“I believe you are ready,” Ahsante said.
He and Nona were sitting in the training room, where Nona was gently nursing a small ember that flared above his open palm. Ahsante examined the Flame spell intently as he spoke. Nona was one of the quickest learners he had ever seen, picking up new basic Shapes and casting their corresponding Spells almost as soon as Ahsante showed him how to do it. His Knots, however, left something to be desired. They worked, even for long periods of time, but they were large, complicated messes of Thread thrown together without much thought and shoved into the Shape of a spell. He liked using many of the same Knots and forcing them into Shapes, hoping it would work, which it hardly ever did. Still, Nona’s ramshackle techniques would do for now, but a Novice could collapse each one of his Spells with ease.
“New spell?” Nona asked brightly. He had not stayed with Ahsante long, but already he was learning so much about magic from the old master. Basic spells excited him; being able to stop people in their tracks by casting a Ward or blowing ink quills across the room with a flick of his wrist and a Wind spell felt as natural as could be. Nona couldn’t begin to explain how satisfying it was to manipulate Thread, guide into Knots that took Shapes, creating Spells that changed the world around him.
“You’ll have wait until you arrive at the Mage’s Guild, I’m afraid. You’re ready to take the entrance exam,” Ahsante responded with his gentle smile.
“Are you sure?” Nona chuckled nervously. He knew he was good for a beginner, but there was still so much he didn’t know. After their daily training sessions, Nona would often poke through the books in Ahsante’s extensive library. His favorite book, a massive tome so large that it had to be bound across the pages with two leather strips, was a catalog of nearly every basic-level spell there was. He wasn’t quite good enough to get the hang of learning out of a book; he had to see it done from a master and feel where to guide the Thread in place in his mind’s eye. He would love to get into the Guild someday, but right now, he felt like it was too fast.
“The arrangements have already been made. The day after tomorrow, you will be examined,” Ahsante said simply. Sensing Nona’s apprehension, Ahsante added:
“Do not fret, young one. You are ready.”
Taking that as a dismissal, Nona got up and left, giving the mage a grateful bow before he left. He walked back to his room, a guest room of Ahsante’s, where Reke was just stirring, a small plate of breakfast on his lap. He had his own room, but Reke preferred to stay with his friend, where a small bed had been set up on the nightstand. While Nona trained with Ahsante, Reke managed his own projects, all of which involved finding Lusahn. He consulted with many Healer buddies of Lusahn’s, at least according to Ahsante, for Lusahn did not often speak of his trips back to the Imperial City. They didn’t help. Just like Ahsante, they were cagey about the whole deal; either they had no idea where Lusahn could have gone, or they weren’t telling him everything. Ahsante recommended he hire a mage to use Scry, an advanced spell used to detect people from across the realm, but to no avail. It took a considerable chunk out of their money supply but was worth a try. Either Lusahn was so far away that the Scrier could not have seen him, or he was in some sort of Scry-Warded zone, away from prying eyes. When Nona walked in, he told his friend about the news, then sat down on the bedside.
“Are you sure about this? It’s a serious commitment,” Reke advised. They had this conversation many times before, as the Mage’s Guild was known for keeping a tight fist on its new novices. The Elves always said it was in the name of public safety, since rouge Mages can be terribly destructive and unpredictable, but it always felt like they wanted complete control over magic, including its users.
“Oh, I’m sure. Magic is awesome, and there isn’t a better spot to learn it than the Mage’s Guild!” he replied, his eyes bright with enthusiasm.
“...but I don’t know if I’m ready yet. Ahsante says I am, but, I don’t know, I just don’t feel ready” he finished, the light in his eyes gone.
“If Ahsante thinks you’re ready, then you’re ready. He knows a lot more about that stuff than you do,” Reke reasoned, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Nona said, nodding his head, a little bit of confidence returning to his bones. Reke regarded his friend covertly with just his eyes. Reke knew he wasn’t ready. Magically, Nona’s skill was fine, but he was going to have a rough time fitting in with the rest of the Guild. The human couldn’t tell the difference between a Gilfrit and a Biggleberry, and the Mage’s Guild was home to the most exotic people, artifacts, and spells Solitha had to offer. He worried that the human’s curiosity would eat him alive, but Reke held his tongue. They had that conversation before, and, well, Nona getting into the Mage’s Guild would be a helpful stepping stone to finding Lusahn. Closer to the Mages, Reke might be able to find out where he went, or at least what Ahsante and his cronies weren’t willing to tell him. And Nona really, really wanted to be in the Mage’s Guild. Who knows, maybe it would be good for him, to be immersed in all that magic?
