“But why won’t you help?” Cas said right before taking another bite from the apple. A green apple, slightly bitter, yet sweet. Normally fruit was out of season, and a luxury for those with wealth. The only other time Cas was given an opportunity to try fruit was years ago when one of the wealthy merchants from Maburo passed through and made a small donation to the orphanage. It was a basket of dried meats and fruits. He was only allowed one piece, but it was nothing compared to what he was currently eating. Crisp, wet and juicy.
It didn’t take much to get Cas to settle down. Sure, Rin was a human, and they where the enemy from what he was thought. But If that’s the case, why didn’t he attack me? In fact, Rin was quite the opposite. He was pleasant. His smile was powerful. Every time Cas made eye contact with him, something about his smile put all his thoughts at ease.
The icing on the cake was when he reached his arm all the way into a bag, which shouldn’t have been possible, and pulled out this strange round green. Thing. And tossed it to me. Of course, I dodged out of the way, but he just chuckled. Then he walked up and picked it off the ground. Again, he stuck his arm impossibly deep into the small bag at his waist and retrieved a small dagger. Before I had a chance to flee or react, he swiftly cut the green thing in his hands in two, then dropped the dagger carelessly back into the bag.
How does that thing fit so much stuff? And isn’t he worried that dagger would cut a hole in it? It must be magic. My thoughts are interrupted when Rin stuffed half of what was once round in my face. He had already taken a large bite from the other half, chewing loudly while he continued to gesture to me to take it from him? Reluctantly I took it. If he’s eating it, it can’t be poison, right? Here goes nothing I think as I take the half and bite a small portion off. Its. No, this is. WOW. The best thing I’ve had in my life! Another bite, chew, bite and Its gone before I know it.
The look on his face is peculiar. He has one eyebrow raised, and the smile was now a grin.
“Normally one does not eat the core of an apple Cas. But given your… Situation, I understand” said Rin as he caught the bemused expression on Cas’s face. This kid must really be hungry. Is it really this bad down on the southern end of my kingdom he thought? Now is not the time for such thoughts, there was a lot to do and a lot more time do get it done, or something like that he chuckled to himself inside.
He reached into his bag of holding once more and produced another apple and tried again. This time, Cas caught the apple. “Try not to eat the core this time; I can cut if for you if you’d like, but you seem old enough to eat it whole. Eat and walk with me, Cas. We have much to discuss.” Rin said, staring south to the sea.
That’s how I got my first lesson on history and magic. As I followed him and ate, he explained who he was. Rin Druch, ruler over the entire continent of Varriah. A Mage. An Archmage really. He started off as an Apprentice in the mage guild back in the capitol city of Vidualsas. It was apparently very far north into the human territory, on the midwestern edge of the continent. He spent a decade there and met his mentor; right at the end. When asked what his mentor’s name was, Rin would smile and say it’s not important: His mentor was only there for a short time and after he thought what was needed, vanished. Rin said the last words his mentor told him was “its time for me to retire! I hear The Shroud is nice this time of year...”.
I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but I didn’t want to press. Everyone knew what the shroud was; the waterways and a small land mass that was in the middle of the two continents; the most dangerous place in the world. The sea around the island where rough; 50’-100’ waves were common, but what made it deadly was the hurricane that swirled around the land mass. Only the Strongest on the continents would venture to it; usually only mages, since traveling to the shores by boat was thought impossible. The land inside of the perpetual hurricane was not affected by the storm, but it was no less safe. Jungle terrain covered it all but the center, where the mouth the Dungeon who called that land home stood.
Then Rin retold his colorful tale on how his mentor told him that it was his duty to unite the human lands, the beast lands, and eventually the entirely of both continents: Varriah and Tarranica. Of the 10 years he spent on his quest, 8 where spent alone uniting the humans’ north and only 2 in the beast lands to the south. His goal was to take a nap, then work on the second half of his duty. But realizing that almost all of what he did was undone during his… Nap. He used it too casual, why would a ruler, no emperor, no archmage need a nap? Anyway, he says he is getting too old to see his mentor’s dreams for him. And that’s why he chose me, to pass on what he knows, with hopes that I can do what he could not.
“You’re joking right? Your 200 years old? How? You don’t have old people wrinkles?” Cas questioned, isolating the points Rin thought where not that important.
“Cas, how I physically look has no bearing on how old I am. And that’s offensive, don’t use old people wrinkles so lightly…” Rin retorted. “Besides, is that really what piques your interest in me?”
They had been walking for a few hours now. The made it to the coast, and after a long history lesson Rin opened the floor for questions, but he wasn’t expecting that.
“But why wont you help? You havesome kind of super magic, right? How else did you get here?” some of the words from Cas’s mouth jumbled together as he ate his apple and pushed for the answers, he was most interested in.
“I told you, I’M OLD! Ruling conquering and uniting is young mans game, Cas. I simply, want to retire. Naps are so wonderful….” He said in an annoyed tone. Did I choose the right one, he thought? He had to be the right one. As if reading his mind, Cas came to his next question.
