothing in particular. Then he fell in love and had you. After that, he decided to live here in the forest to care for you. He said to take over parenting you if he died before you came of age.”
I blinked, then said slowly, “Okay, um, then why haven’t I met you before?”
“I assume it was because he wanted you to live a sheltered life, away from the nuances and problems of civilization,” he replied.
“Then who was my mother?” I asked.
At this, his expression became guarded, “I’ll tell you later,” he said quickly, “but now I have to tell you about magic, and what is a warrior-mage.”
I wanted to know about my mother, but I was also curious about images, so I snapped to attention.”
“What do you know about mages?” he asked.
“Honestly, not much,” I said and told him what I knew. He nodded and proceeded to explain in great detail, the principles of magic.
I could probably tell you the whole explanation but I’ll spare you some pain and show you the highlights.
A mage, essentially, is a being who accesses the nine elements: fire, water, earth, air, nature, metal, lightning, sound, and ice. A mage accesses the elements through the magical blood in their body and directs the magic through their staff.
The magical heritage gives a mage inner magic, which with nurturing, can help access physical magic through a staff. The staff acts as a gate, and a mage is a gatekeeper. They control the flow of magic from the gate to achieve things. The gate is to the realm of magic, where magical energy is stored. Various theories suggest the amount of magic is finite, but the amount is so large it is unlikely we will ever run out of it. Of course, after a spell is extinguished, the energy returns to the realm of its origin.
That’s how magic works, but becoming a mage is a whole different story.
Herman explained it like this: A mage becomes a mage by completing two apprenticeships. A junior apprenticeship with a certified mage, and a senior apprenticeship at the official academy. Anyone can do a junior apprenticeship, and after completing it an apprentice must go to a singing root tree, which are magical trees that are living gateways to the magical realm. Their wood is what makes staff. The apprentice must kneel and ask the tree for an official staff and cloak. If the tree deems the mage worthy, the apprentice receives staff and a cloak, if not then they don’t. A successful apprentice moves on to a senior apprenticeship, an unsuccessful one is some way or another unable to become a mage, and must find another profession.
Senior apprenticeship is done at the Academy for Brights, at the center of our world. It is where mages can live, train, and study. It’s built in the world’s oldest singing root tree, and a city erected around it.
There are different types of mages as well. An elemental mage is by far the most common type, Herman is one. They simply use the elements through spells, which are words of power. Spells use a prefix, one for each element, and a suffix, which is what the element does. The prefixes and suffixes can be combined in ways to make different outcomes anhybridid spells, which are spells of two or more elements.
Another type of mage is a forge-enchanter. A forge-enchanter uses magic to create enchanted objects, which usually take a long time to make, as well as charms.
Charms are objects that are used to cast a spell without the skill or knowledge to do so. The downside is that charms can only cast one specific spell. If you can run magic through a charm, it will only produce one outcome, so there is not much flexibility.
Forge-enchanters can only use magic through enchanted objects and charms. Other mages can only use enchanted objects or charms if the creator allows them, or they qualify based on the parameters set by the creator.
The least significant type is the healer, which only uses magic to heal. Which can be essential at times.
The last kind is a warrior-mage, but to describe that there should be some groundwork laid first.
The ancient laws set parameters on the use of magic and combat. In so, they created two sects of fighters. There is the mage and the warrior. A mage can use magic but does not usually specialize in physical weapons, other than perhaps their staff. A warrior specializes in weapons, but they have no skill in magic. The two sects balance each other out, balancing the power of physical power and magic.
Warriors specialize in different weapons and fighting techniques instead of magic.
A warrior-mage bridges the gap. They can do all types of magic, and all forms of physical combat. Unfortunately, they’re rare, so not many people become one.
Nowadays, not many beings even try to become mages out of fear they might get rejected. This led to a current decline in mages.
In all, my father wanted me to become the least able to become a type of mage. That made me get a thousand questions. Sadly, night had fallen, so Herman led me to a cot in the corner of his under-a-hill house. I was so tired I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwX92pPjAx
