Nenewyn

  I had a nightmare. Nay, it would be inaccurate to say that I had a nightmare, because it was more like I had lived through one. How many years had it been? I still remembered it clearly. At the present I was walking up a somewhat steep grade, through the snow; Prince Valyrian was walking ahead of me with his usual care-free expression. He had turned about, called us "slowcoaches", and laughed. I sighed, and I wondered, just how does he manage to carry on the way he does? I turned behind me, and there was Prince Illorien struggling to keep up. This was a training mission for the First Prince, but it was also a task that Lord Hanzorian had set us to.

  Somewhere high in these peaks, gods only knew how many leagues away from Tor Anaura, there was an abandoned human keep. Naturally I had used teleportation magic to transport the us all as far as the town down mountain, where we were then provisioned. Of course Valyrian made it a point to visit the tavern and carouse while I hid in the corner, shrouded in darkness. A single elf was an unusual sight in so remote a place. Three elves all at once was unheard of, and a hero they'd heard of in legends showing up was unthinkable. Prince Valyrian's mere presence was enough for the entire town to show up at the tavern to meet him, and the fact that he bought everyone drinks caused the entire valley to echo with the maddening cacophony of revelry. It was uncomfortably bright, dreadfully loud, and unbearably crowded.

  I preferred dark, quiet places over the loud ones; inside or outside, I did not care very much for crowded places. Never really have. Even when I was studying at the Grand University of Magic under the tutelage of Archmage Tarian I largely kept to myself. I'm usually even more aloof on the surface than most elves and far more reclusive. When I went abroad it was under protest, well, silent protest. The sooner I could read in my bedchamber the better. I would have even preferred the dank and ancient ruin that the three of us - there was a whoosh overhead - excuse me, that the four of us were bound for. Valyrian's friend and companion, the dragon Snauro, had also been teleported with us which had been no easy feat! One dragon that size must have been worth six to eight elf-sized creatures? It was taxing, to be sure - for I am no Archmage. I doubted that I could ever hold a candle to Master Tarian, nor to Merlinda, Mihoshi, Gandore, or Androbas.

  My heart sank. They had featured in my dreams a great deal of late. Them and the others. I had been in charge of transporting back then, too. Yes. That time I teleported into a living nightmare. Though the worst scarring of my mind had been forestalled, I remembered it quite clearly. Fewer than a score of years ago, Princess Sylfaena expressed a desire to drop in on one of her former teachers - Archmage Merlinda. I hadn't been out much in a while, preferring my tomes and my duties at court, but, the third princess is a dear friend to me, always had been, even when she was an impulsive child she always looked to me for advice. But more selfishly, the idea of visiting my own old master, Archmage Tarian, did make me happy. Naturally I resolved to take us both, stay awhile, perhaps a month or two. His majesty was more than happy to grant me leave. Thus did I hie myself to Kurvania to meet up with Sylfaena - oh, did I fail to mention that we'd been communicating distantly by magical means? Gah!

  After preparing for a long time away from home, the two of us soon found ourselves inside a deep snowy vale surrounded by mountains. It took many leaps to reach but I knew the route well. There, with its high dark stone walls and many lofty round towers, was the hallowed institution that I had come to love and remembered fondly. There was a settlement adjoining the school. I knew not much about the town, for it hadn't even been founded the last time I had visited, which was centuries ago. Sylfaena, however, knew it well - it was a place where students and faculty spent a great deal of time drinking and having fun, but sometimes they would also offer spellcasting services to the local people. As a matter of fact there were some students specializing in the crafting of magic items that had their very own shop in town. However, we did not have the time, and I did not have the inclination, to do much apart from wander the halls of my alma mater. Brr, it was bitter cold, and I longed for the indoors.

  Once inside the drafty old place I saw that it hadn't changed much apart from a few more decorations here and there, more animated objects, but those are minor details. After waiting a short while, a gentle chime, like a violin in spring, rang throughout the halls - that was the signal for the end of today's lectures. That was the earliest we could hope to beseech Merlinda, High Magistrix of Transmutation. That fancy title meant that she was the head teacher of pattern, matter, and enhancement magic; a true transmuter must needs be an expert in at least two of those. I had never met her personally, but I knew of her by reputation and from Sylfaena's stories about her time at university. I am glad to have inspired her to attend, actually. When she was a little girl she used to pull pranks on me - my somewhat flat rear-end still clenches when I hear anything resembling electricity - but she clearly had talent and I thought it would be best cultivated in a structured environment.

