Millennial Mage

As Tala and Rane were leaving the training complex, Tala remembered that she’d promised to be at the Guardsmen’s training area the next day, and Aummar was even going out of his way to prepare some special things for her and Terry. Now, she wouldn’t be there.

Ahh, rust. That could have been bad.

-Agreed.-

So, with that realization, she walked over to the front desk where a young woman was reading a book.

What book is that? She was able to catch enough of a look at it that Alat could extrapolate.

-It’s either, How to Become a Mage without the Academy, or How to Seduce a Mage, Academically.-

Tala almost choked. Those are nothing alike!

-Well, take a better look, then. It’s at an extreme angle.-

Wait… is the second one actually a real book?

-Of-

Tala cut across Alat. Never mind! I don’t want to know. She pushed that aside, hopefully permanently. “Excuse me.”

“Yes, Mistress?” The woman closed the book and set it title side down, before she glanced up and then frowned slightly. Despite her confusion, she didn’t comment further, instead waiting for Tala to make her inquiry.

Tala assumed that the woman’s difficulty came from this being a for-Mages facility. While mundanes weren’t barred by any means, there wasn’t much that would be useful to them there, generally speaking.

My lack of visible inscriptions is a bit annoying. She felt like Jenna would have known that, and they could have made the item with that in mind, but she was letting herself get distracted. “Could I send a messenger from here? If not, do you know a close location that could take it.”

The clerk looked to be about to give some negative response, but then her eyes moved over Terry on Tala’s shoulder and to Rane, before returning to Tala, her entire demeanor shifting. It seemed that whether or not Tala was a Mage didn’t really matter, as she kept the company of Mages. “We can do that for you for a small fee.”

As that was reasonable, Tala composed a short message for Aummar and asked for it to be delivered to that specific Guardsman Training Ground as soon as possible.

It cost a half a silver but saved her the trip. And the possibility of me forgetting or getting distracted.

-I think I sense personal growth.-

Tala decided it was best to not engage.

Alat laughed in the back of Tala’s mind.

The message taken care of, Tala thanked the clerk and departed with Rane and Terry in tow.

They discussed the day’s training along with other small things as they trudged through the slush.

With no new snow added in the last bit, the existing stuff had been trampled and dirtied to the point of becoming slushy black-brown mess.

This…this I don’t like. It was a part of the less pleasant side of winter, and Tala was grateful for both her shoes, which she had quickly grown on, and for her weight distribution scripts, which helped keep her from sinking into the dark filth. When she glanced behind herself, she did see a series of shallow, circular “prints” leading away behind her. I wonder if that will confuse anyone. It didn’t really matter, she supposed.

She didn’t know exactly what would happen to all the nastiness when she altered her clothing.

In the worst case, it would be carried with the material as it- The dirt sloughed off, falling back into the rest of the snow. Right. Self-cleaning.

-Did you really forget a part of what they do?-

I suppose… Well, forget isn’t quite right, I just didn’t try to remember. I don’t really think about that aspect of their magic very often.

-That’s fair.-

Rane, for his part, was getting his boots and lower pants covered in the dark muck that resulted from the snow-slurry and countless passersby, both human and animal.

Terry stayed warm, dry, and clean on Tala’s shoulder.

They didn’t talk too much as they made their way home. Well, to my home. And Lyn’s…and now Kannis’s as well, I suppose.

-It could be Rane’s too, if you wanted.-

You don’t know that, and no. I don’t want that.

-It’s pretty obvious.-

Tala ignored that, taking special satisfaction in the wide-open, free-from-buildings park near her home.

-You know. Since I can sense when you’re being influenced and then help to mitigate it. We could ride Terry through the city, until we found other syphons.-

That…that was a surprisingly interesting idea. Not now. Too much else going on.

-Fine, fine.-

Tala let them into the house, calling out as she did so. “I’m home! I brought Rane with me.”

-Not Master Rane.-

Hush, you.

“Tala! Come on back.” Lyn’s voice floated out to greet them. “You too, Master Rane.”

Rane cleared his throat, looking down at his filthy boots and pants. “I’ve got to get a bit cleaned up first. I’ll be out in a moment.”

With that, he ducked into the washroom right of the entryway.

Tala simply stamped her feet on the mat a couple of times to let everything fall free and retracted her shoes before proceeding into the house.

She came out of the entry hall and into the main space to find Lyn and Kannis sitting in two of the chairs, seeming to have been chatting before Tala got there.

“Come, sit.” Lyn looked around and frowned slightly, realizing that there were only three big chairs.

