Nathan observed every detail of the mana circuit, while he carefully poured the mana essence on the carved stone. The translucent liquid filled line after line of the complex structure. Whenever a pattern was complete, a slight, blue glow emerged from the carvings, indicating that it started to work. When the whole circuit was soaked, a soft wind tousled his short, blonde hair and the temperature above the carving started to rise. Small tongues of red flames formed, licking across the black surface of the oven.
Nathan closed his eyes. He began to feel the mana, diffused through the air in the kitchen. The highest density was right above the circuit of the oven, slowly spreading through the room. Concentrating his senses on a small area in front of him, he willed the mana to gather and tried to force it into the shape of the oven's mana circuit. But as always, just when he managed to create the rough outline, it suddenly dispersed. Nathan opened his eyes with a resigned sigh.
"Why doesn't it work? I remembered the circuit perfectly." he complained to himself in a low voice and scrutinized once more the black granite block, on which the circuit was carved. It was at least fifty years old. Back then, when his grandfather was still alive, he loved to tell the story of how he bought it right after the release of the first magic ovens in the capital. He had to fight with a stranger woman over it and ended up marrying her a few weeks later.
His mother called out from the dining room. "Nathan, did you start-up the oven?"
"Yes, mom."
"Then go, help your sister with the dough honey"
"Yes, Yes." Slightly annoyed Nathan walked towards the wooden kitchen table, where his elder sister Natalie watched him with a glint of amusement in her eyes.
"Is the great magician forced to lower himself to do mundane kitchen work?" She teasingly asked.
"Oh shut up, I never claimed to be a great magician." Slightly irritated Nathan started to roll out the dough for the noodles. With a peal of bright laughter, Sarah also directed her attention back to the table.
"Don't be such a sourpuss. I've never heard of a magician able to do magic without some form of wand or accessory, why do you even try?"
"And since when did you become an authority in magic? I bet in the Moria Republic dozens of mages who can do just that!"
"Dream on brother, just wait till your semester at Gilsbeck starts. Don't be such a try-hard."
"Who asked you, Natalie? Mind your own business."Annoyed by his sister, Nathan decided to ignore her for the rest of the day.
"Pff, how uncute." Natalie pouted.
"Don't always tease your brother Natalie." Their mother, a slightly plump woman in her fifties, with, for westerners typical, blonde hair and blue eyes, had entered the room while both siblings quarreled. "Its good that he takes magic seriously, maybe he will be someone famous in the future."
"Sure, mom." Natalie confirmed with an obvious disbelieve in her voice.
Sarah could only shake her head. Since Nathan got his acceptance letter to the Gilsbeck Magic School, his sister used every chance she got to poke fun at him. Sarah knew that Natalie was a bit jealous of her Brother, for being born with a rare talent for magic, but some things just couldn't be changed.
"Finish preparing the noodles you two, your dad will arrive soon."
Half an hour later, the Shaw family sat together in the small but comfy dining room. It was one of the most luxurious rooms in the old house. The chairs even had an embroidered green padding, bought to impress the guests that came to visit Nathans father Lionell. This evening, the smell of fresh pasta and spicy meatballs permeated the air while the four Shaws enjoyed the food.
"Your meatballs are great, Sarah." Lionell complimented the food after finishing his plate.
"You always say that dear," she answered with a smile on her face.
"Because they are always great." Lionell winked at his wife, then turned to Nathan.
"Did you prepare everything for your journey to Moria, son?" he asked, switching to the common language of the western continent.
"Yes, of course, I packed everything I need." Nathan's answer was slow but without mistakes, Lionell nodded content.
"Good. Remember, the whole village contributed to the tuition fee for your school. You will not only be working for your own future but for the future of the whole village. Like uncle Thomas, your friends from the village school, or Lizzy."
Nathan was visibly blushing. "Why should I care about Lizzy?"
"Oh, is our great magician shy?" Natalie said with a snicker.
He glared at her. "Be quiet, you're already 19. Go and look for a husband instead of meddling in my affairs!"
