“And to cap out our lesson...” Aregoma said once they were far enough away from the town. “...you have to remember that being a mage out in the world is an ungrateful job. People fear what they do not understand, and will always see you as something alien and dangerous, even when you help them.” She seemed serene. This wasn’t the first time she had to leave a town in silence. “Just like a wounded animal, once you free their paws from the snare they will run away and bite, even if you offered them food.”
“I do not appreciate you comparing people to animals.” Barked Helvia. “Did you actually explain what was going to happen?”
“In vivid detail. But one thing is to be told how a spell is going to work and another is seeing it in action.”
“I know that well.” Helvia continued. “I hate when you mages speak like that, as if other people cannot understand your work, like we are idiots. Or animals.”
“I apologize if I upset you.” Said Aregoma, resting a hand on Helvia’s shoulder. “It was insensitive, I was trying to illustrate my point and I didn’t mean to belittle them. Or you.”
Helvia leaned into Aregoma slightly, whispering like she was afraid of something. “Why such a gruesome spell?”
“Well, I am a necromancer. Healing is not my specialty and she was very weak so basic healing magic would be detrimental. Her mother was human and healthy, she could take the wounds better so I use flesh offering to transfer the wounds to the healthier person.”
Helvia said noting.
“You where there, I said I would do what I could and that was my best attempt.” Aregoma pulled away. “If you want to be more clear on what upset you I will be here to talk.” She stood up and walked to the back of the cart, sitting next to Lu. “Next lesson: Mirrors and paths.”
Helvia did not take long to get over whatever her problem was and went back to being friendly. Or as friendly as she usually was, which was not very. The following days passed with a semblance of normality, following the riverside road south and then west, sleeping in military bases or anywhere they were offered and the few times they had to sleep by the road went on without incident.
*****
During this time Aregoma and Lu went over some more of the basics of arcane theory, the most they could do without doing any actual magic, delving deeper into the basics on how essence and resonance worked. The explanation that better clicked with Lu was imagining essence as being sound and each thing that existed being a specific melody, and mages were able to ‘sing’ new songs or alter existing ones. Regardless of how complex the melodies were, they were all composed with four basic notes, four basic forms of essence that had their own affinities and uses:
- Life for healing, growth and light.
- Death, for protection, empowering one self and breaking things.
- Form, for insight, planning and shaping.
- Matter, for creating things out of nothing, summoning the elements and projecting energy.
These types of essence could be used on their own to cast spells, or they could be used combined with one another to create more complex effects. Each combination of the four fundamental resonances was known as a path and each path had dozens or hundreds of spells of each grade associated with it. The four fundamental paths, associated with using only one resonance, were the easiest to learn and their spells were relatively simple. Every mage was expected to know and be able to cast at least some of the most useful spells from each of these paths. There were also six combined paths that used a combination of two resonances:
- Necromancy used Life and Death.
- Integrity used Life and form.
- Creation, Life and Matter.
- Transmutation, Form and Matter.
- Illusion, Form and Death
- Destruction, Matter and Death.
Most mages would choose one of the combined paths to specialize on, as well as becoming proficient in the fundamental paths associated with them. Lu asked about ‘forbidden magic’ and was told by Aregoma that this was a name sometimes given to the complex paths, which needed three resonances:
- Path of Time needed Life, Death and Form.
- Path of Space needed Life, Death and Matter.
- Path of The Soul was Matter, Life and Form.
- Path of the body was Matter, Death and Form.
These paths were simply too complicated to be used by most mages and could backfire easier so the High Circle, the highest authority regarding magic practice in the empire, decided to forbid its use unless directly approved by an Archmage. Even if authorized, most considered them too much effort and too risky to learn and specialize in these paths. The answer to the obvious question was that the combination of all four resonances was called the Path of Truth, but it was impossible for anyone other than the emperor to use such magic, and even then the scholars argued on whether or not even Shimuri himself could use it or if it was merely a mirage, an unachievable goal.
Eventually, The Wall became visible over the horizon. A massive barrier of mountains that stretched from the southernmost part of the empire, on the border with Silver Mountains and all the way to Aru’Madar at the very north. Beyond the wall were only a few kilometers of mostly uninhabited land and then the Altuani Ocean where the Dragon Isle was. Even after the mountains became visible they had still four days of travel ahead to reach them and another two to find the mountain port that would let them cross to the other side.
*****
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The night before crossing the wall they slept on a small outpost consisting only of a stone watchtower, an tiny but well kept and elegant inn and a stable. Despite the small size it was packed full with people, with at least five other carts and four extra horses already occupying the stables.
They left their mules at the stable and walked inside the cramped hall, decorated with the flag of the empire over dark wooden walls. The place was filled with the smell of ale, warm food and the loud conversations of two dozen people who seemed to be trying to speak over each other. The three of them sat down at the only free table and before they could start any conversation one of the guards that was overseen the place sat down besides them.
“Blessed night, travellers. I am Captain Grenna, in charge of keeping watch over this mountain pass.” The woman was in her fifties, with rugged skin and short greying hard. She was missing an eye and had a scar running from her lip all the way to her forehead. She pulled a blank paper and an inkless quill before continuing. “Where are you travelling to and what are your intentions? Just need to fill out some paperwork.” She turned to Aregoma with a smile on her face. “Also, how was your trip to Oksuadi? Was it as boring as you expected?”
