Millennial Mage

Tala couldn’t remember when this unending torment had started, and she had trouble remembering anything outside of the ongoing agony.

She definitely knew that she should know what was happening.

She also somehow knew that she probably shouldn’t be able to feel anything at all at the moment.

Even so, she could.

-It’s your magical reinforcement and enhancement around your neural systems. They shouldn’t still be feeding you pain, but they are. Tala, I’m so sorry.-

Tala ignored the buzzing sound that sometimes came into her mind.

-You’re being rebuilt, and it’s almost done. I’m sorry, but…- There was a pause in the buzzing before it continued. -I think the pain is going to get worse when your nerves are actually whole once more.-

There was a solidity to her, which hadn’t existed before, at least not in her memory. A support structure had been forged within her body of pain.

An unknown amount of time passed, and the pain did, indeed, grow to a crescendo.

At the final, ultimate wave of agony, Tala screamed for the first time. Again? I’m sure it’s again.

The material around her vibrated under the force of the wail.

-Tala? Tala! Are you with me again?-

Her mind seemed to have mostly pulled itself back together, and her existence extended beyond mere pain and confusion once again.

Tala lay in a coffin that seemed to be filled so full of black muck that it came around her eyes and almost blocked her nose and mouth.

The horrible stench almost made her gag, but somehow the ability to smell again was a sweet relief sufficient enough to overcome the horror of the extreme odor, at least for the moment.

Blessedly, she seemed to have tried to throw her head back for her agonized cry, so her airways were lifted up above the level of the viscous liquid.

Even through the sludge over her eyes, she saw a bright pulse of light, and Tala flinched.

Light means magic. Magic means more pain.

Something within the black ichor changed, and it began to rush downward, flowing where it hadn’t before.

-Surface tension and molecular cohesion most likely. The magics made it so this stuff could drain.- There was another moment of hesitance. -How was all of this stuff inside of you, Tala?-

Tala just groaned, trying to keep her mouth closed even though every breath through her nose brought with it the foul odor.

Soon, the box was mostly drained, and a resonant cracking came from all around her.

The box fell away, one wall hinging the lid up and away from above her.

There was a sickening squelch as the wood fell onto the seemingly coated floor.

The last of the gunk splashed down onto the panels, where the inscriptions on the wooden panels continued to facilitate the liquid’s movement through the drains in the floor of the room.

Tala simply laid there, gasping.

The light in the room caused her to twitch, but it was obviously different from the light given off by activating inscriptions. Her utter inability to do anything about the light, and the lack of harm from it, forced the knee-jerk reaction to fizzle out, and her aversion to fade.

She felt too weak to lift her arms, and she was utterly drained.

Over the months, she’d gotten to a place where she could sense her reserves, at least vaguely.

They were utterly spent.

She was utterly spent.

In fact, she felt like barely a husk of herself, though she knew that the inscriptions across her body would have maintained her shape one way or another.

Her mind was fuzzy, and it almost felt like over enthusiastic musicians were playing loud, grating, monotonous music, filling the room with incessant noise.

-Tala, that’s someone knocking and calling out to you.-

…Oh…

“Mistress Tala?”

Tala groaned.

It was Mistress Holly. “Mistress Tala, can I come in to help?”

Really? Just come in already, woman.

-You told her you didn’t want assistance… You aren’t in danger from what I can tell, so I wanted to wait for you to be ready.-

…that was before; this is now. Tala groaned again, but slightly louder and in an affirmative manner.

That was apparently enough as the older woman opened the door.

There was a pause, then a gagging retch.

“Oh… oh, child.”

Tala felt magics enact, though she couldn’t quite tell what they were.

Suddenly, a stream of water shot across the room and began to sweep back and forth, presumably rinsing the black remnants away.

The cold water hit Tala, and she flinched, or at least she tried to.

Her body did not want to move. So, instead, she just groaned again. This time it was definitely not in an affirmative manner.

“One moment, Mistress Tala. I’ve got to get you clean of this stuff before the magics run their course. Otherwise, you’ll find the black discharge more pervasive than tar, and you’ll be finding it everywhere for weeks.”

She couldn’t summon the strength to protest, though she wanted to.

Why won’t my arms move?

-You’ve been mostly dead all day.-

Tala didn’t really know how to respond to that, and in any case, it didn’t help her solve her current issue.

Then, an idea came to her.

Alat!

-Yes, Tala?- The alternate interface sounded incredibly tentative.

