Klavis walked into the kitchen. The counters were clean and there was a smell of thyme in the air. His mother was slicing up cold meats for lunch. She looked up, and smiled. “You’re back early. Having girl problems?”
“Gah. No mother, I’m fine. Why does everyone think something’s wrong?”
She winked “Experience dear. Is your brother with you?”
“Yeah, he’s stabling the horses. Do you know where dad is?”
“He’s outside in the garden. If you’re going to see him could you let him know lunch is nearly ready?”
Klavis looked at the plate of meats. “Of course, would you be up to making a plate for me too? I didn’t get nearly as much to eat this morning as I would have liked.”
She grinned “Oh no! Needed to leave before she woke up did you?” Klavis just rolled his eyes. “I’ll put a plate out for both you and your brother.”
He waved as he walked out the back door “Thanks mom.”
He walked over to the garden, if you could even call it that. His family has been tending it for well over a thousand years. Not living in the city had offered their family room to be creative with their land. From a distance it looked just like a grove of tall trees which it partly was.
Around the edges there were ancient trees, not as big as the Beacon Trees, but still very large. While they didn’t form a wall, they were imposing, leaving people with the feeling of foreboding. If you were not supposed to be there the trees made you feel it in your core. There was only one path. The entrance looked like it went through a gate set in a single, large gnarled, black, tree, but in reality, it was two trees that had been slowly trained to look as one. Together they created a woven arch that was three people wide and several times taller. The roots went all the way to the center of the garden. They rose slightly out of the ground, in a swirled pattern, forming a path along the ground that went deep inside the area.
As he started down the path he could feel the garden, soothing his emotions, steadying his mind. It wasn’t just the beauty or grandeur; it was the garden itself. The location and aesthetic choices were not arbitrary, it was a focal point of magical energy. Most families had their own garden or building that they built for similar reasons.
Since his people settled the area there hasn’t been any war and seldom any crime but they were not immune to the impulse for conflict and competition. People still wrestled, still practiced sword play and still held friendly competitions, it was all in good fun and for the individual’s betterment but then there were the magic battles.
The magic battles were intense. It was the one contest that always seemed that it could go beyond friendly rivalry. Unlike other tests of strength, the rules regarding the magic battles were very lose. Magic was very important to his people, they felt the need to keep their knowledge as well as their magical reflexes honed. Long ago, before their people were confined to this small area of the world. They were well known for the depth and breadth of their magic traditions. All the major families held secrets that were steeped in deep magical lore.
So, out of all the competitions, the magic duals and contests were the most serious. While no one had died in a long time even killing wasn’t against the rules, however it was discouraged. Killing your opponent was socially unacceptable but in reality, it was only a deduction in points. Each family had their own well-guarded magical secrets. His family was no different.
The swirl pattern from the entrance trees’ roots, five strands for each side of the path, continued along the way. Plants of all types surrounded the path, each trimmed and formed to help create the image of a vast landscape as if you were flying high above. The path went through the landscape as if a painter had taken a brush and painted a black line through the countryside. However further down the path, colored elements were added to the swirling roots of the path. Thin colored lines creeping throughout the garden intersected the roots, equally on both sides of the path. The further you walked the more the color would overtake roots on both sides, till they were completely covered in colors.
In reality these colored elements were actually vine plants that covered the roots, but they looked too smooth to be a plant, they looked more like warn marble. It started with a dark green that became intertwined with a cloudy, grayish, white vine that seemed to shimmer, followed by a deep red that had veins of orange and then a deep blue with patches of a slight greenish blue that reflected the light. The last vine was not like the other four and by far the most important to his family. It was a shimmering, pristine white and unlike the other four it didn’t start as a single vine, slowly expanding into just a single, fifth swirl, no, the shimmering white vine broke off of the main vine and into several smaller lines. As it touched the roots the white vines spread out, lining each of the other four twisting colors, separating them from each other. Once the path reached the center of the garden the vines lining the path flattened and spread out from each side, filling the interior of the garden with the five colors and creating a floor that looked like old stone. The vines made a perfectly smooth and round circle in the middle of the garden..
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His father was sitting right where he expected, in the center of the circle facing away from the path. He was bathed in a shimmering light that was tinted with green from the leaves. He squinted his eyes as he walked up. “Was he glowing?” He frowned as he stopped. “Or was it just the lighting?” Klavis stopped at the edge of the circle and the moment was gone. Without turning around his father spoke “You’re home early.”
“You don’t sound surprised father.”
