With the most of the morning spent talking and thinking, Simon went back inside. Even though he hadn’t performed any strenuous tasks, he was still hungry. He watched Amara preparing the food from the table and tried numerous times to strike up a conversation, but was only met with nods or shakes. Just as the lunch was placed on the table, Thomas appeared from the hallway. He looked slightly in a hurry to dig in, and Simon could only agree, it smelled appetizing. The meal was same vegetables as he had before, but now grilled and with a brown bread, that somehow melted in his mouth.
“Ah, Amara these krips are delicious like always” Thomas commented, while stuffing in the food as fast as he possible could.
When the meal was finished, both Simon and Thomas sat rubbing their stomachs, looking satisfied. Now that Simon had digested the information he got at breakfast, he was ready to continue. Both of them seemed impatient to restart their conversation. Simon explained that he was new to being a sage, but he promised to show Thomas, when he could control it better. When he asked about how sages could do magic, Thomas smiled. It seemed like he was very eager to tell him.
“Well you see Simon, a sage use mana, the lifeblood of Novus. We harness mana by recanting spells and channeling them through our core. By doing this we can start fires, or cast waterballs, as you seen before”
“Core?”
“Yes, all sages have a core located somewhere in the body, it grows as you use it. So, if you are a newly blessed sage you can’t perform complex spells, since you’re core can’t handle the mana. It will only lead to a failed spell and sickness” Thomas said shaking his head.
“Why can’t fire sages use water spells then?”
“Oh! Interesting question, and one that i’ve been trying to figure out. I think, it’s because before the blessing, the core is very small and colorless. When you reach adulthood, the blessing alters the core to an element so the body can use it. Well atleast the beasts that can use the magic, have their cores in the same color”
“But, this is basic knowledge that even a peasant would know.. hmm” Thomas looked sceptical “Where did you say you came from boy?” he demanded.
“Uhmm i didn’t” Simon thought furiously how he was going to explain this, this was the first serious question Thomas asked. Well he could lie, but he didn’t know the name of any place on this planet. He decided to just show them and make their own conclusions. Simon started to point his finger to the sky, but before his finger reached straight up, Thomas cut him off.
“Through the Jagged Mountains!” He said with a surprise “I’ve never heard of anyone living behind those! What’s it like there?” Thomas looked very interested.
‘That was easy’ Simon sighed. He made some vague explanation about the so called world behind the Jagged Mountains. That they didn’t have any sages where he came from, and that he had gotten lost and ended up being attacked. When he asked about the birds, he was told that they were called Roamers. Roamers were scavengers, that usually only attacked weaker animals or dead prey. Roamers were also delicious, and because of that they were hunted and domesticated. Thomas, described the tender meat of wild roamers in great detail.
When Amara left the table to go back outside Simon took the chance to ask.
“What’s with her?” He asked with a hushed tone.
“Oh Amara..” Thomas said with a slightly sad voice “She’s from one of the wild beastmen clans. Well, they don’t know any magic, and because she didn’t get any blessings that made her stronger.. She was shunned and beaten, before being driven out. Savages. I found her alone in the forest, using water magic to stay alive. Took a few years before she started talking to me”
“Well, that would make anyone change..” Simon answered.
That stopped the conversation, both Thomas and Simon felt like they were talking behind a person's back and was trying to change subject.
“What about you? How did you end up here?” Simon gestured around him.
“Oh that, just a regular story. I grew up in the empire, as a commoner. I wanted to pursue knowledge of the elements, instead of going to the wall and be killed. So i fled from school, and made my way to the warring kingdoms, to live my life in peace. Well, that didn’t work so well, kingdoms rise and fall there every day. I had to learn to fight to protect my research from other sages, and i did it well!” Thomas said “I settled down in the powerful Kingdom of Trot, as a court sage. But 10 cycles ago, it was invaded by an alliance of neighboring kingdoms. We lost and i had to flee, leaving most of my life's work behind. I ended up here, in The Exiled Forest”
Simon thought Thomas had lived an fascinating life. There were a lot of places he mentioned that seemed interesting, but also dangerous. A whole new world, with places still left untouched, called to Simon's inner child. A world with magic, swords and other races. But Simon didn’t forget to step back and think. While this planet may seem riveting and magical, where there is individuals, some will disagree, which leads to arguments, which leads to conflicts. Simon clearly remember the brutalities that had occurred in earth's history, and from Thomas story this world didn’t seem any different.
“Do you still have any maps or books that i can check since i’m new to this side of.. The Jagged Mountains” Simon questioned. He had to have more information about the world.