"Why should i take one of those country bumpkins? My future is in the city."
Upon her proud statement, Lionell frowned, rubbing his forehead lightly with his right hand.
"Kids, don't argue on our last evening together. Nathan will be gone for at least half a year before he can visit us again."
Natalie stuck out her tongue and turned her attention back to the still half-filled plate. Lionell began to speak again.
"I just wanted to remind you, that everyone contributed. You should take some responsibility for that, by studying hard and becoming successful. Everyone knows that you can't blame your talent if you fail!"
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"I know dad, no need to lecture me, I'm well aware of that." Nathan answered whole-heartedly.
Lionell stared at him for a few seconds, before smiling and continuing with a gentle voice.
"Yes, i know that you're not an irresponsible person, but sometimes people forget their roots when they're overwhelmed by new experiences."
"Honey, eat up and go to bed early," Sarah interjected, "the carriage, that will take you to the port, arrives after dusk. You need to be ready by then."
"Yes mom." Nathan hurried to clear the last noodles from his plate. With a grin he looked at his sister.
"Dear sister, i have to go to bed early, I'm sure you wouldn't mind cleaning my plate and cutlery for me right?" His last word weren't even said yet, when he already rushed out of the dining room. Infuriated Natalie shouted after him:
"Marry Lizzy if you want someone to do the housework for you, you lazy pig."
Sarah eyed Natalie with a serious look.
"You know, daughter, he is right in one thing, you're three years older than him, when will you marry and give us some grandchildren?"
"Oh mom, stop it. I will marry when I feel like it." Annoyed Natalie started to clean up the table while her mother watched her with worry in her eyes.
"It is just that-"
"MOM!"
"Dear, say something." Having no success with her daughter, Sarah tried to get Lionell to interfere.
"Just let her do whatever she wants Sarah, when Nathan becomes a magician it really would've been a waste for her to marry within the village." He grinned sheepishly at Natalie.
"Thanks, dad, even though I don't appreciate your reasons for supporting me."
Feriona was quiet. A full moon bathed the old, wooden houses of the village in a ghastly white light, and a soft breeze filled the night with the sound of dry, rustling leaves. The window in the second floor of a house on a small hill opened with a slight creaking noise, startling a pair of Kuruck birds that nested in the tree right beside it. A few seconds afterwards Nathan's head peeked out of the window. After making sure, that no one was around, he climbed out, his movements were steady and calm as if he had practiced them a thousand times. With a slow motion he let himself down from the roof of the first floor and landed in the grass without making any noises.
"The escape was successful once again." A wide grin could be seen on his face under the pale moonlight. He was careful to not make any noises as he sneaked away from the house. After walking several minutes through the dark and quiet alleys, he left the last buildings of the village behind. In the outskirts, wide fields of wheat extended as far as the eyes could see. To the left of the village, the broad Fera river flowed quietly towards the distant ocean. He didn't wait for long when he heard light footsteps coming up from behind. He turned around. A slender girl, with a cute face and long blonde hair, that reached down to her buttocks, waved at him timidly.
"Lizzy, I'm happy that you came." Blood shot into his face when he involuntarily thought back to the dinner with his family.
"Of course I would come, Nathan, it's your last day here, how could I miss it."
Smiling Nathan grasped Lizzy's hand. A hot sensation rushed through his body when he felt her warm skin. Without talking to each other, they walked through the fields, until they arrived at a small hill with an old oak tree towering over it. Nathan sat down on the ground, with his back leaning on the trunk and Lizzy perched beside him, resting her head on his right shoulder. For a few minutes, they just looked into the sky, watching the few clouds moving across the starry night.
"I will miss you Nathan" Lizzy soft voice broke the silence. Nathan looked at her for a few seconds, then kissed her on her forehead.
"I will miss you too Lizzy. Promise me to wait for my return."
"You don't need to ask me that dummy." Lizzy giggled, playfully drawing with her fingers across Nathan's chest.
Her voice turned into a whisper. "You know that I'm yours, don't you?"