“Why me? Why not some fancy mage from the capitol?” Rin’s response was quick and short.
“Because you are special, Cas.”
His eyes shifted to a pale yellow, and he looked to the ground. He mumbled in response “I don’t feel special… I tried learning magic. All the other kids in the village picked up quick on it, but I struggle. I can barely feel the mana in my body when I tried to meditate like the town mage showed us.” A rock rolled forward and some dirt was kicked up as he continued to stare at the ground, kicking at the rock on the trail they followed leading to the cliffs. Then he remembered. “Well, I can do some magic, but its soo useless, I wouldn’t even call it magic…” he trailed off as they continued to walk.
“Oh? Why don’t you show me what it is then?” Rin questioned curiously. He raised an eyebrow and made a go on now gesture towards Cas, to which he sighed in response. “okay…” was all Cas could muster.
He took a knee, and pulled 5 twigs out of his pocket, and set them on the ground. They we not anything particularly special about them, except for how they where fashioned together. It was almost like a stick figure, without a head. A small thread connected the torso to the legs at the bottom of one stick, and another connected 2 more near the top. Deep breath in, then slowly exhale. He put both hands over the makeshift doll and focused. Invisible tendrils of mana escaped his fingertips as he concentrated; He thought about life, freedom, to be able to go wherever he wanted. The threads connecting the sticks glowed a feint yellow and began to snug the branches closer together. Then something interesting happened. Cas released his concentration.
The arms of the stick began to bend in the middle, where elbows normally where. It propped itself up, then stood. At attention. “go over there”, Cas ordered and pointed beyond where Rin stood. It didn’t even turn. It started walking the opposite direction towards where Cas pointed as if it had been facing that way the whole time. He looked up to Rin to see a blank stare. It broke his concentration, which he subconsciously didn’t know he was doing anyways, and the small stick person collapsed. The yellow glow at its joints faded and the sticks regained their rigidity.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
A sigh lead Cas’s mumbling “See? You aren’t impressed. You sure I’m the right one?”
“Yep. You’re definitely the right one. You’ve got the whole poor kid from a small village, good heart kind vibe going on. And tell me, what do you know about your...” Rin paused his response for a moment, staring in the yellow swirling, “eyes?”
Cas turned his head down. “You mean my curse? I don’t know anything except for the bad luck they bring me. They move and change colors. That’s all I know. Oh, and they freak people out and make them treat me poorly…” A single tear departed from his eye, and Rin moved. From seemingly nowhere a small glass vial was pressed against Cas’s cheek before he even knew what was happening. Cas tried to protest and react, but Rin was just staring at the vial raised into the air. “HEY! What are you doing! With my… tear...?” he sniveled and tried to regain his composure.
“Cas…You really have no idea, do you? Well, I don’t think I can tell you what you are, truly, but maybe I can provide you some insight. This “tear” you just produced? Its not normal.” Rin said as he kneeled to bring himself and lock eyes with Cas. “This is. This is special. Do you know what this is?”
Cas scratched his head and cocked it sideways. “My tears? Water or blood or a mix or something like that?” the smile turned into a grin, as Rin thought about how to respond.
“This is now another reason I made the right choice. I knew your eyes where special, but this? Cas, this is not blood or water or anything remotely close. This is pure MANA. This single drop contains more power than most mid-level mages have in their entire body!” He explained excitedly, then took a second to speak slowly.
“Cas, I’ve read about people with your eyes. 10’s of thousands of years ago, creatures of the Fey once inhabited our world. They were beings of pure magic, unbound by the rules of our world. The power my mentor gave, which was left by his mentor and so on, dates to roughly this age. It was said that this gift was given to us by a denizen of the Fey. Those Fey where said to have eyes similar to yours. A feeling in my gut tells me you are not entirely of this world: that is to say you may have been born here, and part of you is from here. But there is something that is not. From where they Fae originate is beyond me, but in time, I’m sure you may discover?”
“Fey?” Cas sniveled, “But if they are beings of pure magic, why am I so weak? I can only make twigs move…”
“Quit crying; you will have plenty of real reasons to cry if you choose to accept me as your mentor.” Rin was Grinning as he spoke sharply to Cas, “As for those twigs, that’s a very uncommon practice of magic. Have you ever herd of a construct?”
“A what? Like a person who builds houses. And why would I want you as a mentor if your going to give me a reason to cry” Cas stared at Rin with an expression mixed of concern and distrust.
Rin found it hard not to chuckle and waved his hands in a plead for innocence “No, no I won’t hurt you or make you cry, personally. But to be blunt; you are weak, and a good deal of training to toughen your body up and prepare you for what I have to offer is very much required. A squishy mage is a dead one, boy.” His expression turned deadpan. “Also, you really don’t have a choice, you will be my apprentice. Why would you turn it down anyways? I’m an Archmage! Who wouldn’t want to learn from me??”
Cas opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Rin, smiling. “It was a rhetorical question, not meant for you to answer.”
