Max dreamed of falling. Falling through darkness into a deep, dark, endless pit. He fell for the longest time, a wet city swirling around him. In the center of the darkness, he saw a glimmer of light, a beautiful apparition in white. Her hair was flame red and swirling around her, her eyes wide and staring straight at him while her mouth was open in horror. He reached out to her, and she reached back.
He continued to fall for what seemed like hours . . . or maybe months. The beautiful white apparition fell away, and he plummeted through the darkness, flailing his arms and legs in a hopeless attempt to stop himself from falling. He tumbled head over heels, spinning faster and faster, dizziness and nausea taking him.
Max jerked awake, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. He was in the low attic room of the Dancing Pig, the sloping thatch roof an inch from the top of his head. He felt a calming hand on his shoulder.
“You were dreaming, young Mage.” Elderon smiled down at him through his deeply wrinkled face with his short gray beard. Although his eyes were dark, and had likely seen much violence and terror, he gave Max a comforting smile.
Max sat up on the small bed. He could hear the rain beating against the thatch roof, and he could see through the low window by Anita’s bed that it was still dark.
“I dreamed I was falling. How long was I asleep?”
“A few hours. Leveling up can take its toll on your body and mind, especially when you gain your first level. It will get easier as you make more levels. But you haven’t finished yet.” Elderon produced a small, leather-bound book and handed it over to Max. “Are you rested enough, young Mage, for your next step?”
Max pushed himself up, sitting on the side of the bed facing Elderon. “There’s more?”
The Battle Mage smiled and handed Max the small book. “Yes, there’s more. You have made your level, but Mages need to learn. Things don’t come automatically to us, like they do the Druids. Anita will automatically learn her Druid spells whenever she makes a level, but a Mage must learn the spells.”
Max looked down at the small book then tentatively opened it.
The stiff pages inside were blank and slightly yellow, charred around the edges as if the book had been rescued from a fire. Although stiff, the pages were soft to the touch, like the skin of a peach. In the flickering firelight, Max thought he could see hints of writing buried in the pages, like a watermark that chose to hide or reveal its existence. The nearly invisible writing swirled, constantly changing, falling deeper into the page before rising to the surface where it was almost close enough to allow him to make out some detail before it fell away again.
“But this is just a bunch of blank pages.” Max frowned at Elderon. “What am I supposed to learn from this?”
The old Mage pulled a scroll from his bag and handed it over to Max.
“Study this.”
Max took the scroll. It felt like the same material as the pages in the little book, stiff yet soft. He hesitantly unrolled it, revealing writing that appeared to be alive, the glowing letters constantly writing themselves. The words were foreign to him, and he could make very little sense of them. He read the words the best he could, faltering like a kindergarten student. The new Mage hardly understood what he was reading, but the words sounded powerful and impressive. Deep inside, subconsciously, he felt like he understood them, maybe not in meaning but in purpose. It was like the strangest foreign language he’d ever heard, yet as with a song, the meaning was clear, revealed in the tune if not the words.
He stopped in the middle of a word, sweat on his brow, gasping for breath. Reading had never exhausted him like this before, but these words drained him of strength and energy.
Elderon nodded. “It is strange at first. Difficult, even. I learned my first scroll an age ago. High-level Mages often forget what it’s like to see a scroll for the first time. If you speak the words from the scroll, things will start to make sense to you. Finish reading—you will recover your Strength quickly once you’ve finished the scroll.”
Max returned his attention to the scroll, faltering and stuttering, slowing down as he got to the end, like a marathon runner stumbling to the finish line. He read the strange words as they appeared on the scroll, and then, at the moment he uttered the final syllable, the scroll crumbled to dust in his hands. He looked up at Elderon with a mixture of shock and guilt at having destroyed the ancient document.
The Battle Mage laughed in a low, quiet chuckle. “I should have warned you that would happen, but it’s always fun to see a new Mage learning the ways of the arcane. Check your Mage Book.”
Max opened the Mage Book, and on the first page, he could see the words he had just read from the scroll now written in the book. They appeared deep in the page in a brown, rusty-colored ink, and they were not entirely legible. But Max could see enough to recognize the words he had just spoken. Along the bottom of the page was a series of symbols that looked like a pair of hands moving as if throwing hand shadow puppets. Max found he could easily copy these hand gesture, and he felt a sense of empowerment as his hands moved through the gestures.
“What spell is this?” Max asked his new teacher.
Elderon tapped the symbol at the top of the page. It was a dark, rust-colored image of a circle with lines trailing behind it like a tail. It gave the distinct impression that the ball was flying at great speed. The symbol was framed in intricate, curving lines twisting about each other in a complex pattern.