Tala sat in the only other large reading chair and relaxed.

-You should say something.-

Tala sighed, leaning forward once again. “So, how was the first day? I like the mage-sight inscriptions. That’s a good set. A bit taxing for new Mages, but way better than the standard.”

“Oh, it was wonderful. Thank you for asking. And…” Kannis hesitated, then blinked at her. “Wait. You can tell what type of inscriptions I have?”

Tala shrugged. She could. So long as I have a basis for comparison and interpretation. “Yeah. My own mage-sight assists in the interpretation of inscriptions, so I’ve started to pick up the basics.”

Kannis seemed a bit at a loss as to how to respond to that.

Thankfully, Rane chose that moment to join them wearing new, clean pants. “Hey, all.”

Lyn smiled. “Welcome, Master Rane. As to chairs-”

Rane grinned and held up a forestalling hand, seemingly guessing what she was thinking, before pulling out a folding chair from his dimensional storage and sitting in it with practiced comfort.

Tala thought she recognized the style, and it reminded her vividly of a cyclops and being bodily skipped across the ground like a stone. I hope Grediv is still alive. I’d like to slap him one day.

-For all the help he gave you?-

She hesitated. No, I’ll hug him for that. Then slap him for the cyclops.

-I can agree to that. I’ll help you remember.-

“Kannis, this is Master Rane.” Lyn gestured to the man, somewhat unnecessarily. “Master Rane, this is my new mageling, Kannis.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Kannis.” He held out his hand, and Kannis took it with a flustered smile. She’d clearly moved past the earlier confusion with regards to Tala.

“Thank you, Master Rane, the pleasure is genuinely mine.” She glanced to Lyn. “Are you sure it’s alright?”

The older woman shrugged. “Ask him if you wish.”

Kannis cleared her throat. “Do you mind if I look at you with my mage-sight? My master has instructed me to keep it on as much as I can stand, and I am recovered enough to re-engage it.”

Rane waved nonchalantly. “Sure. Most stop caring about that as they advance.” His eyes flicked towards Tala. “Thankfully for some.”

Tala rolled her eyes. “Even those who care only care if they notice, and they have to have their own mage-sight on for that to be the case.”

Kannis regarded her with a mix of curiosity and caution plain on her face.

-You’re projecting.- Tala ignored Alat.

The mageling smiled. “So… you wouldn’t mind either?”

“Not at all. Thank you for asking.” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood and still feeling bad for not acknowledging that she’d known Kannis before. She’s clearly forgotten me, or decided not to mention it, so I’m fine.

-She is likely thinking the same.-

Tala ignored that as she saw power run through the lines around Kannis’s eyes, and the young woman looked at each of the others in turn.

“Master Rane. You are an Archon as well?” Kannis seemed a bit over-awed at the realization.

Rane frowned at the comment. “I thought I had better control of my aura than that. You shouldn’t have been able to tell at all.”

Lyn interjected. “Mistress Holly switched her over to a more advanced form of mage-sight for her reinscribing. She can see through the first layers of skin, as if she had greater magical weight behind her sight. That allows her to see even perfectly controlled auras, so long as they aren’t fully retracted. It’s strenuous on her, but it should be a net benefit in the long run.”

“Ahh.” He smiled, then, a weight seeming to come off of him. “In that case, yes. I am.”

Kannis turned to Tala in an almost reverent tone. “How have you surrounded yourself with such powerful people, Mistress Tala.” She hesitated, seeming to actually look at Tala for the first time, her mage-sight still active. “You look…odd?” She immediately blushed and looked down. “I apologize. I didn’t mean it that way. I mean, I can see magic around you, but no spell-lines, nothing but what might be an aura…I don’t think? It just looks a bit… odd.”

Tala sighed. “Well, it’s best to just get this over with, I suppose. None of you scream, please?”

-Really? You’re not going to tell them more than that?-

I want to see how they really feel, what they really think about it.

-Seems a bit circumspect, but okay.-

Lyn leaned back, assuming that she knew what was coming. The other two gave her odd looks, but slowly nodded.

Here it goes. Tala reached inside herself and deactivated the through-spike’s illusion functions.

Tala saw her hands in her peripheral vision as they quickly faded from clean, unblemished, unadorned, and flesh colored to a dull, dark gray. Overtop of the gray, intricate inscriptions were carved, seemingly with light into existence around her, forming a cage of power that somehow seemed to be just that, a cage to protect the world from what lay within.

She saw the barest hints of magic flicker away from her eyes as well. So that answers that. My eyes were normal, again.

