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B1C9 - What Comes Next

Marches of Westlund

Castle Ashford

“You are certain?” Asked Marquess Henry Ashford from where he stood, watching Garrick with a predatory stare.

“My Lord, would this not be a foolish thing to lie about? I swear it on the stars and our shared history of battle. The boy used the Gift in that fight. He moved faster and struck harder than any normal man could manage, let alone a fourteen year-old boy. I saw him cut clean through a man’s leg with a short sword. A feat that I have only seen once, and that was fighting next to you…”

Henry sighed and looked at the ceiling, “And that was done by a mage. Stars above, they always said it was possible, but I never believed it .”

Turning back to Garrick, he asked, “The men with you?”

“Told to keep their mouths shut and that they would be rewarded for their bravery and discretion, my Lord. I escorted them to the guard hall and have them being fed as we speak. They are under orders to remain in the hall until given your leave.”

Henry nodded, saying, “I hope you’ve enjoyed your vacation, things are about to get much harder for you.”

With a sigh and nod of his own Garrick admitted, “I thought as much. Sooner or later, it will get out that the boy is a mage, and when that happens, my lord…”

“The wolves will come knocking at our doors,” Henry finished for him as they exited the private meeting room and headed toward the guard hall.

*****

County Wycliffe

Q’s grandparents were at a loss for what the recent revelations would mean for their grandson. When his parents died, their main priority was to help him grieve. When he asked to learn to fight, it was not a hard request to agree to and something fairly easy to make happen. This, on the other hand, the discovery of Q’s gift, changed everything . Options previously open to him, were now impossible. Closed doors were now flung wide open. Q, having only just passed his 14 th name day, meant there were several years left to prepare him, but they were having a difficult time deciding on what to prepare him for.

“We know he has the Physical Gift. He has done as much already. What we don’t know is how powerful he is, nor what other affinities he has. We won’t have access to a testing stone unless we want to bring him to the attention of the Council, an act I will not allow until we are forced to. The only option we have is to have him try out each one and see if he can do so. Between the two of us,” Ed said, pointing between himself and Nadine, “We have all but the Mental gift covered. We can teach him the basics of our Gifts, and if he can use Mental magic, we may be able to arrange a teacher for him, if we can find someone we trust.”

Nadine clapped her hands together excitedly. “I have just the Lady in mind. She even has a son close to Q’s age who is also gifted. She has written to me about the difficulties he has had navigating this new world we find ourselves in. I'm sure she would leap at the opportunity to introduce her son to someone who wouldn’t be looking to use him and gain favor.”

“Then we will leave that in your capable hand, my dear,” said Ed. “Now how do we prepare him to deal with the mages he will meet at the Academy? They will not take kindly to him being in attendance.”

“Why? Because he’s common-born and the son of a traitor?” Henry scoffed, joining in the conversation.

Ed and Nadine traded a look before Ed answered. “That is exactly why. You might not care about the first, and we agree, it’s closer to a gift from the stars. The latter will be a problem, though. The king may know Julian was innocent, but he has not publicly cleared your son’s name. To everyone else, he is still guilty of treason.”

“Fine, fine. You two deal with the magic. I will go to the capital and find someone to teach him how to behave at court. There has been an itch on my back I’ve not had the chance to scratch. Maybe I can take care of it at the same time.”

*****

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Q’s grandparents led him down a hallway he’d never seen before. An oddity, as he’d believed he had explored every door and every room in the Wycliff Estate over the years. There have been a lot of odd things going on the last few months, Q thought.

Reaching a blank stone wall, his grandfather indicated for Q to go first. Placing his hands against the stone in confusion, Q pushed. When it didn’t budge, he pushed harder, and still, nothing. He stepped back and raised an eyebrow, an expression so similar to Julian’s, it caught Ed off guard for a moment. As the boy grew, the more like his parents, he appeared.