“This is the symbol for Magic Missile. It is one of the most basic Mage spells and will help you if you are in danger. It will defeat a low-level enemy or scare them off. At Level One, you can cast one Magic Missile when you utter these words and perform the gestures.”
Max laid his Mage Book on his knees and started twirling his hands. “Move my hands like this,” he said, “like in the pictures? Speak these words, and that is how I cast the spell?” Max tilted his head at Elderon.
“Yes,” The Battle Mage responded, nodding sagely.
“Can I test it?” The new Mage asked, looking around the small room for a target for his first Magic Missile.
“You can’t cast it yet. You have learned the spell, and it is now in your book, but you have not yet prepared the spell. You need to select the spell, then you need to rest, and only then will the spell be available for you to cast. You can learn a fixed number of spells every time you rest. While you are only first level, you will have to use your spells wisely.” Elderon laid a hand on Max’s shoulder.
“Do not go looking for a fight just yet, young Mage.” Elderon patted Max gently. “A Mage can be powerful, but at low levels, you will quickly run out of spells and have to rely on your other weapons. You have a good staff at your side. Maybe you will able be to wield a blade, a sling, or perhaps a crossbow, but remember, your real power will always be in your Mage Book.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Max looked at the spell on the page. He could not wait to try it!
“How do I prepare it?”
Elderon pointed at the Magic Missile symbol. “Select the symbol.”
Max put his finger on the symbol. He felt the hairs on his neck stand up and heard a distant, tinkling trill. The Magic Missile symbol, the writing, and the pictured hand gesture all changed color from dull rust to sparkling silver. Max admired the page, and a notification appeared.
>
>
> Mage Book
>
>
>
> Level 1 Spells:
>
> • Magic Missile
>
>
>
> Active Spells:
>
> • Magic Missile
>
>
“You need to collect other spells,” the Battle Mage advised. “Scrolls can be bought in magic stores, and some can be found in dungeons or out in the wilderness. In time you will learn many spells, but these I can give to you now.”
Elderon gave Max a second scroll. The new Mage took the scroll, unrolled it, and began reading the strange words on the page. When he finished reading, the scroll crumbled to dust. Max gasped for air as if he had swam a mile under water, sweating, gasping, smiling. He checked his Mage Book and saw that a new spell had appeared with the symbol of a crude horned monster, a wavy line bisecting it. The lower half of the symbol was smudged so you couldn’t make out exactly what it was supposed to be.
“This is the Detect Enemies spell. It will help you find enemies hidden from you. They may be magically invisible or hiding in shadows—much like your Sneak ability. Or they could only be out of line of your sight, hiding behind things. Detect Enemies is a powerful spell that will help you avoid danger. As a Level One Mage, you will be able to prepare two spells at a time. I recommend you prepare one Magic Missile and one Detect Enemies to start, but you can also select Magic Missile a second time.”
Max studied the front page of his Mage Book. A Magic Missile symbol sat in a spell slot, an empty spell slot next to it. He considered the Detect Enemy spell, but then flipped back to the Magic Missile, and chose a second Magic Missile because it sounded cooler. He checked the spell slots page and found two Magic Missile spells were prepared, shimmering in silver. Max felt giddy with excitement as he practiced the hand gestures and looked at the spells in his book.
>
>
> Mage Book
>
>
>
> Level 1 Spells:
>
> • Magic Missile
>
> • Detect Enemies
>
>
>
> Active Spells:
>
> • Magic Missile
>
> • Magic Missile
>
>
“Guess I’d better keep this book safe!” Max said.
Elderon smiled. “It is part of you now. A Mage and his book cannot be separated.” Elderon took out his own book. It was small and fit in his palm neatly, but when he opened it, the book grew and expanded to a huge, heavy book with hundreds of pages. Elderon riffled through the pages, and Max saw glimpses of powerful spells that he would one day learn.
“You will learn many powerful spells in the world of Eveirea if you are true to yourself.” The old Mage closed his book, and it shrank back down to pocketbook size. He tucked the book away in the bag on his hip.
Max could hardly contain his excitement. “We should go get a drink to celebrate!” Although it was late, Max could still hear the music downstairs, and the Dancing Pig was still lively.
“No, we shall stay here,” Elderon said. He spoke with the heavy voice that seemed to command Max to do his bidding. The young Mage knew he could get ale from downstairs if he wanted. He could sneak out of the room, get a drink downstairs, and then maybe visit the farmer’s daughter again. Meg might be asleep now, but he was sure her she would let him in.
I can do whatever I want to! Max asserted to himself.
Even as he mentally raged against the idea of sleep, Elderon was helping him lie down, pulling the covers over him. “Will my spells be ready to cast when I wake up?” Max asked sleepily, pulling the covers tight around himself.
Elderon nodded. “Indeed, they will. Now sleep and then we can learn more about casting spells in the morning.”
