4 years ago

A carriage rumbles down the old dirt road, rough looking men riding horseback on either side of it. More carriages follow behind it, every single one carrying an aura of gloom and death. Inside the last carriage, chains rattle lightly, the inhabitants of the carriage knowing better than to make too much noise.

The eyes of the people in this carriage are lifeless, the chains around their limbs weighing them down and the scars on their arms forever marking them as slaves.

Among them sits a young boy of the Laelic tribe, barely nine years old. He is hidden between the older slaves, who even in their despair and misery, try to protect the child.

He stares at the floor, his wrists burning from chafing against the metal shackles. He clenches his fist. Without his knowing, shadows pull to him, hugging his wrist and damaging the restraints holding him.

Raised voices of alarm come from outside, causing the slaves in the carriage to stir. Keo looks up, then his world is thrown upside down as the carriage blasts upwards and rolls onto its side.

***

Present day

The bed is imposing. I have vague memories of something like it, but even then it wasn’t as soft looking as this.

I sit down on the edge of it, and sink into the mattress.

I bite my lip, then look over to Wolf who has curled up on his own bed.

With a sigh I get off the bed and lie down next to Wolf. He curls around me with only a soft growl. He smells good and his fur is soft.

The next thing I know, a heavy growl and the vibrating of Wolf’s body wakes me up. I blearily look up to see Mr. Leverton looking down at us. He has that thoughtful look he gets and he’s wearing the same bright blue cloak I’d seen him wearing when we first met.

“Was the bed not to your liking?” He asks.

“No!” I answer. At his raised eyebrow, I continue. “I like it.”

He purses his lips, then nods his head. “Very well, we’re running a little later than I would like, but Sarah was right to let you sleep. Let me know when you’re ready and we’ll get started.”

“I’m ready.” I answer, standing up immediately. Wolf gets up with me.

“Hmmm.” Mr. Leverton looks me up and down. “Follow me.”

Without another word, Mr. Leverton walks out the door. I hurry to follow, Wolf a few steps behind me. He leads me to his office where he grabs a book and some objects off the table. Then it’s down the stairs and to the front door of the mansion where Sarah is waiting for us.

Today her dress is made of interlocked blue vines and small yellow flowers that glisten in the sunlight coming through the glass roof.

“Keo! You’re looking much better this morning.” Sarah says. Wolf runs up to her and she gives him a pat. She pulls a bowl of food from the vines of her dress and places it in front of the hungry dog.

Wolf looks at the food drooling, then back to me.

“Eat.” I tell him, and he starts devouring the food.

Sara walks over to me, and hands me a box I hadn’t noticed until now.

I look down at the box, then back up to Sarah. “It’s lunch. I don’t want you to forget it.” She says.

I hold onto it tightly. Wolf devours his food while I just stare at the kind spirit.

“Hurry up now, you don’t want to keep Max waiting.” Sarah smiles over at Mr. Leverton who is waiting by the door.

I see the slightest smile on his face before it disappears. “You heard her. Come along lad.”

I nod, then hurry to catch up to him. Wolf gobbles down the last of his food then hurries to catch up to me.

Mr. Leverton opens the door, and I follow him out into an expansive courtyard. My feet slow as I take in the healthy plants and trees.

A wooden fence runs a circle around the courtyard, beyond which is the same forest I saw from his office windows. Inside the fence are five trees, arrayed in a circle, all of which carry different fruit. In the center of the tree circle is a cleared piece of dirt with a complex circular series of shapes drawn into it. Off to the right is a garden of all different kinds of herbs and fruit-carrying plants, none of which I recognize.

“Hurry up, you can eat when we arrive.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Those are the only words I need to increase my pace. I follow Mr.Leverton to the gate in the fence at which point Leverton stops.

“This fence marks the end of Sarah’s territory. Do not venture past it without my permission.” He pauses, and I realize that he’s waiting for a response.

“Yes, Master Leverton.”

He frowns, and I have to stop myself from taking a step backwards. “Don’t call me that. You’re not a slave, you’re an apprentice. If you must, you can call me Senior Mage Leverton. But I prefer Mr. Leverton.”

I nod quickly, my hand moving towards the scars on my arm. “Yes, Mr. Leverton.”

He sighs, his expression growing softer. After a moment, he simply says, “Good. This way.”

We leave the courtyard and move onto a simple path through the trees. The summer light filters through the leaves, leaving patchworks of yellow, green and orange on our path. The temperature is nicer than the city was, but still warm.

Eventually the trees start to change, becoming larger and taller, with darker wood. They hold a gentle, wise energy that calls to me. It feels like its just beyond my hearing, words that I should know.

We arrive at a clearing surrounded by the older trees. In the middle of the clearing is a patchwork of roots that resemble a circle of chairs.

“You can hear them calling to you?” Mr. Leverton motions towards the trees.

I nod.

“That’s good. I was worried for a moment that I had misread your callings. Death and Nature is a rare combination in a mage.” Mr. Leverton moves over to one of the chair-like-roots and motions for me to sit across from him.