Clearing his throat, Ed explained, “This door was made by your grandmother. It is solid stone and only a mage who can strengthen themselves physically or have a good grasp of earth magic will be able to open it.” Stepping forward, Ed placed his palms against the stone and channeled his gift through his muscles, with a grunt, he pushed on the door and it started to rotate inward.

Q watched in fascination as his grandfather, who he knew to be in his sixties, even if he looked half his age, push open the heavy stone door. Unable to resist the question, even though he’d been ordered not to discuss magic around the servants, he whispered, “Will I be able to do that?”

Swinging the door wide enough for them to enter, Ed puffed out a grateful breath, happy to be done. Turning to face Q, he waved an arm forward, motioning him through. Q raced through, with Nadine following in behind Ed. A push of her earth magic and the door swung shut easily.

“Yes, son, you will, and this is where you will learn to do it.”

The words were lost on Q as he walked into the center of the room, turning in a circle to see it in its entirety. His heart started beating faster, bringing with it the memory of the last time he’d felt such a rush.

Ed saw the moment Q’s thoughts turned dark. He traded a look with his wife before walking up to his grandson. Bending down so they were eye level, a distance that shrunk significantly over the last few months, Ed gripped Q by the shoulders and gave him a slight shake.

“It’s fine to go there, you need to sometimes to process the bloody world we live in, but don’t let the bad block out the stars.” Stepping away from the young man, no longer a boy, he asked, “Would you like to know where we are?”

Q learned that the chamber was formed and made by his grandmother, just for him. It would be the only place he was allowed to learn and practice magic. The room was formed in a large dome. Clear crystals studded sections of the ceiling, letting sunlight shined through, reflecting off the walls, and lighting up the room. There were support pillars spread around the chamber for additional support, his grandmother said they likely weren’t necessary, but when experimenting with the Gift, it was always better to tend toward safety.

“The sun will light the chamber during the day, and the crystals will absorb the light from the stars at night if you need to use the room,” she explained.

Q loved his magic chamber, but did ask why he would not be allowed to practice his magic outside of it. They explained that it would be better for him in the future if his gift remained a secret only spoken about within their family, at least for the time being.

The Marquess did what he could to smother any rumors about Q’s gift from spreading, but it was only a matter of time. Nadine and Ed discussed it at length, and decided that they would explain what having magic would mean to Q when they presented the completed chamber to him.

“Quinten, you have been patient beyond your years in waiting for us to discuss your Gift. We both remember our own awakening, and how much we wanted to start learning immediately, so thank you, dear. Here is where your grandfather and I will start your magical education, but before we can do that, we need to discuss how your Gift is going to change your future.”

Q nodded, he’d heard snippets over the years from guards, servants, or while traveling. The country was short of mages, and the king’s recent changes had not been popular to the majority of the kingdom. While the new laws did not affect most of the population being Un-gifted, they created enough problems to anger enough of it to take notice.

“I’ve heard things here and there, but what would you like me to know?” he asked.

“To start, in a few years, you will have to go to the capital to attend the Mage Academy. There you will receive two years of training. Once complete, you will be required to serve four years in the Mage Core, protecting the realm.” His grandmother explained.

“Will I be going alone?”

“For now, but I am working to fix that. This next part… I am going to leave to your grandfather to explain.” Said the Countess of Wyndham as she quickly turned away, walking across the room with poise and grace. The count was smart enough not to comment on her blush when she passed. She opened the door with a wave of her hand, closing it behind her as she exited.

Q looked at his grandfather with another raised eyebrow.

“She is a Lady, and you would do well to leave it at that. Now, what the king’s new laws mean for you is that when you eventnually join gifted society, you are going to become a target for marriage…”

Over the next hour, Ed taught him many things he would have preferred not to know yet. The kingdom’s necessity behind the horny mage’s edict, and what would be expected of him by his twenty-fifth name day.

It was a conversation that cleared up much and brought even more into question. But that was OK. He had something much more important to focus on— magic.