Nathan felt his heart beat faster and stronger with each of her strokes. He put his arms around Lizzy, letting her sink in his embrace. Slowly he moved his head down. His lips inched closer and closer to her face. He could feel her hot breath on his skin, enticing, seductive. Lizzy hugged his neck and pulled him the last, small distance, until their lips touched. Lost in the sensation, Nathan's embrace got stronger. His kiss more intense. Then, Lizzy abruptly nudged him to the side.
"Lizzy, what-"
"Shush!" Lizzy held her hand over his mouth. "Don't you hear that noise?"
"What noise?" Nathan tried to concentrate, but the only sounds he heard was the blood in his ears, pulsating with his heartbeat. It took him some effort to calm down his heart and finally heard a low buzzing, that seemed to fill the atmosphere.
He looked questioningly at Lizzy.
"What is this sound?"
"I don't know. Let's go back to the village. It gives me the creeps."Lizzy grabbed Nathan's arm and pulled him up. They ran towards the village as fast as they could, when suddenly a sharp shadow divided the fields into light and darkness. Nathan raised his head. His breathing became faster and his grip on Lizzy's hand tighter.
"Nath, you hurt me!" Lizzy punched his shoulder with her free hand, but Nathan didn't react. When she realized, that he was staring at the sky, she also raised her head.
A humongous airship blocked half of the moon. Its slim shape, looking like a stretched turtle shell, radiated blue light from the flying circuits, which were placed in an ellipse along the edge of the airship. Somewhere at the front, the mana circuits radiated so brightly, that it seemed like the eyes of a beast, staring at its prey. If not for the bright moonlight it would have looked like a cloud of floating, abstract lines, racing across the sky.
"Lizzy, it's getting slower..."
"What?! There's nothing here except our village, why would it slow down?" She was panicking. Lizzy never saw an airship in her life, but something that arrived deep in the night, accompanied by this horrifying buzzing, this couldn't be anything good. Nathan and Lizzy involuntary stopped running when they saw that the airship halted over the village. Unsure what to do they looked at each other. Shortly after the airship positioned itself, Nathan heard a few dozens of loud bangs, followed by the hissing noise of sharp objects cutting through the air. He tried to find where those noises came from, but the weak moonlight wasn't bright enough for him to see anything in front of the dark sky. Then the earth trembled. Directly besides them a black pole, at least 3 meter high, crashed into the earth. Startled they jumped back a few steps. Nathan looked at the menacing pillar that stuck upright in the ground. Behind them, and further away, they could hear the sounds of more pillars thrusting into the earth.
"This is bad." Nathan said with a shaking voice.
"We should-" He interrupted himself when he saw that blue patterns started to glow on the surface of the black pillar.
"Mana circuits? What the hell are these?" Nathan wanted to go closer but was held back by Lizzy.
"Don't go there, it's dangerous!"
They watched silently as the circuits completed. Nearly instantly a paper-thin wall of ice with the same height of the pillars formed and, like a sharp blade, cut the space between them, extending to another pillar behind. The hand, Nathan held in his left, became limp. With a horrified expression in his face, he turned his head. Releasing a bloodcurdling scream, he slid down to the ground. There Lizzy lay, her body cut apart straight from the left shoulder downwards. With a puzzled look in her eyes, she tried to form words, but only blood gushed out through her lips. Nathan embraced her body in tears, desperately wailing, while he stroked her hair. Realizing what just happened, tears began to form in Lizzy's eyes. With her last strength, she raised her right hand and caressed Nathan's cheek. Then her body became rigid, and the light in her eyes was lost forever. Nathan wept bitterly. He was still embracing her, when the buzzing noise, coming from the airship, increased in volume. He looked absent-minded towards the sky when he realized that it lowered its altitude as if it wanted to land on the fields in front of the imprisoned village. At the same time, a dull pressure enveloped his head. He felt increasingly sluggish and tired. Something in his brain told him, that he had to hide or it would mean certain death. He stumbled half-unconscious towards the old oak tree and managed to hide in a hole between its roots before his mind went blank.