I move over to the spot, sitting down. Wolf curls up at my feet, reaching half my height even lying down. I pet him, making his tail wag. Mr. Leverton motions for me to open my food, and I do, revealing a delicious smell, I don’t recognize any of the food on the plate except for the rice, but it looks heavenly. I take cautious bites as he starts talking.

“I’ve never taught anyone before…” Mr. Leverton says. His hand taps against the book in his lap. “Most people will call anything they don’t understand magic. Complete naivety.” Mr. Leverton leans forward, bringing his full gaze on me and making me gulp. “What do you think magic is?”

I wrack my brain trying to think of the answer. Anything will do, I just have to be able to answer. “Bending the world?” I say.

He purses his lips. “Closer than most answers I’ve heard. Magic,” He motions over to one of the roots, and I watch as it curls around his hand. He smiles, and the root returns to its original position. “takes your understanding of the world and helps you shape it into what you desire. Magic is more alive than most mages realize. The trouble is that even the most powerful Archmage has trouble communicating with it.”

He pats one of the roots next to him. “That is why we call spirits to us. We give them our mana, and they communicate with magic for us.” Mr. Leverton looks around at the grove and the canopy, still filtering in different lights. “These trees hold ancient spirits, old enough to remember civilizations long gone. Why don’t you try speaking to one?”

I look at the large trees surrounding us, “Hello?” I say out loud.

There’s no response and I turn to see Mr. Leverton with a smile on his face that he quickly tries to hide. “Not like that.” He stands up, walks over to me and holds out his hand. I place my food to the side and hesitantly grab the offered hand. He leads my hand to the root I’m sitting on, and I feel a warm sensation flow through me and into the root. “Try again.”

“Hello?”

The world around me disappears as a presence unlike anything I’ve ever felt focuses in on me. It’s large, ancient and filled with more life than I can quite grasp. I nearly pull away at the attention, until I realize how similar it feels to Sarah.

“Greetings.” The word is almost like language, but somehow far beyond it, carrying sensations and emotions with it into my mind. It carries the meaning of a seedling just beginning to grow, the care of roots sharing water between each other and the discovery of another life. Then there’s a sense of waiting, of infinite patience.

I turn to look into Leverton’s eyes, and see that they’re not just brown, but instead they glow with more than just color. They are soft wooden brown of all the life around us. The spirit tattoo on my shoulder fills with sensation as I can feel Launa’s presence and comfort.

“I will help you grant them some mana.” Mr. Leverton says “You can ask them to direct the mana as you wish, but keep in mind that they are not bonded to you and may refuse.”

I nod. “Mr. Tree.” I sense faint amusement from the trees at my name for them and gulp. “What would you like to do with the mana?”

The amusement grows into happiness, like the sun’s first rays on their leaves or birds making homes in their branches. But the tree doesn’t respond right away.

I look at Mr. Leverton to see him looking at the trees with curiosity.

A minute passes in silence, and I can feel the trees contemplating my question. Finally, I feel a pull on my mana, and I give it until my head starts to feel woozy.

I follow the feeling of the mana with my eyes until it reaches one of the younger trees. It glows with life, it’s branches reaching for the sun as flowers bloom and new leaves unfurl. Finally, it stops growing and it’s uppermost branch falls to the floor in front of us.

“A gift.” My body trembles with the purity behind the word. The spirit’s attention moves away from me and onto Mr. Leverton. “Take care of him, Guardian.” The words were not an order, but a request filled with meaning that I couldn’t quite understand.

The spirit’s attention moves away from us and Mr. Leverton takes his hand off of mine and I slowly take my hand off of the root.

Mr. Leverton turns away from me before I can see his expression and walks towards the branch on the floor. He leans down, picks it off the ground and walks back to me, his face unreadable.

As he brings it back, I realize that what I thought to be one item is actually two. Mr. Leverton separates them as he walks. One is a wooden circlet made of twigs and leaves, too large for my head. It’s wrapped around what appears to be a sturdy staff.

Mr. Leverton stands in front of me with the two items, but before he can speak, Wolf lifts his head up and slips it through the circlet. The twigs shrink, fitting around his neck like a collar.

“Wolf!” I start, caught off guard.

“It’s alright Keo,” Mr. Leverton says, “I suspect that was meant for him and this was meant for you.” He hands over the staff, too large for my size.

I take it, finding it to be surprisingly smooth.

Mr. Leverton takes a deep breath, then instantly turns back into his previous instructor mode. “As you see, spirits are much more capable of manipulating mana directly than we are. Although, some things come easier to mages like you and I. Like the shadows you call to aid you. There are also spells we can cast without the aid of spirits” He reaches over and hands me the book he’d been holding onto. “For now, I’d like you to take a look at this book.”

I take the book and stare down at it. The symbols on it are completely unknown to me, only one of them appearing similar to Laelic writing.

I look back at Mr. Leverton who is smiling at me.

I forgot to tell him that I can’t read.