Okay. It was one thing to imagine and visualize all the characters and places that I’d invented for the world of Ahya. It was another thing entirely to see them walking around me. I know it’s a cliche to say that ‘they all looked so real, not at all like a dream’, but that was literally the case. Barely twenty feet inside the camp I was stopped in my tracks, stunned by it all.

“Damn,” I muttered. “Not sure I expected that.”

Gogo was also standing in silent amazement, though for a completely different reason. “I’m not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t this.”

The camp, which was much more like a large village, was built along one main road, wide enough to permit nearly a dozen people to walk, shoulder-to-shoulder. The buildings were all low, one-story affairs, though there were quite a few of them. At the center of the camp was an area that resembled a town center, though it was open on the sides, with smaller paths that led to wide open fields, training grounds, or a quiet place one could use to meditate.

“Welcome to our camp,” Zerial Thunderborn said, sweeping his arms wide to present the area. “While you are among us, you are free from persecution or judgment for the magic you possess or practice. However, if you harm another within our walls, you will be removed.”

“We understand,” I said seriously. “Are there any restrictions to practice that we should be made aware of?”

“Not really,” Zerial replied. Which was more or less what I’d expected to hear. I’d designed the Wild Mages to be the free thinkers of the magical world, ignoring the dislike, disdain, or judgment of other nations and organizations. They’d won the right to this section of the land long ago, and with it, the respect of Zaban, who allowed them to do whatever they liked. So long as it didn’t harm nature, of course. The Wild Mages, no matter how out-of-hand they got, were always in tune with nature.

“If you want to learn from someone else,” Zerial continued to explain, breaking me away from my thoughts, “Feel free to ask them. But I don’t want to hear any complaints about you annoying others.”

“What about peace and quiet?” Gogo asked. "I’m not a very quiet person. Quiet is boring.”

Zerial merely offered a shrug. “I don’t care, and I doubt any of the other Wild Mages would either. You do what you want here. Anything goes.”

Such was the way of the wild mages. You got to live an unrestricted life, beholden only to yourself. Nobody to tell you what you could or could not do. There were consequences, of course. If you stole from someone and they caught you, you had to deal with their anger. Gogo grinned in reply to his words. “Perfect.”

Zerial grinned back and began to move away. “Well, I’ll let you get on with it. If you need me, don’t call. Sort it out yourself. If I have to get involved, someone usually gets hurt.”

“I like him,” Gogo said, as soon as Zerial was out of earshot.

“Me too,” I replied. But it would have been strange for me to hate Zerial, of course. I’d created him. But as I looked around at the wide open fields on the eastern side of the camp, I noticed that I couldn’t recall the name or information of nearly everyone I saw there. That wasn’t really a surprise. There were many times in my writing that I described faceless people or hordes without names or identities. I’d given Ahya the power of a creator, after all, so naturally, there might be people I didn’t know.

Including Gogo. He was significantly strong enough to mean that he had to be created by someone who knew my world well. I was convinced that he’d been made by one of my readers and that I’d implemented him without realizing it. Either that, or the version of me writing this story did. I shrugged, unaffected either way.

“So what should we work on first?” Gogo asked. I broke out of my thoughts to see him grinning. “We can do anything, right?”

“Right,” I said slowly. “I just want to get faster and work on my mana, really.”

“Endurance training,” he suggested, his face falling slightly. “Nah, that’s boring. I want to fight someone.”

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Bloodthirsty, I thought. Definitely reader-made. “Well, I’m not really up for a fight just yet. You want to see if someone else will spar with you, and I’ll see what else I can get up to?”

Gogo shrugged, bouncing away. “Sure!”

It was strange. As I saw Gogo leave, they struck me as definitively feminine. But when we were speaking about plans and magic, they’d been distinctly masculine. I shook my head to clear it, sure that I’d figure out the answer eventually. It wasn’t important at the moment. All around me were figures practicing magic, either using it on a partner, a training dummy, or firing spells into thin air. I spotted a nearby training dummy that was unattended and moved closer.

I hadn’t yet used a spell. It was about time I figured out how magic felt. How did it work? I lifted my left hand as I’d imagined all other characters doing it before. Wait, did I have a spell? Yes, Strike. So a basic bolt then. I focused on the training dummy in front of me and willed the spell into existence. Nothing.

“Huh,” I took a step back, then brought up the system, navigating to my spells.