-And now they are blood rubies.-

Tala twitched at that, the blood eyes of the arcane forcing themselves back into her mind, clawing their way free of her memories.

Stop reminding me of him!

In the distracted moment, Tala almost missed the others’ reactions to her transformation. Thankfully, it was only almost.

Lyn’s eyes widened. She’d seen Tala fully painted, but she hadn’t seen her since the power had time to fully build, causing nearly every spell-form to fully manifest an echo around Tala.

Rane gaped; his mouth seemingly forgotten as his jaw fell slack. He didn’t react defensively, for which Tala was grateful. She knew that she probably looked quite arcane so such a reaction would have been reasonable. Instead, he looked like someone staring upon a great masterpiece for the first time.

Great…just what we needed.

-Oh, not what you secretly wanted?-

No. No? I don’t know. Hush, you.

Kannis paled, pushing back into her chair, her jaw working, but only one word coming out, before her mouth continued to move, silently. “Arcane-?!”

Tala held up her hands. “Hey, now. No. I’m no arcane.” Only Tala had noticed as the other two’s focus was locked onto her, but when Kannis spoke,that caught Lyn and Rane’s attention, and they both moved to help the mageling at once.

They both assured Kannis that Tala was not an arcane, and that seemed to calm her a bit, but she still seemed quite inwardly focused, withdrawn.

As they did so, Lyn gave Tala a stern look. “You should know better than to show something so extreme to a new graduate, Tala. You broke my mageling, and I don’t appreciate it.”

“Yes, Mistress. Your house, your rules.”

The stern look held for only a moment before it broke, and they shared a guilty grin.

Tala returned a guilty smile. “I will try to be better in the future.”

“See that you do. Don’t let this smile fool you. I’m irritated with you for this little stunt, amusing as parts of it are.” Her tone denoted that she was dead serious, so Tala took her at her word.

Lyn turned her attention back to Kannis as Rane pulled out some smelling salts and waved them under Kannis’s nose.

The shock of the harsh smell seemed to pull her back to herself, and she shook her head as if to clear it. She then looked around in confusion for an instant before her eyes settled back onto Tala. “What is happening, Tala. What did that crazy woman do to you?”

* * *

Tala, with Lyn and Rane’s help, calmed Kannis down. As they worked, Tala had released the through-spike, allowing the illusion to return.

Tala had some questions of her own, but when she learned that Kannis had met Holly earlier in the day, a lot became more clear.

“No, no. She didn’t do this to me, not directly; she more… facilitated?”

Kannis took a long drink from a mug filled with warm tea, which had been provided by Rane. “So…this is an illusion, and that…other visage is the real you?”

Tala shrugged. “Yes and no? This is me. But it’s hidden below the magic and-”

Lyn cleared her throat meaningfully.

“-and other stuff. Both are me.”

Kannis gave her a mildly condescending look, before seeming to master herself.

Even so, Tala took the hint. “But this one is a magically crafted illusion, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It was. Thank you for the honesty.” The mageling looked a bit off, but that was likely due to having had such an emotional shock so recently.

Well, I never really got to see my own reaction to seeing an arcane. I was already under compulsion before I noticed him… She shuddered at the thought.

There was a prolonged silence, while Kannis continued to drink her tea, that was bordering on awkward when Rane cleared his throat. “Well, look at it this way, Kannis. Now you have three Archons to help you out.”

Lyn gave Rane a wide-eyed glare.

Rane immediately misinterpreted the look and added. “Assuming your master approves of course.”

Lyn groaned, and Kannis turned slowly to regard Tala. “You’re an Archon, too?”

Rane made an “Oh” face, and shifted backwards under Lyn’s continued disbelieving glare.

Tala smiled awkwardly and scratched her own cheek. “Didn’t you notice?”

”Yes, Mistress Tala, I noticed your Archon-ness under the inhuman skin and glowing arcane-looking lines.” Kannis hesitated. “No, you know what? No. I couldn’t have noticed. You had no magical signature except what was reflecting… off… of… you.” She clucked her tongue. “Why are you covered in iron?” She shook her head. “No, how are you covered in iron?” Kannis looked to Lyn, who continued to glare at Rane.

Rane, for his part, shifted his chair backwards, to lessen his prominence in the conversation.

Tala glanced between her fellow Archons and cleared her throat. “This is likely a conversation for another time.”

Lyn turned back to her mageling and nodded. “I agree. This will be an excellent conversation for us to have, later.”

Rane slapped his hands down on his knees, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. “So, celebration time? Kannis, you’re a mageling now. Mistress Lyn, you have a mageling now. Tala, you have a new housemate. Good things all around!”

