As Maura walked through the camp she stuck close to Amelia. Probably too close, from the snickers and comments she could hear, but Maura was terrified. If she hadn’t been fully equipped for… everything, really, then she would have been much more nervous if not frozen. She only wasn’t wearing her gloves, but they were tied onto her belt next to her waterskin to make herself feel better.
Even through her terror, she was also amazed and thrilled. The camp was full of so many different people that Maura found herself constantly swapping between staying small and hidden behind Amelia and peeking out to study everything.
The way the area was set up was reminiscent of a city with different neighborhoods. The tribes all had their individual areas and each had their own personality from clothing to colors and how the wagons were painted. There were paths between each group and there were plenty of people moving all around. There were also great herding areas where the beasts of different tribes could mingle and… do what beasts do.
She was in a strange space between terrified and curious. She had trouble listening to anything as there was a bit of a whooshing sound in her ears and her face felt uncomfortably warm.
There are so many people!
They are all so loud!
No one is paying attention to the skies… idiots.
And the smell. I mean, it’s better, but still. Take a bath ya beggar!
That was mean… He actually looked like a nice enough person. But who knows?! Maybe he’s an agent of the Arcanum! Well, they probably have slightly better hygiene standards than the Khersi, frankly.
Though, now that I think about it, the smell isn’t really that bad. It’s not unwashed bodies, just… bodies. They are quite clean people when in camp. I even saw a lot of them bathing in the river when we were coming up. I think the smell is something I’ll have to get used to, especially that of the city, because even though I am not close to it I can smell it.
That person is too close!
Breathe, Maura.
Her internal monologue and the mantra running in the background kept her from fleeing, though she was definitely walking too close to Amelia. Whatever.
Amelia had come up with the idea of there being two Mauras. One was the nice little girl that was a member of the tribe, and the other was a secret hidden wilderness expert. The plan had originally been to mask Maura from attention altogether but as Amelia and Chief Carter finalized their plan it had changed. She would need to demonstrate her skill to the elders in order for their plan to work, but Maura looked like a completely different person with her hunting gear on as opposed to a nice dress. They wouldn’t use a name other than ‘the hunter’ when she was in her garb except to the council, but they would introduce her to normal Khersi society as Maura when she was in a dress in camp.
The plan would eventually fall apart, but they only needed a week or two to get their plan working so by the time the subterfuge fell apart, it wouldn’t matter that much. Mostly, they just had to keep people confused and keep secret her skills in magic. Once the elders and chiefs knew of the importance of what Maura could do and teach, they would all help block the knowledge from spreading and protect her against outside forces.
Maura had promised to follow their orders, but that didn’t mean she loved the new plan. She had hoped to remain mostly anonymous but Amelia had accurately predicted that there would have been message spells sent and, while no one knew Maura could do anything other than heal, that would draw attention that they would need to be fast to garner more support.
Maura’s mind was still bouncing all over so quickly that she almost walked into Amelia when she stopped suddenly. Maura peeked out from behind her and saw that they were at a large permanent structure. She had seen some warehouses, wells, and sanitary facilities spread throughout the camp, but this building was clearly used for meetings.
It was a large rounded two story building made almost entirely out of wood except for a solid stone foundation. Expert crafters had clearly worked hard to make the building beautiful with graceful lines and all sorts of carvings. Amelia had stopped to talk to a guard that had been obviously waiting for them and they began to move towards one of the entrances.
There was a group of people standing around the building. Some were clearly agitated or were even openly arguing, while others looked curious or were chatting in confusion. Maura guessed that these had been either people who were in the Council but had been removed for security or new curious people. As Amelia and the guard walked forwards, they split slightly to allow passage, but some of the people tried to crowd them and seemed to be yelling questions at Amelia.
Maura couldn’t hear anything at all as the whooshing in her ears had turned into a sort of high pitch whine. There were more people than she had ever seen and they were all crowding her! Amelia, ever aware of what was happening around her, pulled Maura along with an arm over her shoulders as she walked forward like a queen.
Two armed guards pushed people back and opened up a space for them to enter the building and the guard that had escorted them turned around to block the people that were following behind. The entrance had a large drape instead of a door, which seemed to be a cultural thing, but once they made their way inside the sound and pressure dropped away noticeably.
