Eda woke before the first rays of the sun breached the far mountains on the horizon. She quickly dressed, wearing the robe that marked her as a mage. It was different from the ones she used before. The robe was shorter, reaching only an inch below her knees and it was split in the middle – like a cloak would be.
She wore silken shirts and pants underneath. She may be deviating from the norms ascribed to mages with regards to clothing, but she would not abandon her decency altogether.
Warwick’s drawings of robed female mages still haunted her. The designs were beautiful and imaginative – but some of the outfits were downright scandalous. They showed too much skin – some of them barely covering anything at all.
Her reaction would have been more volatile had the drawings depicted scantily-clad women or even elven women. Instead, Warwick chose to draw strange lizard people and cow-like creatures wearing the different clothing he envisioned.
Father would not be happy, she frowned as she clasped the last button of her cloak-like robe. She laced her traveling boots, checked her bags, and wore a cowl for appearances sake. People might be confused, but she still looked like a mage.
A flash caught her eye as she turned to check herself in the mirror. The second ring on her right hand glinted in the light, catching the first lights of dawn.
Aedina’s ring would indeed prove useful. It strengthened its wearer’s sense of self, limiting the effects of magical compulsion or fear.
She remembered their encounter with the changed elven princess – and she wondered how torturous it would have been to wear the ring as she slowly became the creature they saw in the lake.
She now understood why so many elves chose to leave their island home. In a way, she was doing the same thing. Her journey of three years was one of finding herself and her place in the world – a literal unchaining from the whims of her parents, no matter how caring they may be.
Eda smiled, anticipating the days ahead. She opened her tome of numbers, turning to the page that held her entry.
Eda Luminar
Sorcerer 12
Strength
15
Damage
+0
Agility
20
Accuracy
+10 percent
Vitality
20
Health
20?, regen 1-2 per day
Intellect
80
Mana
140, regen 10 per hour
Combat Skills
Physical
Magic
Sword Use
6 (trained)
Fire Magic
10
Crossbow Use
6 (trained)
Earth Magic
9
Dodge
11 (practiced)
Fire-Earth Magic
locked
Spells
Fire Pillar. Range 20. 2-20 Fire (11)
Mana Cost 8-14 (11)
Earth Lance Range 20. 1-15 Piercing (8), 1-in-6 chance of opponent being restrained.
Mana Cost 10-20 (16)
Burning Blood. Range 1. 2-30 Fire (16)
Mana Cost 10-15 (13)
Crimson Halo. Range a 3-step circle around the caster. 6-15 Fire (11).
Mana Cost 10
Magical Equipment:
Crimson Ring of Fire
Adds 3-4 to max fire damage. increases mana by 40
Elven Ring of Steadiness
Gives resistance to attacks on the mind
Bracelet of Protection
Creates a protective shield around its wearer (30hp) for 5 minutes
She had two new core spells. Fire Pillar replacing Fire Lance and Crimson Halo replacing Stone Bulwark. Once she advanced in magic – into a proper mage – she would be able to add two more spells to her repertoire.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Eda opened the door and gave her room one last look. She would miss her family – but fate was calling.
----------------------------------------
“Laborers,” Havan spat.
Of Greenhaven’s 126 unchained, merely 19 chose to live as soldiers or adventurers. The rest chose safe mundane jobs and apprenticeships in the larger cities or the capital.
Havan checked his log of transport. His underlings would handle the smiths, tanners, cooks, and other craftsmen. He was in charge of the combatants – the wildcats among the unchained, those who chose a life of danger and combat.
There was a time when he was once one of them – a brawling youth whose only hope at a future was battling monsters or other people. He had nothing then, just the clothes on his back and an old mace he found in some alleyway — and that was how the unchained were supposed to be.
Over the past years, a growing number of unchained were leaving their homes carrying more than enough money to last them three years, or with equipment that would cost a small fortune.
The kingdom tasked Havan to put a stop to it – and he was relishing to put unchained in their place.
“Name?”
“Farrow Ironblood.”
Havan snorted at the boy. Combatants were allowed to choose their names. Most stick to the ones given them – but there were a few who choose outlandish names, hoping to make a mark in the world.
“Weapons and armor on the table,” he grumbled. “Any rings or magical equipment?”
“None, sir,” the boy mumbled.
Havan frowned. He was a scout – and aside from tracking or detecting monsters, he also had a knack for sensing lies. “Empty your pockets,” he demanded.
Farrow slumped. With hands that shook with anxiousness, he took out a small amulet from his pocket and placed it on the table.
Havan picked up the trinket – a small mirror the size of a large coin. “Keep it,” he tossed it back to the boy. “Take your things and go.”
The trinket could block a single attack before breaking. They were often made to only trigger if the attack would deal more damage than a dagger. One life. He would spare the boy his little trespass. The unchained were allowed a bit of help, provided that help did not exceed 100 gold. The boy’s trinket probably cost more than that, but its enchantment would not endure his first real battle.
“Next.”
Warwick approached the table, earning a look of disdain from the scout.
“Weapons and armor on the table,” Havan grunted, his face dour at the blatant infraction of the new rules set by the kingdom.
Warwick placed a sword, a hammer, several daggers, and a bow on the table. “The armor is as you see it. I could take it off, but it would take time.”