“Then why ask?”
“Be…. Never mind. You’re not going to regret accepting my proposal, young apprentice.”
“But I never accepted….”
“Weren’t you paying attention? You don’t have a choice. Learn to live with it!”
“But….”
“RIGHT!” Rin explained loudly, “Don’t worry about the little stuff! Back on topic, Constructs. They are not people, or even alive. A construct is something that is powered by magic and obeys the one whom bestowed it life through mana...”
“So that stick, it was alive?”
“Yes. The stick was live, Cas.”
“But how was it supposed to breath? Don’t living things need to breath?”
“Of course, they do! Living people that is. Constructs are alive, and yet, not. They live only because of the magic, and only need the magic to survive. I. I am really baffled. Didn’t you say there was a town mage here and he tested you all? Didn’t he explain all the schools of magic?? Did you show him the construct of sticks you made??”
“umm, no. he didn’t seem like he cared that I learned at all. I’m pretty sure the only reason he did what he did was because of his niece who runs the orphanage…”
“Ah, okay. Well than. I’ll take it you don’t have a class yet, either? By the way, what level are you at?”
Cas looked crestfallen. He shook his head and responded. “I don’t have a class, I not sure how to pick one. And how do I figure out my level? I’m 15 years old, so level 15 maybe?” his demeanor switched from sad to curious. No one had told him about levels. He knew they existed, but he wasn’t sure what purpose they served.
“You’ve got to be kidding…” Rin murmured, but Cas’s face did not waiver. “Really? No one told you? The people here are horrible…”
“Don’t say that! There are nice people here! Well, only a few…But its not their fault! I’m... A monster...” he shuddered, looking down at his feet again. A sigh escaped Rin’s mouth. “Cas, close your eyes. Try and clear your mind. And I want you to think of one word. Status. Don’t overthink it, just try it.”
What? Close my eyes and think status? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. But I have nothing to lose. These thoughts raced through his mind. He put them aside and did as he was asked. Both eyes closed? Check. Clear your mind? How the heck am I supposed to do that? Maybe I should just not think about anything else? Or only status? Am I supposed to think about status? Or say it? Status.
“Rin, I don’t think it’s working...” was all he got out of his mouth as he opened his eyes. He jerked back suddenly and fell on his butt. An Ethereal translucent box? Floated in front of him, with some interesting info inside.
[https://i.imgur.com/MhzfOJy.png]
“Cassious….Dawn? That’s my name?” He shook his head to try and clear the fog, and the box popped from existence.
“Hah” Rin laughed, “All you have to do was shake your head to get rid of the box apprentice Dawn. What level are you? I didn’t get to see your screen, you got rid of it quickly.” Cas looked at him oddly, and replied,
“You can see my Status too? I am level 1. Is that bad?” a look of uncertainty fell upon him, not sure if it even mattered at this point.
Without any hesitation Rin went to squash the look of defeat on his face before it had even begun. “Bad? No. Unusual? Very so. But you’re an unusual fellow, so I think its okay. Most kids your age who aren’t in training from even younger are in the 2-5 range; you gain experience passively by working. You probably don’t get much experience around here if you aren’t getting work. But your kind Mentor shall fix that in a jiffy! Combat is the quickest way to beef you up a bit; you gain some levels and we can work on getting you a class. But first. Stand.”
Cas rose to his feet, facing Rin nervously. Rin approached him and stood too close for comfort. “Your hand, please.” Rin requested. This was the first time Cas looked into Rin’s serious gaze, he was frozen, but not in fear. It was just uncertain. He reluctantly held out his hand. Quicker than he could process. The dagger in Rin’s hand he hadn’t noticed cut the palm of his hand; not deep, but blood did begin to pool. “OWWW!” Cas cried, but before he could move, Rin spoke in a foreboding tone “Do not move; Be still.” Cas felt his body freeze. He had no choice but to obey.
Rin dipped his finger in the pool of blood cupped in the boy’s hand, then kneeled. He began to paint… with the blood. Cas couldn’t tell, but the shape started to take form. An Anchor, like the traditional ones with two fishhook points and an eye hole at the top. He rose to his feet and began chanting in a foreign tongue: “Sanguis et terram. Tempus, tum animi. tenetur a nativitate futurum numerus. vitam post mortem, morte in vitam. Largire mihi, Immortalitatis.”
The air around Cas condensed until he could feel it pushing him from all sides, every angle. His vision started to go dark, dark until no light was visible. Then there was a POP, and a bright light flashed. Immensely bright. The whole process only took seconds, but it felt like an eternity. And the brightness was gone. Rin looked out of breath, but he was smiling. No, grinning at the boy.
“What did you do to me?” Cas Gasped. He looked at his hand, the cut and blood were gone, like it never happened. Rin smiles gleefully in return. “oh, I forgot to mention, from this point on, every time we meet here, you only get to ask me one question. I’ll give you a pass this time. I bound you to this world. This moment in time. I’ve made you an immortal.”