Maura felt like she could finally breathe, if just a little, as Amelia slowed down and let her gather herself. They were standing in a well-lit hallway with walls made of warm wood and the floor out of polished stone. The stone was a little dirty from so many people walking in and out, but Maura focused on the little details as her breathing returned to normal and her ears began to work properly. There were several doors and other connecting hallways, and everything was very pretty.
Amelia had been trying to get her attention and when Maura finally turned to her she said, “Welcome back. I know that must have been difficult for you, but you did well. We can wait a few more moments but we shouldn’t keep them waiting long, alright?”
Maura shook herself and after a few deep breaths said, “I’m alright now. That was worse than I thought it would be, but I’m okay.”
Amelia studied her for a few more moments before she nodded and said, “Alright. Just follow the plan and stick close, okay?”
Maura nodded and they began to walk down the hallway to where another guard was standing at a more elaborate drape that almost looked like a rug. Maura could hear murmured conversation from behind the drape and she gulped a bit, trying to force her fear down.
The guard said, “Identify yourselves.”
To which Amelia responded, “Amelia Carter and the hunter, answering a call for attendance from the Council.”
The guard studied Maura for a moment with suspicious eyes, but nodded and held the drape open with the hand not holding his spear. He announced them to the chamber in a clear voice, “Amelia Carter and the hunter, as requested!”
The sounds of conversation halted as they entered the room and Maura looked around to study the new environment.
The chamber was large and circular. Benches wrapped themselves around the edge of the room in a way that was reminiscent of an amphitheatre or lecture hall. Light spilled from high windows and a large chandelier in the center. The center of the room was mostly polished stone with a large mural out of tile in the very middle. Directly opposite of the entrance was a single chair, flanked with much more comfy looking benches.
The chair had an old man who Maura had been told was the Arbiter. The Arbiter was voted as the most apolitical and incorruptible elder from the tribes present whenever a Council was called and it was his job to make sure that the conversation went smoothly and that everyone had a chance to speak and to make official pronouncements.
On the benches closest to the center of the room were a grouping of a bunch of different people, mostly older and male, who were all studying Amelia and Maura as they walked forward. Maura was a little annoyed at how few women there were, but it was nice to see that there was an almost even split of the three races. Chief Carter was standing in the middle of the room and he gave them an encouraging smile.
Maura attempted to smile back but felt that it came out as more of a grimace. Chief Carter had a twinkle of humor in his eye, but then he nodded to her and turned to address the Arbiter.
He said, “Arbiter, elders, chieftains thank you for invoking the sacred silence over what I have come to tell you. I shall begin to explain, but must ask not to be interrupted until I am finished.”
As Chief Carter began to speak Amelia turned and nodded at Maura and pulled a large polished stone out from her cloak. Maura closed her eyes and activated the privacy functions of her core as the stone in Amelia’s hands lit up. She had already been able to tell there were some scrying spells but she was a little surprised at the exact number she found.
There were multiple ways to spy on anything and Maura had countermeasures for all of them, at least in theory. The easiest was to simply record sound or even sight and sound. Maura found three of those and simply overloaded the items so they burned themselves out.
The second easiest and least secure method was to scry into the room from afar, as if you were sitting in the room. Maura counted twelve sources and most came from close to the building, but some came from farther away. This method was easy enough to break by placing a barrier around the room. The barrier she used was multi-purpose and would also keep any sound or light from escaping without being garbled enough to make it impossible to understand.
The third method being used today was much more secure but also much more dangerous, in Maura’s opinion. A direct link between two people could be opened up by those who were well skilled in magic. It was dangerous to let any person into your mind for any reason, but this particular spell was sharing the senses of the man sitting in the stands with someone inside of Torrine.
The activation took only a few moments and the response was swift. As Maura’s skin lit up with the tiny runes there were three pops as the overloaded devices failed. The man who had been sharing senses looked like he had just been hit on the head and he quickly turned and threw up. Many of the elders or chieftains had exclaimed in outrage when Amelia had lifted the glowing rock but quickly turned into confusion with everything else happening.
Chief Carter held his hands and yelled loudly, “Peace! Peace, people!”
The Arbiter had a big official looking stick and he thumped it loudly on the floor in a spot that was probably designed to make the thumping extra loud.
As people calmed down, he turned to Chief Carter with an expression which was not amused and said, “Explain yourself, Chief Frozen River.”