“We are travelling to the Dragon Isle University of Arcane arts.” Helvia answered. “I am escorting a mage, an aspiring acolyte and transporting some materials requested by the mages.”
The guard touched the quill to the paper and wrote, causing ink to appear on the paper with a small golden glow.
“Oksuadi was wonderful! Thanks for asking Nat.” Aregoma responded. “It is so green up there, but like emerald green, not dark green. I ended up having to use more puppets than expected and people where not very happy, as usual. But you know someone has to do these jobs.” Both Aregoma and Grenna laughed.
“How much are you transporting? How many animals? Also I need your names.” The captain asked. Helvia gave all the requested information and answered some more questions with details on the size of the carriage and other logistic details. “Good, we should have enough space in the convoy for you as well.” The captain stood up. “You arrived just in time, we will leave at dawn. If the weather is good we will get to the other side before sundown.” She looked at Helvia for a few seconds. “What is your rank soldier?”
“Just a legionary, Captain.” Helvia answers with the slightest hint of resentment.
“You will be under my command during tomorrow then. Recently we have had more trouble with bandits than usual and we could make use of a veteran like you to protect the civilians.”
“As you see fit, Captain.”
“Good. Enjoy your dinner then.” She saluted them and then left the room, two other guards were waiting for her by the door.
Lu observed the other groups hanging around at the dining hall of the inn. Most of them seemed like merchants, clothes too fine to be anything else, another half a dozen seemed like private bodyguards, with unmarked armour and weapons at the ready. There were only three other mages that Lu could see, one of them was a human boasting a blue and purple stole with one golden dot. Lu now knew that it meant that this mage was a novice, only able to use first grade spells from the paths of life and form.
On the opposite side of the room was a group of gnomes. They were short and stocky, about half of Lu’s height, and their arms seemed almost comically wide for their bodies. One of them was bald and had a really long mustache styled into two spirals just below his eyes adorned with silver and precious stones. Most of his ears and fingers were also adorned with jewelry and as he loudly guffawed Lu could tell at least one of his teeth was also made out of silver. He was speaking to an older gnome woman, also covered in jewellery as argent as her hair, and a young one who looked to be her daughter. She dressed in less extravagant clothes, boasting a blue, green and emerald stole with two dots. Path of creativity, second grade. She was also wearing a good amount of shiny earrings, but next to the gilded couple any amount of fancy looked like nothing.
The third mage walked to the table they were sitting at, towering over them like a giant, as tall as Helvia despite the fact that the hooded figure was hunched forwards. The mage was wearing old worn out travel clothes and a leather cloak which was way to small for her, the hood concealing her face. Over her chest her stole showed blue, purple and azure with two dots. She was most likely a healer, using the path of integrity.
“Hi Are, do you mind if I sit with you?” The figure said, almost whispering with shaky voice like a shy kid asking for their mom’s permission.
Aregoma jumped out a hugged the giant. “Tessa! What a coincidence, I didn’t know you had gone on a job.” The two of them sat down and the fourth person removed her hood while Aregoma introduced her friends. “Tessa, these are Helvia and Lu. Lu, Helvia, this is Acolyte Tessa.”
Tessa was an orc. Her factions were wide and pronounced, with thick lips, large eyes and a flat nose. Her skin was green and her whole face was covered in small cuts or scars like she had been struggling to shave something off of it and from her lower mandible two of her teeth stretched out like tusks almost to her cheekbones. Her eyes were an intense azure colour, the same as her stole, that almost seemed to shine from the inside.
“Nice to meet you all.” She said with meek voice while bowing her head. Her straight copper hair laid flat about shoulder length over her face, acting like a curtain. She was wearing a golden amulet with the emblem of the dragon engraved on it like those of priests and was fidgeting with it.
“Hi.” Both Helvia and Lu said. Tessa nodded and avoided eye contact.
“So how long were you out?” Asked Aregoma, breaking the awkward tension. “What was the job?”
“Yes!” Tessa nodded enthusiastically and pulled a box containing a set of seven books out of her bag. “So Master Harrock got a hint of someone in Dalia’s crown who had gotten a hold of some authentic Ironhands Manuscripts and send me to buy them for my research.”
“Oh that is so nice! So these are yours then?” Aregoma asked, taking the books and handling them with extreme care.
“Not exactly, they belong to Master Harrock now but I get to use them first until I am done with my thesis.” Tessa clarified, speaking much more assertive and enthusiastically.
A server brought pork pie for dinner and Lu lost interest in the conversation the two mages were having. They were more concerned with the movements and whereabouts of the people around them. It felt like everyone was looking at them, like they were in the middle of some hornets nest about to be stung, which made them lose most of their appetite. On their left, Helvia looked upset and was fully focused on the food, aggressively cutting the pie and chewing like it was made of rocks. One of the other patrons offered them some tea, which Aregoma and Tessa accepted enthusiastically. Helvia also had some, but Lu declined. They were not a big fan of hot drinks. The elf looked too tall and thin, with freakishly long fingers like vines. He was dressed in practical but expensive clothes, too clean to be any older than a few months and on his neck hung an iron necklace with a diamond-shaped crystal in the middle that emitted a very faint purple glow.
After they were done for dinner Helvia went to speak with the barkeep to rent rooms for the night, but there was only one left. They arranged so that Aregoma would spend the night with the orc and Lu with their guardian, who would most likely be sleeping on the floor given how none of the beds that were left were big enough for her. They stored their things in the rooms and went to sleep.