That shook the group loose from the aftermath of the odd moments.

“That sounds wonderful, Master Rane.” Lyn stood, offering Kannis a hand. “Let’s get our coats and boots, and we’ll be on our way.”

Coats and boots? As Tala considered, she realized that most of the people she’d seen walking through the streets had been wearing such. Those that weren’t had either been obviously Mages, or just as obviously miserable. I guess it is pretty cold.

-Just a bit below freezing, if my estimation is correct. The slush will be freezing, now that traffic is slowing. Be careful navigating the ice. I’d hate for you to hit your head.-

Tala ignored that and turned her attention to happier topics. “Where do you all want to go to eat?”

Kannis gave Tala a long look, seeming much more in control of herself. “I do have questions. I have so, SO many questions, but I’ll take my master’s guidance and not pursue them, for the moment..”

That really doesn’t help us find a place to eat… Tala was hungry, but she shrugged. “Lyn can answer what she deems appropriate for you to know, and I’m happy to convey anything that she asks me to.”

“That’s…fair.” The mageling looked conflicted, but seemed to draw herself out of it. “Alright. Let’s eat!”

There you go. Back on the right track.

Rane smiled. “I like your attitude, but we still need to know where.”

Tala grinned. “Little Caravans?”

Lyn groaned. “I can’t eat that much, and while it’s tasty, it’s hardly uniquely celebratory.”

That’s hardly fair. Those are amazing! But the night wasn’t really about her. “Alright then. Soup? Meat pies? What are you in the mood for, Kannis?”

The young woman seemed to consider. “You know what? I really want ice cream.”

Tala chuckled. “That sounds like fine dessert plans. Do you know what you want to eat for dinner before dessert?”

Kannis compressed her lips, quirking them off to one side. “Never heard of a little caravan before. Let’s try that.”

Tala lightly clapped her former-year-mate on the shoulder. “I like how you think, Kannis. To little caravans!”

Lyn groaned again. “You’re going to be the death of me. I mean that literally, too. When these inscriptions go out of alignment,” she patted her middle, “I’m going to pop and kill everyone around me.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine. Your inscriptions aren’t anywhere near the distortion point.”

Rane was looking down at his clean pants, not paying attention to the current flow of the conversation, with a sour expression.

Tala regarded him for a moment before simply asking, “What’s up, Rane?”

He huffed a sigh. “I’m deciding whether to get these dirty, or change back into the pair that’s already dirty.”

“Decisions, decisions, make up your mind, though. I have a bit of quick business with Lyn, then we should get going.”

He waved her off. “I’ll go change back.”

Tala turned to Lyn, who was now regarding her with interest. “First, when will I be leaving for Marliweather?”

“Oh, in about a week.”

“Usual arrangements?”

“Yes. Charging required for two days before and after each leg.”

“Understood. Now, can you sell an assortment of…randomly acquired items for me?”

Lyn’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do, Tala?”

“Nothing, nothing. I just picked up what no longer had an owner.”

“Uh, huh.”

“So, where can I put the stuff? No need for me to keep carrying it about.”

Lyn sighed. “Pile it on the table, so we can go.”

And so, Tala did just that, laying out the woodcutting axes, hatchets, pouches, and other odds and ends that she’d taken from the woodsmen who’d tried to pursue her, and who had met a timely end beneath Terry’s talons and beak.

Lyn looked at the items and then turned her gaze back to Tala. “No. This isn’t suspicious at all.”

“I can sell them myself if-”

“No, no. It’s fine.” Lyn cut across her. “I’ll see what I can do. It won’t net you much, though.”

Tala shrugged. “Better than carrying it around any longer.”

“Alright. Now, let’s go.”

They all trudged through the snow to acquire the little caravans. Tala ate five of the cheesy little caravans; Rane ate one, and Lyn and Kannis split a “smaller little caravan.”

When Kannis actually noticed the pace at which Tala was eating, she couldn’t hold back any longer, and she cut loose with some pointed questions. Tala explained how her healing inscriptions worked, and how Holly had added spell-forms to maintain her form, while compacting muscle and reserves into the predefined shapes at increasing densities.

Kannis obviously didn’t understand the intricacies, but she seemed to get the gist of how and why it worked, at least enough for them to return to more standard dinner conversations.

They chatted about small things, but mostly just spent the time together, getting used to the new person in their midst.

After dinner, they hunted down a place that sold ice cream and continued the casual celebration.

All in all, it was a pleasant way to end what had been quite a long day.