Chief Carter bowed slightly and said, “The reason for what just happened and the reason I came to all of you today are one and the same. Before I explain further, I do believe we need to escort Elder Dellim out of the room. If I am not mistaken he has already broken the silence, though nothing of consequence has yet been said.”
This was a serious accusation and the room became deathly silent.
Amelia stepped forward and held up the glowing rock. Maura was hiding her hands and face underneath her cape with her back facing the elder so their ruse would hopefully work.
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She said, “This item disrupts any scrying magic. Elder Dellim most likely held a mind-to-mind connection with someone outside of the chamber and when it was disrupted he fell ill from the sudden shock, Arbiter.”
Maura had explained the likely reactions that her magic would cause to Amelia beforehand. Maura had no idea who the elder was but judging from the furious expressions on many of the faces she could see he was either not liked or had been suspected beforehand.
The Arbiter sighed and said, “I will need a longer explanation and we will discuss this later. Guard, remove Elder Dellim and place him under guard in a room nearby.”
The guard took the mostly unresisting elder out of the room as people began to seat themselves and talk to each other about what had happened. As a new guard came to replace the one that left, the Arbiter knocked his staff a bit more until the room fell to silence again. He simply looked at Chief Carter and raised an eyebrow.
Chief Carter began, “Thank you all for your patience. I come to you with a somewhat fantastical story and a great opportunity for the Khersi. My tribe has just come in from the wilderness, as you know. As some of you may also be aware, we had some trouble from soul wisps that have migrated into the area. You may also have heard that a strange healer came from the wilderness and healed those who had been affected by the soul wisp venom.
“I sincerely hope to all the spirits and our ancestors that that is all you have heard. It is not even close to the full story, and this is why I needed to call the Council under the sacred silence. Originally, I had hoped to hide the full situation but upon learning more found that it would most likely become an impossibility. What I have to say could affect the Khersi as a whole, and the worst possible thing would be for anyone outside of the Khersi, especially the Arcanum, to find out.”
Chief Carter turned to Maura and held out his hand and motioned her closer. Maura was dreading this moment, but she moved forwards and chanted her mantra under her breath. As she passed Amelia she pulled the drawstring of her cloak and let her take it then removed her headdress. Maura moved to stand next to Chief Carter and tried to look up at the elders around her but only managed a quick glance before she found herself staring at the floor. There were a few mumbles and exclamations when her glowing skin and eyes were shown.
Chief Carter continued, “This is Maura of the Frozen River. I have adopted her into the tribe and she could change the future for all of us.
“Maura is a healer and hunter of unprecedented abilities, but that is not nearly all she is. She is from far to the west, from further into the Deep Dark than any of our histories talk of except perhaps our earliest legends. She has survived where none could as you can see from what her equipment is made from.
“What you cannot see, and why this council is so important, is that she is also a highly educated mage. A mage, Arbiter, Elders, Chieftains, that is not under a geas.”
There had been some skeptical looks and snorts as Chief Carter had been talking, but the moment he said that last sentence half of the people went dead silent while the other half began talking and arguing loudly all at the same time. Maura scrunched up a bit more and shuffled closer to Chief Carter at the sudden noise. He placed his hand on Maura’s shoulder and gave her a little squeeze as he waited for the room to settle down again. It took a few minutes, and much banging of the staff, before the room finally queted enough for the Arbiter to speak.
He said, “This… information. I understand and accept the need for the Sacred Silence now, though I am just barely beginning to wrap my head around the idea. We shall need proof, of course, and seeing as you have had more time to think of the repercussions, I would have you speak your thoughts, Chief Frozen River.”
Chief Carter gave Maura another squeeze before he cleared his throat and said, “Of course. The first thing we must all do is to protect this knowledge. As far as anyone outside of the council or not vetted is concerned, we are bringing the hunter in to discuss something found out in the wilderness. Perhaps a ruin where we found the security device?
“If the Arcanum or even the nobles in the city were to learn of the actual situation it would bring nothing good. The first proof that you all have is from the stories of her healing, the second from the magic that has enveloped the room. The stone in my wife’s hand is mostly nonsense that Maura created before coming here. The actual spells being used to secure the room are coming from Maura herself.