Send her a strongly worded missive telling her how I feel about her washing.

-…are you sure?-

Do it!

-Alright… done.-

Good, I’m going to slap that woman if this continues. She tried to move to fulfill the threat, but all that she accomplished was slightly moving one finger.

-You just wiggled your finger!- Alat was elated.

I’ve always been a quick healer.

The stream of water froze in place for a moment, the Mistress Holly snorted. “Mistress Tala. I am trying… to… help you.” The woman grunted. “You knew I’d say that, eh?”

What?

-I ended the missive telling her not to say that she’s just trying to help.-

Tala snorted a laugh, slightly shaking her head at Alat’s antics. She approved. Then, she tried to grimace in pain. This is awful…

- You just shook your head! That doesn’t make you happy?-

She sent the alternate interface a deeply skeptical thought. I just went through something so mind numbingly painful that I still can’t think straight, and you think a little head jiggle is supposed to make me happy? Hmm?

-You’ve been… less than cognizant. I even faded through several points. This is a vast improvement.-

The water began moving again, and Tala growled but still couldn’t move.

-I was worried about you.-

Tala didn’t really have a response. She felt utterly unable to think about the experience that she just went through, her mind shying away from the memories like a whipped dog.

Mistress Holly finally came over and blasted her more directly. “Let’s get you clean. I’m sure you feel weak to the extreme. The cleaning should have been automated, but those spellforms were definitely not designed for this much filth. I’ve never seen so much corruption and rot and nastiness come from one person before. We’ll have to do some tests, but I’m optimistic. This was a resounding success.”

Tala managed to roll her head to face the Inscriptionst and forced a partial grimace.

She couldn’t say anything, though.

Mistress Holly gently patted her cheek. “One moment.”—she placed her hand on the back of Tala’s neck, and Tala felt the tingle of magic—“You are in no immediate danger, and you’ll recover, my dear girl. Nothing is glaringly wrong, except that you are strained to near the limit of your endurance. Let’s get you sorted and out of here. We have a place you can rest nearby that’s far more comfortable than this.”

Ten more minutes of rather embarrassing and awkward cleaning and shifting found Tala propped up in a laid-back chaise in a side room, seemingly specifically made for Archons in this weakened state.

Her elk-leathers had grown back over her into comfortable clothing. Kit and Flow hung opposite each other at her waist, and her ring and through spike were back in place.

Refined. I’m a Refined.

-That’s right you are!- Alat forced an unseemly amount of cheer into that statement, making Tala grimace again.

Please stop. You’re trying too hard, and it’s getting painful…

-Fine, fine.- Alat sighed within Tala’s mind. -What do you need?-

Tala couldn’t honestly think of anything but food, and Mistress Holly had already provided that. The side table beside Tala was overloaded with food, and she was taking careful bites as she had the strength to do so.

More than anything except food, she needed time to recover.

Tala let Terry out, and he happily flickered to her shoulder before curling up and tucking himself in against her neck, providing what comfort and physical company that he could.

It took more than a day of eating and sleeping before she could get up from the reclined seat for more than short stretches.

After a particularly fitful nap, Tala woke up to find Master Nadro sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.

“Oh! Master Nadro.” Despite her surprise, her words were still rather quiet.

“Peace, Mistress Tala. You are still incredibly weak. I assumed that you might want to talk about what you experienced, but we can use our alternate interfaces, if you like. That way you don’t strain yourself?”

Can you tell him that he’s welcome to talk out loud?

-Of course.-

He smiled. “That is kind of you. I’ll be here for a couple of hours. Feel free to say anything you wish, and I will hear it.”

She slowly nodded. Even so, it took long minutes of silence before she could summon the willpower to begin to convey her perspective on what had happened.

…I was trapped…

* * *

Just less than a week passed before she was up and moving around with relative ease.

Mistress Holly was ready to run the full battery of her tests, now that Tala had recovered for the most part, and Tala had her dinner with Master Simon the next evening.

Bedrest was at an end, it seemed.

As the first lightening of the sky was visible in her sanctum, Tala leveraged herself out of her bed, summoning the door out to the space directly in-front of herself.

She came out through the door into Lyn’s hallway, walking much more slowly, and with shorter steps, than she was used to.

Her whole body still felt raw and new, sore and strained.

“Tala? Is that you?” Lyn poked her head around the corner. “It is! Come, come. Let me help you.”

The Archon came down the hallway quickly and took one of Tala’s arms before Tala could muster a response.

“You still seem very weak, are you going to be alright?”