Mana: 4/4

Ki: 3/3

Aura: 2/2

Ancient Mana: 1/1

1st Tier

Strike (M,K): Channel your energy into a mystical strike against an enemy. If your attack lands, deal (1d4+1) damage.

“What the hell do M and K mean?” I asked aloud. And of course, as if it had been waiting for me to ask, the system had an answer for me.

There are four types of energy in Ahya, used for casting spells. These are Mana, Ki, Aura, and Ancient Mana. Depending on the spell, you can cast it via either Mana, Ki, or Aura. This must be decided before you can cast.

You may also cast a spell using Ancient Mana. This will cast the spell at its highest possible power, and consume one Ancient Mana, regardless of which spell was cast.

So they stood for Mana and Ki. I lifted my hand again, focusing on the training dummy, and thought ‘Ki Strike’. At once, a blast of white energy flew from my hand, striking the center of the dummy. I felt a rush of excitement. I’d just cast magic for the first time! Then almost immediately, I felt a rush of exhaustion follow it. It wasn’t very long-lasting, but I could definitely feel the cost.

“Damn!” I exclaimed, taking a step back and looking down at my hand. “That was more intense than I thought it’d be.”

Perhaps it was good that I only knew one spell. With such a limited pool of energy to draw from, I’d end up running out much faster than I’d like. Cautious was best, right? Well, the answer might have been yes for someone else. But I’ve never liked waiting around and taking the slow route, myself. I enjoyed efficiency, but I wasn’t going to waste my time learning one step at a time.

There were plenty of people around me using magic, I thought. Maybe if I studied them for a little bit, I could learn something. Or if I couldn’t learn by watching, then I could certainly ask for a little teaching. The worst they could say was no.

As it happened, there were quite a few interesting magicks, and most of them were things that I recognized. I’d put so much time into fine-tuning the magic of Ahya that I could recognize almost every spell I saw. I could either tell you exactly what spell they were or at the very least, what school of magic it belonged to. Close to me, there was a woman dressed similar to a monk, channeling her mana into her hands and feet, punching and kicking the training dummy, letting out a burst of mana each time.

Beyond her, someone was experimenting with weapon magic. I couldn’t tell where they were from based on their clothing, but they had a vaguely germanic look, so I guessed they’d been born in Welsik. They’d conjured a bow made of mana and was firing arrow after arrow of pure energy into the training dummy. Each arrow that left the bow was made of a different element. Lightning, fire, ice, metal, even a faint rippling air arrow. I moved closer.

“Hello there,” I said, once he’d finished firing a set of arrows and the bow vanished. “If you don’t mind me asking, what spell is that?”

“Just simple weapons magic,” the mage told me, wiping sweat from his bow. “I learned it from the people of the Untamed Continent.”

“Baithak, I’d imagine,” I said, and he nodded. “If it’s not too much of a bother, could you teach me how to do that?”

An apologetic look came over his face. He was glancing past me at someone else, who was waving to get his attention. “Normally I’d say yes, but I’m afraid I don’t have the time. We’re about to go hunting, you see.”

“You can just scribe it down if you like,” I said quickly. “I’ll gladly pay you for it.”

The man waved the thought away impatiently. “You must be new to the camp if you’re trying to pay with gold. That’s not how things work around here.”

I shrugged. I did know that, of course. Gold meant next to nothing in the camp. You earned what you could by trading services or items of your own. Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. “Do you need any assistance with your hunt?”

The man chewed his lip thoughtfully. “You know, we just might. We’re down a hunter. You know how to use a bow?”

“I’m not the best, but I can manage one,” I said.

“Good,” he said quickly. “Take this bow then, and you can help out on the hunt. Prime meat for you if you do, and I’ll give you the spell for free.”

I took the bow he was thrusting into my hand. It felt ordinary enough as if I’d spent a lifetime holding one. It was a great deal lighter than the sword, but nearly as long. There were about two dozen arrows in the quiver that came with it. I slung that over my shoulder and followed the man.

You are not proficient with this weapon. You may gain proficiency by using it continually.

Well, that was only to be expected, I thought. Couldn’t very well expect to be a master of a weapon I hadn’t touched in ages, and for the first time in this world. Grinning at my own foolish expectations, I hurried after the group that was quickly heading for the gate. Just the thought of some fresh venison was setting my stomach to rumbling. But more importantly, I was looking forward to learning some new magic.