“She explained to us what would most likely happen when she activated her magic. The pops you heard were recording devices being overloaded, and Elder Dellim’s sudden illness is what happens when two people who are magically sharing senses are abruptly severed from each other. Maura?”
He had turned to Maura and she knew she had to explain what she had sensed. They had talked about this, but now that it was time for her to speak she was shaking a little and had trouble getting her voice to come out.
After a few moments she conquered herself and softly said, “The spell I cast has surrounded the entire hall, cutting any scrying magic in either direction and scrambling sound and light from exiting the sphere, as your guard can confirm. There were twelve external scrying spells apart from the elder’s. Three came from inside of Torrine, the rest were from within the camp. The elder’s link also came from inside of Torrine. There were three recording devices though only two people were in possession of them. You and you, though you have dropped yours underneath the seat. The last item was left up in the seats over there.”
The two people Maura had pointed out had been nervous and started sweating as Maura continued. When she pointed them out, the one that had dropped the stone tried to make a run for it, though how he thought to accomplish that when the only entrance or exit was guarded, Maura didn’t know.
The guards quickly grabbed the two Maura had pointed out and then brought them into the center of the circle though they had some trouble with the resisting one. An older Manza man who had been sitting next to the man that tried to flee reached down and eventually pulled the slightly charred looking piece of metal from underneath the bench and held it up with a betrayed expression on his face.
The room was silent once the struggling man gave up. The Arbiter stood from his chair and said, “The Sacred Silence has been broken. Though your treason against your own people has not left this room that does not excuse your actions. It seems we will have a longer trial after we are done here. Take them to separate rooms from Elder Dellim. Call more guards and secure the building further. Split the guards into groups of three, all from different tribes, and swear them to secrecy.
“Chief Black Peak, Chief Deep Wood, I task your warriors to work together and secure the entire area. Send a protective detail to Frozen River. Watch and mark every person who enters or leaves the area, but do not lock it down. Take the traitor’s families into protective custody and have them brought here.”
The guards and two chieftains left and a flurry of activity began outside. The Arbiter waited for new guards and the chieftains to return before turning to Maura and saying, “Child. I am ashamed that your first interaction with the leaders, the eldest and most wise, the most trusted of all of our people, has been so marred. You have my apologies.”
Maura shrunk a little at the serious authority that the Arbiter exuded, but she just nodded a little, not trusting her voice.
The Arbiter turned to Chief Carter and said, “As previously stated, you have had more time to consider the ramifications of this all. Speak to the council of your thoughts.”
Chief Carter shot Amelia a glance, as the full plan was at least three-quarters her idea, before he said, “Of Course, Arbiter. First, we must keep this knowledge close at all costs. For that to happen we must be sure to keep the Arcanum and their mages away as well as any noble bootlickers. Maura has dressed up in her furs for this council so she would not be recognized.
“My hope is that the elders and chieftains here could speak to those families or wagonmasters that they know they can trust with the knowledge so they may join Frozen River. We are small, and have much room for new blood. We will use the new arrivals as camouflage for Maura as she looks much different in a dress.”
There were a few chuckles at this and after a pause he continued, “Of course, this is a stalling tactic. No secret that is known by more than one person will remain a secret. Frozen River has a great haul, hunted by Maura, that we can use as a cover to bring more families to the tribe. In a month, we will leave for the wilderness with new crafters and empty wagons and no Arcanum mage.
“My tribe will take a long circuit between the cities and wilderness where we will hunt stronger beasts that the new craftsmen will turn into great things to sell. That will be the official story - a new great hunter and a grand seasonal hunt. What we will actually be doing, in the security that only isolation can provide, is training mages and healers.
“Maura will write down the lessons in books while we are here near the city. These books will remain with Frozen River as the rest of the tribes will still need to keep an Arcanum mage with them as they travel. Between the books and Maura herself, by the time for the Moot in midsummer there should be enough people with the basics learned that they can then split up into other tribes and continue the teachings.
“The people that join Frozen river must have two qualities above all else; loyalty to the Khersi, and intellect. If anything goes at least a little to plan, in a few years the magical knowledge will be so widespread that the monopoly the Arcanum has on magic will be effectively broken.
“Eventually they will become aware, however. We must ready ourselves to fight back against them with all we have. It is my hope that we can spread the word to have tribes gather together and travel in larger numbers. There may be hundreds of thousands of us, but we are spread apart. We will be entering into a possibly bloody period of time, but if we stick together the future will be bright.”