“Of course my boy! You can use my library while you train your magic here, just be sure to show me your progress” They both stood up and Simon followed as they went deeper into the house. He passed two bedrooms on the way, before ending up in the biggest room in the house. There were a lot of bookcases placed around the room, but not many books. Besides the bookcases, there was a fireplace and a desk with a chair.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“There are still a few books that i used to teach Amara in here somewhere. But be careful Simon, if you damage any books” Thomas cautioned him with a hard voice. His attitude changing drastically. He looked terrifying while giving the stern warning. Simon felt cold sweat running, he could only nod dumbly. Just as fast as it had come, Thomas changed back to his chipper tone and left him alone.
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It took a while for Simon to calm down, he took the old man's warning to heart, before walking around the room to check the books. Even though they were few of them they were sorted with a simple system. Books about herb and plants, books about wildlife and beasts, books about countries and races. The largest group of books were of course about magic and the six elements, it had several written by Thomas. He flipped carefully through a few books to check on the language. It was thankfully readable, instead of being archaic like he was expecting, it was a simplified english, atak instead of attack. The spelling seemed to change between books, but he could understand most of them. Thomas writing was by far the hardest to read, and his books included a lot of pictures of stick figures burning.
‘Well, he did say he fled from school’.
Simon finally found what he was looking for in a book about The Empire, on the first page was a detailed map of the continent. He found the The Exiled Forest marked on the eastern side of the landmass, it was a giant forest. The Jagged Mountains separating it from the Northeastern coastline. Bordering to the west was the region called The Warring Kingdoms, it contained mostly plains, rivers, smaller forests and hills. To the south was first an area called The Plains and further down was a giant desert called Red Badlands. He could not help but glance at The Empire, it was by far largest country marked. It laid west, beyond The Warring Kingdoms. Interested to learn more, he continued to skim it’s contents.
The Empire was founded two thousand cycles ago by five people. These people was chosen by the gods to build a lasting refuge for humans that were worthy. They were all smart, beautiful and very powerful sages - the pinnacle of human beings. The five were, Karl a light sage and their religious leader, Bianca a earth sage as trade leader, Hans a fire sage as the military commander, Frida a water sage, keeper of the empires knowledge and wife of Magnus. Magnus the most powerful of the five, their leader - the first emperor. He was described in the book to have the ability to call in thunderstorms that could destroy cities. They built The Wall to protect from The Corrupted - a race spawned from hell itself, that slaughtered the humans in the thousands. The Wall still stood today, protecting the Empire’s northwestern border from the endless horde.
They built the capital, Novus Prime, named after the planet. Each district built and governed by the respective four leaders and in the center was a massive palace overlooking the city. From here the emperor ruled for 200 cycles, always expanding and conquering new territories. To this day it is ruled by the emperor's descendants and a council of four ministers.
Simon lost track of time, it was a very interesting read, but like always he took the contents with a grain of salt. He sighed and rubbed his head, he had a slight headache from sitting in the darkened room for too long, not a magical one. Perhaps he tried to learn too much, too fast. He stood back up and decided to get some fresh air and see if he could help with any chores.
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Westward in a castle made from marble and stone, preparation for war was being made. In one of the spires sat a group of gim looking people, they were in a heated argument over the crisis that loomed over the kingdom. Keel Kingdom was located in the most eastern part of the Warring Kingdoms region. The country mostly relied on trading but this was about to change. A tyrant ruling in a nearby kingdom had gotten enamored with Keel Kingdom's young princess and when she turned him down the situation had escalated to war.
“We don’t have enough soldiers!” A general shouted to one of the ministers.
“Well round up the peasants as a militia and use them” The minister responded with a heated tone.
“They will be slaughtered by the enemy. They are more experienced, better equipped and they have many more than we can muster” Another military leader explained.
“We need more troops, without it stopping our food production and trade deals” The finance minister thought aloud.
“How much time do we have?” Asked the king. The room turned quiet.
“Your majesty, we have about an cycle for them to mobilize and march to our border” The general said with a respectful tone.
The king sighed and made his decision. “General start rounding up all able bodies to mandatory conscription. Also recruit mercenaries that are living in The Exiled Forest and add them to our army”
“Yes your majesty”
Not everyone in the room looked satisfied, but they were ready to carry out the king's orders. As the people left, the king sat alone gazing at the two moons that lighted up the night. He prayed to the gods for a miracle.
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Author: Hello, just checking how you liked the story so far. I know there has been a lot of info dump in these chapters but Simon's first adventure will soon start. Any feedback on the characters, world or magic system is also much appreciated.