“Were you aware that your family isn’t allowed to aid you in your travels?”
Very much aware, sir / Can you please enlighten me? / My affairs are not yours to meddle with, cretin!
Warwick shook his head. “My uncle trained me in a few things. Other than that, I’ve received no help.”
Havan frowned, detecting no deception. “That armor of yours?”
“I made it myself. The weapons were bought with money I earned.”
Fingers tapped on the table. No lies. The boy was either in possession of an item that could mask deception, or he was telling the truth. Seeing his demeanor, it was likely the latter.
“Take your things and go.” Havan waved him away. “No. wait!” he was so focused on the boy’s armor that he forgot to ask his name.
“Your name?”
Warwick turned with a smile. “Warwick Godsbane,”
----------------------------------------
Dorn stood quietly staring at the tent’s entrance as he waited for his nephew to return from inspection. He never knew how to handle Warwick. The boy didn’t ask for a lot as a child and he seemed naturally independent.
He kept his distance from the boy. Life as a forester was difficult – he did not want to draw him into being one. His sister would be proud of her son. She was an adventurer like her husband. Denicah and Salas. He longed for the boy to ask about them – but all he asked was their names, what they were like, and what they did.
One day, then he never asked about them again.
“Uncle,” Warwick greeted as he exited the sizable tent. He embraced Dorn briefly as was expected.
“Your friend is waiting for you.” Dorn gestured to their left.
Warwick saw Eda and her father waiting for their time to line with the others. Mages were always the last ones for inspections. Most of them were born from nobility or wealthy families – and most infractions came when gold was accessible.
Dorn and Warwick approached the two. They could see that Aidan was clearly upset as he stared at his daughter’s outfit. He kept pressing his hands to his head as he circled Eda, staring wide-eyed at her strange garments.
“Is this your doing, boy?” he pointed an upturned finger at Warwick in accusation.
“Father!” Eda cried in exasperation. “I chose what to wear. I wanted something that would let me run and fight – not robes that would trip me every time I tried to walk fast.”
“But they’re the vestments of your power, symbols of your magic—”
“Enough, father!” Eda hissed. “I love you, but I am unchained now.”
Aidan choked back his reply, realizing what he was doing. He smiled at his daughter and wrapped her in an embrace. “Just be safe.”
“Speaking of safety,” Eda turned to Warwick, “Do you have it?”
“Of course,” Warwick grabbed the pack his uncle was carrying and carefully took out a scale mantle and a set of vambraces, upsetting Aidan even more.
Unlike Warwick’s vambraces, these ones had rounder scales and a more cohesive pattern. Black scales comprised the wider end of the vambrace, and the red scales on the other made it seem like it was alight with crimson flames. Due to the visit to Thibault’s - they were also lined in cloth, making them more comfortable and limiting the use of rivets.
Eda wore her vambraces as her father’s scowl deepened. She turned to him with a smile as she took the scaled mantle. “Help me with this, father.”
Eyebrow twitching, Aidan forced himself to smile back at Eda as he placed the mantle around her shoulders and over her mage cowl. He kept eyeing Warwick with venom, thinking it was his influence that turned his precious daughter against him.
“Shall we?” Eda turned to her wide-eyed father as she snatched an offered longsword from Warwick’s hands.
Among the unchained, Mages were held to the highest scrutiny. Staves, bracelets, amulets, or other foci were not allowed to be given, but families and patrons could provide one minor magic item.
Aidan and Eda joined the short line to the tent and to the waiting inspector.
----------------------------------------
Havan stared at the girl standing in front of him, not knowing what to think. Her robes were a bit altered, but they still had the feel of mage robes. It was the armor and the sword that made him pause.
“Name?”
“Eda Luminar.”
“Items on the table.”
Eda placed a sword, two rings, and a bracelet on the table. She was about to undo her vambraces but Havan stopped her with a shake of his head.
“You’re with the other one, yes?”
“Warwick? He’s my partner.”
“The sword and armor are fine,” Havan noted, “but you have too many magical trinkets. Choose one and leave the rest with your father.”
Eda hesitated before picking up the bracelet. Its protection raised her effective health or the amount of damage she could take – which was more valuable than a boost to her fire magic or protection against rare mind attacks.
Seeing her daughter distraught, Aidan walked towards the table and glared at the inspector. “She is allowed to have one thing from her family and to keep the ones she earned herself.”
Havan sighed. “She has the bracelet.”
“She earned the rings herself,” Aidan insisted. “One I rewarded her for bringing back a troll, the other she found after defeating a revenant.”
Once again, Havan’s fingers tapped the table. He sensed that the father believed he was telling the truth, but he could be deluded when it came to his daughter.
“Is that true, Eda,” he turned to the girl.
“No.” she answered. “We did kill two trolls, but we didn’t defeat a revenant – it was… something else.”
Havan’s fingers kept tapping at the table. Two trolls? A small regiment would have trouble dealing with one – let alone two – but he sensed no deception in the girl. He was about to ask how she and her partner killed two trolls, but then he remembered his duties and their scope. The duty of an inspector was not to find out how things were earned – but to determine if they were. As for the so-called revenant, he didn’t want to know.
“Get your things and go. Next!”