  Oh gods, again, I've veered off-topic. When we arrived at Archmage Merlinda's office, the doors were wide open. When we entered I saw a pair of silvery gray cat ears stand erect from behind a large book held by a woman's hands; a silver ring set with a fire opal upon her left middle finger. When the book was lowered, there was the face of a kindly-looking cat-ears beastfolk woman with long silver hair, matching the fur upon the ears, and deep gray eyes with vertical slit pupils. She was wearing a purple wizardly robe with a light blue crochet detachable collar.

  A silver tail flicked happily from left to right, she smiled, adjusted her spectacles, and said, "Sylfaena dear! My word, what a pleasant surprise!"

  Sylfaena bowed and said, "hello, teacher. I trust that you are well?"

  "Oh yes, very well indeed," she said, her ears drooped slightly, "oh, but the timing, the timing-" she coughed. "Oh goodness. This evening I am to teleport to my daughter's home and bring her hither."

  Sylfaena's eyes sparkled, eyes wide, "you've had a child since last we met, teacher?"

  "Oh, ho, ho, yes, I've become a mother and more besides. I'm to take the whole family out for dinner to celebrate my three-hundredth year. I shan't be available to reminisce for at least a week, but after that, I'd be happy to spend time with you. She addressed me directly, "oh I am sorry, and who might you be?"

  I bowed, "I am Nenewyn Andaure, court mage of Anaura."

  Merlinda clapped, "Oh! So you're the onewho sent me this little rascal, one of Ol' Tarry's star pupils! I've heard so much about you, dear!"

  "W-well his majesty approved and-"

  I mean I suppose I did suggest it to the king after all. Despite having lived enough years to be her grandmother, why did it feel like I was speaking to mine own? Speaking of which…

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  "Forgive me, Archmage, but." Why did I even begin that train of thought? Thrice damn-ed curiosity.

  But the Archmage laughed. "You're wondering about how I could, at the tender age of two-hundred and - er - the exact number escapes me, have birthed a daughter. Surely you must know that we arch-wizards have extended lifespans, on top of the fact that we beastfolk tend to live longer than humans already. But that alone isn't enough; you see, beastfolk never stop being fertile. As we age it actually becomes harder to not impregnate us, and our desire to mate intensifies as well thereby increasing the chances even further!"

  The archmage coughed, leaving enough of a pause for me to realize that Sylfaena's cheeks had gone red at that. "Well, that is, unless one uses magic to suppress the mating drive - which I only found out how to do after falling pregnant." She laughed, then coughed again. "Oh bother," she huffed. With a few quick words of magic she cast a spell upon herself; she didn't cough again for our entire conversation after that.

  Once that was done, Merlinda said, smiling, "well not that I regret what happened of course - I actually married the human who gave my daughter to me, Lord Winston Brown, and lived with him until he died; an extended leave of absence from work wasn't necessary, but I took one anyway because I was in love."

  I smiled. I couldn"t deny that sounded romantic, sweet even. My experience with romance came from books, and, well, some of those books were a bit, um - I think I shall keep my own counsel.

  Sylfaena asked, "you two had no other children?"

  "Ah, no. The spell I devised suppressed my ability to go into heat entirely; not that it stopped that ruffian of a husband from taking me every chance he-" she stopped herself from speaking further.

  Oh she was red-cheeked, clearly remembering something which wouldn't have been out of place in one of my less reputable novels. I prayed the topic would veer away from this awkward subject, and thankfully, it did. We had only enough time for a brief conversation, just general well-wishing, really, her time was short, she'd said. That turn of phrase would tragically prove prophetic. The two of us parted ways with Merlinda for the day. I did not see her again for quite some time; well, we were already prepared for a long stay at the University so in the end a week's delay didn't matter.

  After our brief interaction with Merlinda, we did hie ourselves to the library. I always loved books, and I was almost always at the library whenever I had a chance. Master Tarian was the same way. That's why I knew exactly where to find him, in a corner of the library that he'd made into his own office; quite literally just a mahogany desk surrounded by bookcases, with books floating in midair to-and-fro at his will. As usual there were brooms and feather dusters animated by magic just sweeping away, without a care. Archmage Tarian was a very old highborn elf, over ninety centuries in fact, with platinum-colored hair and eyes like white diamonds. The aura of majesty he could radiate would put most mortals into a trance, but he enjoyed suppressing it - and in his latter years he had adopted an almost human-like sense of wonder and joy.