His father still didn’t get up “Yes and no. I knew you were close to home earlier this morning. I just didn’t know why. “With no effort he stood up. “No matter, I’m glad you’re home. I’m guessing lunch is done?”
“Yes” Klavis held up the bag in his hands “I also brought the powder. Father were you…glowing?”
His father smiled and started towards his son giving him a chance to see his eyes. It was fading, but he was certain they had been green. His father put his arm around his son in greeting and they started walking. “Yes, I was. I was trying something your grandfather once taught me. I was to young then, but I understood some of what he was trying to teach me. It just took a few centuries for it to come together.”
Klavis was genuinely curious. His father didn’t talk much about the deeper magics. “What was it?
“Well, for one, it let me know where you were and everyone else for several miles but that’s just one of the more…benign things.” He took a moment, seemingly coming to a decision.
“Your grandfather said it was the first step to becoming the embodiment of nature. The first step, which I was practicing, was Earth. If I’m lucky I might be able to master the first step sometime in my life. It has been many generations since our family had someone who had mastered them all. Your grandfather was the closest in several generations.” He pointed to the sides of the path. “You know each one embodies an element, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Each element is a powerful force on its own but together, together they are unstoppable.”
Klavis looked at his father, he of course knew the elements. “It’s where all magic comes from, so what? Then he realized his father had left something out. “You left out Spirit.”
His father smiled “Yes, I did. Part of our magic is the ability to become the embodiment of any element, but Spirit, that’s the real secret, it’s the key to our families magic. With Spirit you can combine the elements and become the living embodiment of Nature. That was the one thing your grandfather never managed. If someone could do that…Well I don’t know what they could do. As I said it hasn’t happened in generations.”
Klavis wasn’t sure what to say. His father had never talked so frankly about their family’s magic. He knew it was based in nature, but this, it sounded like becoming a living god. It had to be more legend than truth. After a few moments he looked over at his father. “Why are you telling me this now?”
His father smiled and started walking down the path, with Klavis following. “Because you’re home early, I figured you might be becoming responsible.” His smile disappeared as he got more serious. “I just think it was time for you to know. If you applied yourself more, you’d easily surpass what I have been able to do. I never had the natural talent like my father did or you and Kamilis do.”
Klavis let out a chuckle, not willing to be series. “My brother? Talent? His talent is not being able to put a book down.”
His Father didn’t smile “I’ve always thought he has more natural talent than you or anyone else realizes, probably even himself, but a father knows. He’s never been as outgoing or charismatic as you, that’s for sure, but when it comes to magic…he’s talented. Even as a child…” His father never finished that sentence, he just shook his head once and then smiled, the seriousness of the conversation gone as they left the garden. “I’m very ready for lunch”
Klavis smiled in return “I’ll go get Kam and Xecran and let them know foods done. Don’t you dare eat it all.”
His father laughed. “No promises. Becoming the Earth is hard work. I’m starved.”
Klavis rolled his eyes as he walked to the stables.
He managed to take just enough time in the garden to avoid helping with the horses. He walked into a somber scene. His brother and cousin were silently finishing their work. Klavis came bursting in and spoke energetically. “Hey guys! Who’d you kill?!”
Xecran snapped his head towards Klavis so quickly he was surprised it didn’t snap off and Kamilis actually jumped from the shock. They both yelled “Klavis!” and Xecran threw a handful of hay in his face.
Klavis doubled over in laughter while their heartbeats slowed down. Once he could manage to speak, he asked “So what’s going on? You both looked pretty somber.”
Xecran looked over at Kamilis who glanced back before looking at Klavis “Xecran asked if he could go with us on our next trip.”
Klavis shrugged “And?”
Kamilis frowned a bit “And I told him I’d ask if you’re okay with him going with us.”
Klavis just laughed “Of course it’s okay!” He walked over to Xecran and put an arm around his shoulders and waved his other hand in an ark as if he was using his arm to help set a picture “I can see it now, all three of us together again, Kamilis scowling over a book and me managing to corrupt you. My father will kill me when we get back and he finds I’ve destroyed such a dedicated apprentice.”
Xecran laughed and pushed Klavis away. “Maybe I’ll manage to get you to settle down, ever thought of that?
Klavis continued laughing as he moved towards the house. “Not a chance! Come on, lunch is ready.”
Xecran followed Klavis to the house, eager to eat. Kamilis was only a few steps behind, but unlike his brother and cousin, his smile disappeared, turning into a worried frown.