There was some mumbling and conversations. Chief Carter walked to the side to grab a drink of water. The Arbiter was silent and let the conversations happen for a while. Maura was getting anxious to leave. She didn’t think that Amelia and her were needed any longer. She had scooted close to Amelia again and was fidgeting, waiting to see what would happen next.
The Arbiter called the Council back to silence with a few thumps before he turned to Maura and said, “We will need to discuss this plan with Chief Frozen River longer, but before any of that I wish to see your magics myself. Describe everything you do while you cast. If you are truly unbound, you will not be able to.”
Maura flinched as the attention came back to her. Amelia gave her a few pats on the back which helped her gather her scrambled thoughts.
Maura said, “Err, o-of course. Um. Well, let’s begin at the beginning.”
Maura placed her spear on the ground before she used her hands to draw a circle in the air. She kept it glowing on purpose and began to explain. She started off a little slow and choppy, but gained confidence as her lecture continued.
“Everything magical is a closed system. Nothing, whether it is mana, energy, matter, or anything else can ever truly be created or destroyed. Mana is all around us, from our bodies to the air to the ground, if flows through the manasphere in predictable and constant ways. If you take mana and create a circle, like this one, and simply add a line that flows from one side to the other, you create turbulence.”
Maura drew her finger to elegantly slide from one end of the circle to the other in a straight line.
“The circle itself is in perfect balance and flow. The mana can flow in either direction, but this turbulence can be added and directed with your thoughts and will in order to create an effect. Like this, for example.”
She held her hand to the side and a little ball of light lit up above her palm.
“A simple light spell that any child could do with proper visualization. If, however, you change the formula properly which takes a lot of math to know how to create an effect, you can change the light.”
Maura changed the straight line in her diagram to one that curved to look like a yin and yang symbol. As she did this, the light became smoother and deeper until it turned a gentle red color. Her audience was slightly spellbound at being shown an actual magical lesson, even if it was somewhat rudimentary.
Maura said, “As far as more complex diagrams and magic; this is the spell I used to secure the room.”
The little circle and her light winked out before she drew a ridiculously complex three dimensional series of circles and connecting lines through the air. In order to see the details Maura made it rather large and it covered a huge area of the chamber. There were runes and shapes inside of the circles and connecting everything together in a beautiful array.
She continued, “This is what would be known as fourth ring magic. It looks very complex but is actually simple when one has the proper education to understand it. Or well, not simple, but easily understood. Magic builds upon itself much like mathematics. While addition and subtraction is simple enough, by the time you get to geometry or algebra it might seem complex but is understandable because it is built upon the foundation you have already learned.
“Of course, this is the field of divination which some people may find easier to understand than others. The other fields I have a curriculum for include evocation, warding, healing, among other more obscure subjects which would take years to learn. Inside of each subject there are different specialties. Evocation, for example, can be further split into wind, fire, water, and earth or there are more generalized categories such as energy, particle, positive and negative… it can get complex. There is some overlap, but specialization is the key when it comes to learning magic.”
Maura had lost herself a little and was even speaking at a normalish volume by the end of her lecture before she happened to glance around and realize that she wasn’t actually pretending this time and there were a bunch of people looking at her.
Some had awed expressions, others were crying a little bit, but everyone was laser focused on her. She made a little *eep* noise as her diagram wobbled before fizzling out. She tired to hide behind Amelia but was surrounded from all sides and she was stopped by an arm around her shoulders again anyway.
Amelia smiled down at her and gently said, “Well done, Maura.”
A few people stood up and clapped, which had everyone giving at least a happy mumble. Maura felt her whole face blush in embarrassment and she hid her face in Amelia’s dress.
The Arbiter stood and said, “That was magnificent. I’ll be turning the floor over to the other chieftains now. The subject will not be magic, but how we must move going forward. We have all heard Frozen River’s plan and so we shall be discussing that. Chief Frozen River, Amelia, Maura, please take seats to the side and maintain your security spell. We shall follow the normal rules and break after two hours to begin putting this in motion. Chief Deep Wood, you have the floor.”
As Maura placed her spear and cloak on the benches behind her she dreamed about what it would be like to teach again. She couldn’t wait to get books and begin to write down the lesson plans. The Khersi she taught would have to be avid readers!