“I’m sick of being cooped up, more than anything. Besides, Mistress Holly is expecting me for some tests.”

“Do you need assistance getting there?” Lyn was obviously uncertain, but she just as obviously wanted to be sure that Tala was safe.

“No, thank you. I think a walk through the city will help me tremendously.”

Lyn frowned, seeming to internally fuss a bit. “Did you stretch?”

“No, mom. I’ll stretch when I get there.”

She huffed a laugh. “Fine, alright, I’ll leave you be.”

Tala placed her hand on Lyn’s shoulder. “Thank you for wanting to help.”

Lyn patted her in return. “Of course. I’m happy to help however I can.”

Kannis smiled consolingly in Tala’s direction as Tala passed through the sitting room. It was early morning, and the master and mageling would soon be leaving for work.

Apparently, Lyn had told Kannis that Tala came down with a rare, noncommunicable illness in order to hide the fact that Tala’s condition was the result of Refining.

That thought made Tala realize something else. I’ve not talked to Lyn about my Refining at all… does she actually know? Does Rane?

-She said that Mistress Holly told her you were ill. We assumed that she said that because Kannis was in the room, but what if…-

Yeah, I don’t think she knows the truth. Obviously, Lyn would know if she looked at Tala with her magesight, but Lyn was still of the mindset that it was rude to look at others without asking permission first, and since she had to activate those inscriptions for them to provide the sight, Tala was rather sure that Lyn hadn’t seen.

That surety made Tala a bit conflicted. She knew that if she’d been warned, she would have struggled to have the strength to go through with it, and quite honestly, the whole experience would have been worse.

Even so, she knew that she felt a seed of resentment towards every higher ranked person who had failed to warn her.

-Master Grediv, and quite a few others, did say it was a difficult, unpleasant experience.-

Tala grunted internally at that, but didn’t respond.

She grabbed the door handle and pushed as she moved to go outside.

Instead of opening, the door stood firm, and she rammed into it with a grunt.

Tala felt her eye twitch, and suddenly, it was as if she was back in the coffin.

Her breath sped up.

Calm, Tala. But it didn’t work.

She tried the door again, but it wouldn’t open.

Trapped. I’m trapped!

She tried to body-check the door open, but she was still incredibly weak, and it did nothing.

Tala heard a whimper come from her own lips.

No. No, no, no no. She hit the door.

-Tala! Stop!-

But Tala ignored the alternate interface.

“Let me out!” Even though she had tried to scream, the panic in her mind made it come out as barely a croak.

Even so, quick footsteps came from behind her, and Lyn was suddenly beside her. “Tala? Tala!”

Tala couldn’t turn away from the door as she continued to futilely push. “It won’t open. I can’t…”—she panted—“I can’t get out!”

Lyn put a calming hand on her shoulder, and Tala felt herself shudder. “Tala, I don’t know what’s going on.”

Tala turned to look at Lyn. “I’m trapped. It won’t open.”

Lyn slowly grabbed the door handle and pulled.

The door opened easily.

“Tala… are you okay?”

Tala shook her head. “No, I don’t think I am, but I need to get outside.” She was still too panicked to be embarrassed. She needed to get outside. Even so, she managed to get out two words as she stepped outside, “Thank you.”

As soon as she was out of the house, it was as if a massive weight was lifted from her, and her breathing slowed.

Her steps became a bit firmer, and she straightened, only having just realized that she was hunching.

She shivered, but not from the cold.

Yeah… that was awful.

-Are you going to be okay?-

I hope so.

-Is there anything I can do?-

Let me focus on something other than that little panic attack?

-I can do that.-

Tala grimaced and found that she couldn’t divert her mind too far. I think I understand now why Master Grediv would be hesitant to move towards being Reforged. I can’t imagine it’s a pleasant process.

-It does seem like every step is more difficult in some way or another.-

Yeah. Though, it might be more accurate to say that each step is differently difficult.

Alat snorted a laugh within Tala’s head. -That does sound more accurate, yeah.-

The cool air was invigorating, and the slight breeze across Tala’s minimally clad body was helping to shake loose some of the lethargy that had been plaguing her for the last several days.

There had been quite a bit of snowfall recently, to the point that even her widened tread sunk deeply into the light, fluffy, dry powder, allowing the cool snow to fall inward and dust her bare feet.

It added to the refreshing coolness, and Tala felt a smile blossom across her face for what felt like the first time since her Refining as she turned her mind outward, and to the present moment, leaving her still fluttering internal flutters and the past aside for the moment.