  Were it not for his elongated ears, even longer than most elves, a human pupil might be forgiven for thinking he was just a kind and fun old professor and not a true oldblood elf. Master loved learning, and he loved teaching even more; yes, even at his venerable age he enjoyed mock wizard's duels and hands-on experiments. I had remembered him as a more strict tutor, but that kindness was still there even when he was at his harshest. Everything that I know about magic I learned from Master Tarian, and I knew that I was not alone in feeling this way. Indeed, the amount of budding mages who owed him every fraction of their knowledge was innumerable. Why, he had been teaching magic even before the rise and fall of the Gaian empire. So there he was, and he smiled upon seeing the two of us enter. We bowed our heads in response.

  "High Loremaster," said Sylfaena.

  "My dear Sylfaena!" he said, "and, could that tall, gangly thing be Nenewyn?"

  "Indeed' 'tis I," I said, "full glad I am to find you in good health, Master Tarian."

  "Well, well, what brings you-" unexpectedly, he coughed, "pardon. To what do I owe the honor of such an unexpected visit? Is there some ancient secret from the dawn of time that the two of you are deeply-" there it was again, another cough, "oh apologies, I can't seem to shake this dratted thing."

  Sylfaena raised her hand as though to begin using healing magic, but Master Tarian waved her off, "oh pray, don't bother. I've already cleansed myself of it a few times, but since it keeps returning I can only suppose 'tis the cold air. Fear not."

  "Very well," said Sylfaena, pausing, thoughtfully. "Master Tarian the purpose of our visit is," she sighed, relaxing her shoulders, "well we just wanted to, really. I'd been thinking of Archmage Merlinda and wished to surprise her with some of that tea we used to enjoy. And I, er-" she scratched her cheek "-I still can't teleport, so, I thought that if Nenewyn wanted to visit you, too, she and I could-"

  I smiled. Sylfie, being relatively young, still stumbled when speaking to the truly ancient among us. Ah! Did I call her by the fourth princess' nickname for her again? Goodness, 'tis spreading, and soon the entire court would call her that.

  "Master Tarian, she speaks true," I said, "we would speak unto thee for its own sake."

  The loremaster laughed, then coughed a little, "drat. Well, well, you have certainly brightened this magus of eld's day, coughing be damned! Hmm come to think of it, I've seen a lot of students and teachers with this minor annoyance. Rather inconvenient. But no matter, why don't the two of you tell me what you've been up to lately?"

  We happily obliged the High Loremaster, who, incidentally, was also something like the headmaster or dean. Of course we had much to discuss, and most of it was trivial enough to not warrant recalling the entire conversation. Sylfaena had recently become the official court mage of Kurvania - a position of honor which any spellcaster would strive for. I, on the other hand, in the selfsame manner as many of my compatriots within the Kingdom of Anaura, had the position thrust upon me. Eh? How? Well to make a long story short, his majesty came to visit the Grand University of Magic one day and performed some bizarre esoteric test of wisdom that I alone had passed. After that he somehow managed to convince me that I was the right woman for the job. The best. Me, a plain-looking elf on a good day, who struggled with pattern magic - but I did not require much convincing. His majesty had but to tell me the size of the royal library and before I knew it I had accepted the job. Bribe a bookworm with books? Aye, our king is a true tactical genius.

  We also mentioned the fact that we'd recently acquired a new chamberlain, Naomewsa, who showed a lot of promise. There wasn't really much to tell from my perspective, I'd been doing as I usually did. I didn't dare think of mentioning the second prince's scandalous behavior - well, at least he hadn't made a pass at me yet, not that he would try and bed someone as mediocre as I. Sylfaena spoke largely of events related to her new job, and Master Tarian was keenly interested to hear about Princess Illiana's progress as well. She was intermediate rank in healing and wind already, and we had recently found out that she was a Chosen of Elianora the same as Her Majesty. Of course we were smiling, and naturally we were laughing, for we didn't know what was coming. We just carried on like old friends, a merry old loremaster and two of his old pupils who had long since come into their own. In that fleeting moment we were ignorant to the truth:

  Master Tarian would be the first to die.

  WHAT TO EXPECT

  ● Release Schedule: Tuesday & Thursday at 3:33 PM

  ● Slow Burn: No chosen one. No instant mastery. Remi grinds out every step.

  ● Literary LitRPG: A character-first LitRPG where story structure, genre, and reader engagement are as real as stats and spells.

  ● Systems & Strange: Custom mechanics, narrative metaphysics, and emotional arcs.

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