The new Mage accepted the old man’s words and was soon asleep.
Max was falling again. Falling into darkness, a black hole of emptiness. The sensation was terrifying, although with darkness all around, it was impossible to see whether he was moving or not. At times, he felt as if he was suspended in space and simply hanging in darkness. At other times, he felt the sensation of plummeting into the depths of the darkness. And in the darkness, he saw one point of shimmering, white light. He tried to swim, to kick and pull with his arms and legs, to move toward that light. Slowly at first and then with a sudden burst of speed, the light came to him. It was a figure in a white coat with flame-red hair. He recognized her right away—the mysterious woman named Janet who had helped save them in the forest.
“I know you,” Max said.
“I know you too,” the white apparition with flame-red hair said. “You broke into my laboratory. The thunderstorm and the strange aurora from the solar activity apparently activated the experiment when you were trying to steal the black diamonds.” Janet looked all around, staring into the depths of darkness. “It appears we are trapped in a void out of space and time. We should have transported from one side of the laboratory to the other, but we must be trapped in the transport portal.”
He scratched his head. Was he dreaming?
“I’m not trapped in a transport portal. I’m in Eveirea,” Max said.
“No.” Janet said. “You’re right here with me. Look around! We are trapped in the middle of the laboratory.”
Max looked around, but all he could see was darkness. “This is just a dream,” Max said. “I’m asleep in the Dancing Pig. I just leveled up, and I’m a Level One Mage now.”
“I knew you must have been stupid to try to steal industrial diamonds, but you have to be mad if you think you’re in a land called Eveirea and you’re a Wizard.”
“Not a Wizard, a Mage. I just learned my first spell. When I wake up in the morning, I’m going to learn how to cast Magic Missile.”
“But you’re here in the portal with me, although . . .” She trailed off before starting again. “You are coming and going, fading away and then coming back into view. I can see strange things swirling around you. Patterns in the darkness. But then you disappear.”
“I can see you sometimes from this world,” Max said. “I saw you when I was hiding from the wolf. You also come and go, but I am asleep now, so you must be in my dream.”
Janet looked at Max with sudden realization. “I know what’s happened. You have become separated from the portal terminus. The portal will remain open until you rejoin the terminus point. Only then can you and I complete the transport.”
Max felt himself falling again. Moving away from the shimmering, flame-haired beauty. “I’m falling again!”
“We need to close the experiment,” Janet called out. “I’m frozen here. I can’t move, but you can. You need to find your way to the terminus point of the transport portal.”
“I’ve never seen a transport portal before. How do I find it?”
“It would look like a dark portal. But be careful! If it is still open, it will be creating strange physical effects. Our experiments showed it having a terrible effect on our live test subjects, driving them violently insane. But if you can get there, maybe the experiment will shut down, and then you and I will be released.”
Max moved away, racing more rapidly now.
“I will find this dark portal. I’ll save you!”
“I just want to go home,” the flame-haired ghost said. “Just find it. Closing it should be as easy as stepping inside.”
Max fell further and further away.
“What’s your name?” Janet called out.
“I’m Max.”
“Find the dark portal, Max. Save me.”
“I’ll talk to Elderon,” Max shouted as Janet fell further, getting smaller and smaller. “He’s very wise and will know what we need to do. Don’t worry, Janet. I’ll save you.”
As Max fell, the flame-haired woman disappeared into the darkness until she was nothing more than a distant spec that glowed in the darkness. Max tumbled as he fell until he suddenly hit the bunk in the Dancing Pig. He woke with a start.
Sunlight streamed in through the small window, and he could see Anita standing in the morning sunshine, her back to him. Her naked back. He watched, mesmerized as she stepped into her fighting skirt then bent down and slowly pulled it up over her hips. She stretched her arms up over her head, gathering her hair in her hands and pulling it back before letting it tumble down over her exposed shoulders. She turned and glanced at Max, sunlight shining on her fully exposed torso. She smiled at him then picked up her leather body armor and slipped it over her naked, tanned body.
“Good morning,” Anita said, adjusting her body armor. “Now that you are awake, let’s join Elderon.”
Max groaned as he flopped back down on his bed. What are you trying to do to me?!
He forced the image of Anita’s body from his mind as he pondered the words of the lab technician in his dream—a woman who was also very beautiful, he had to admit.
Max looked around the room as he sat back up “I’m definitely here at the Dancing Pig,” he muttered to himself then turned his attention to the alluring Druid who was also definitely there. “Good morning, Anita. Where’s Elderon?”
“Eating breakfast, I assume,” she replied.
Max pushed himself out of the soft, warm bed, remembering what he’d promised Janet. Whether it had been a dream or not, he needed to speak to the old Mage.