Pedestrian traffic was beginning to pick up, and there were even a few vehicles about, but the streets were still mostly empty at this early hour.

The sky was still dark after all. It seemed that her sanctum matched the day-night cycle wherever she was, but as it was spring-like within Kit, the length of the days matched that time of year, rather than that of wintery Bandfast.

Tala almost diverted to get some food, but she still had an over abundance which Mistress Holly, Rane, and Lyn had brought her off and on over the last few days.

So, instead of going to a restaurant, she simply reached into Kit and pulled out a still warm breakfast sandwich.

The bread, itself, was still steaming, having come straight from the oven to be made into a sandwich. From there, it had been in one dimensional storage after another.

Rane’s storage was less preserving than Kit could be, but it still let the food taste like it had been made within the last half-hour, rather than three days earlier.

She stepped carefully as she ate, making sure not to lose any of the incredibly tasty breakfast.

She had an undeniable hankering for coffee, as many of her memories made with these tastes were accompanied by the smooth power of that dark liquid, but she was not going to go down that road, at least not until her body had fully stabilized.

The first sandwich was barely the start of her feast as she walked the distance to Mistress Holly’s workshop.

Unfortunately, none of the food was magically special.

Mistress Holly had explicitly told Tala to avoid even endingberries until they’d been able to test her fully to get a sense of how, exactly, the Refining had gone.

Tala pulled out her incorporator for a drink but paused with a sigh.

Incorporated water didn’t really harm a Mage. All it took was a little bit of their throughput to maintain the molecules in that form until it passed through, and Tala had magic aplenty.

Even so, that would be another strain on her magic and body at this time.

Instead, she put the device back in Kit and pulled out a mug, already filled with clean, clear water.

She drained the mug in one long pull, reveling in the sweet simplicity of the water.

After placing the cup back into Kit, she patted the pouch. “Thank you, Kit. That was a really excellent drink.”

Kit did not respond.

The mug sent Tala’s thoughts spiraling off in an unpleasant direction, If I melt down a cup, purify the materials, and remake the cup, is it the same vessel?

-Obviously not, but that isn’t actually what happened. In this case, the cup was separated into individual molecules and held perfectly in place while the imperfections were removed. Then, it was allowed to reconnect to the surrounding pieces, exactly where they had been.-

That sounds like the vessel would be left full of holes…

-Maybe that’s why it needs to be Reforged?-

Tala shuddered. Yeah… I’m not ready to consider that at the moment.

-As you wish. It will be interesting to hear what the test results are, right?-

Yeah. It definitely will be.

She continued to pull out food to eat while she walked the last blocks to her destination.

Tala pushed open the door and smiled at the receptionist, yet another Mage that Tala didn’t recognize.

She wasn’t feeling very restrained at the moment, so Tala just asked, “How many different receptionists are there? I feel like I’m in here all the time, and I don’t often see regulars behind that desk.”

The young-looking man cleared his throat, straightened his back just a bit, and smiled hesitantly. “Well, this is a testing position for those who want to work with the honored Inscriptionist.”

Tala’s eye twitched, and she opened her mouth to respond, but Mistress Holly came out into the entry hall before she could.

“Master Adam, I’ve told you that unnecessary flattery won’t factor into my decision.”

Huh, that’s funny, he shares a name with Adam the guard.

-Yes, Tala, many people share names.-

“Yes, Mistress Holly.” Adam lowered his gaze back to the work on the desk before him.

Mistress Holly turned to Tala. “It really is informative, how much you can learn about a person by how they handle such a position.”

Tala grunted, starting to slowly walk towards the door to the back.

“How are you doing, Mistress?” There was genuine concern in the woman’s voice.

Tala sighed and turned to regard her. “Well, before all this started, I was fine, and I suppose when this process is done, I will be again.”

Mistress Holly’s eye twitched as Tala tried to keep her smile back.

“You might even say that soon I will be re-fine.”

“Out!”—The inscriptionist pointed at the main door—“That was a terrible pun.”

“Fine, fine.” The smile broke through Tala’s features. “Or should I say, ‘Refine?’”

Mistress Holly shook her head. “Let’s get this over with. You’re going to strain something if you keep that up.”

Without another word, the two women turned toward the back.

Tala didn’t ask, but she leaned on the older woman—just a bit—for support.

Mistress Holly silently shifted to be of better help.

Together, they went to learn the results of their respective efforts and ordeals.