…
[i]Today is the day[/i], Nona thought as he opened his eyes. The passing notion of failure fluttered through his mind as he lay still in the darkness. What would he do if he wasn’t good enough? Ahsante had made it very clear that the objective is to impress the evaluator; they wanted to see what he could do with magic, not simply cast spells frivolously. If he didn’t make it, maybe Nona would try to find other humans. They hadn’t found any others yet, but the City was so big, there had to be at least a small community of humans somewhere. Nona felt a sudden pang of loss for a home he couldn’t remember. His family had to be out there, somewhere. They were probably worried… No. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. One way or another, Nona would become a mage, and then, he would sort out his heritage. No use thinking about it now.
He slid out of bed, taking careful care not to wake Reke beside him (Nona had gotten a lot of practice waking up silently, for Reke had a knack for sleeping in too late), and went down to the training room For this day, he made sure his good pants, the ones acquired from Phyllis, were washed and ready to go. The servants were used to him taking his breakfast in the training room, so there was a meal waiting for Nona as soon as he entered. Ahsante wasn’t there, which was the first time he had ever seen the master be late for anything. Quickly wolfing down his meal, Nona figured it must be an individual practice day.
He ran through all the steps Ahsante taught him. First the Shape, the definition of a Spell. He held the image of a simple Lightball Shape in his head, keeping the visage of the rune as steady as possible. Then, he closed his eyes, feeling the Thread emanate from the walls around him. Pushing the Shape to the back of his mind, he held his hand out, guiding the Thread to the space above his open palm. He took care to lay each strand of Thread exactly where he wanted, looping them around each other and tying them into place. Then, with his Knot ready to go, he imposed the Shape of Lightball onto the Knot. He could feel his bundle of Thread morph and fit to the Shape of the Spell, and when Nona opened his eyes, he was staring at a perfectly round, blue glowing Lightball. Relinquishing control over his Knot, Nona dispelled the Lightball, and the Thread scattered away. Then he repeated the process, but faster, taking shortcuts with his Knot and only briefly imagining the Rune in his head. His subsequent Lightballs were not as luminous or defined as the first, but it wasn’t long before Nona could cast the Spell instantly, without consciously forming a Knot.
He practiced until one of the golem servants fetched him. It was time to go. The white-and-yellow clad servant guided him out of Ahsante’s house and past the residential side of the Mage’s District to the very center of the Elven Empire. Even though mansions surrounded the center, all the roads led to one massive road that over-accommodated the bustling crowd that they found themselves in. It split off, leading to each of the three destinations that now faced them.
On the left was the Merchant’s Guildhouse, a complex of squat, bulbous domes and turrets with outdoor roads leading in between them. On the right was their destination, the Mage’s Guildhouse, a complex made up of five obelisks and five disks. The center tower pierced each disk through the center and sat higher than the rest. Above the tip, a giant, diamond-shaped crystal balanced impossibly on the tip of the center obelisk. Each disk got smaller as they increased in height, where the first disk looked like it could fit five of the mansions in the Mage’s District, but the fifth disk could not have been more than the size of a small village. None of the disks touched, rather, they were held up by the four other obelisks, which were arranged in the cardinal directions. Their tips graced the outer edge of the bottom of the fifth disk, and they each pulsated with a color: shimmering blue for the South, vibrant green for the North, pale yellow for the West, and a deep violet for the East.
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Edited by Merribor: 4/11/2022 3:20:46 AMBetween the two was the Imperial Palace, which looked like it was both Guildhouses meshed together. Glimmering Domes nestled in between vast towers and obelisks; the Palace itself was like a city within the City, and even if some folks passed it every day, they couldn’t help but spare a glance at the majesty and wonder of the Elven Empire. As they got closer, the pathway widened out and turned into a giant, circular ramp that led down into the first disk, which was actually below surface level. There were four causeways above the first disk, each of which led to an obelisk, and the servant led Nona across the nearest one. By now, they were practically alone, with most people peeling off to go to the Palace or the Merchant’s Guildhouse or down into the first disk. The double doors of the obelisk, which looked more like two slabs of the glowing yellow stone were flung open. They passed across the shadow cast by second disk and entered the cavernous tower and took a moment for Nona’s eyes to adjust from the bright morning sky to the streaming yellow glow of the obelisk walls. The chamber was empty, aside from a band of about a dozen, room-sized circular platforms inset into perimeter of the tower. Each platform had a pedestal right in the center. There were gaps in the band, where no platform stood, and, craning his neck, Nona saw the missing parts of the floor suspended high up in the air. The servant dragged Nona from staring in wonder at the chunks of floor to one of the platforms and approached the pedestal. It had four small ovular divots and what looked like a smooth river stone just below them. The golem placed the river stone in the second divot, and the platform began to rumble. Nona bent his knees, expecting to be thrown off balance, but the platform levitated smoothy in the air, so gently that Nona hardly believed they were moving at all. In not time, the disk stopped at a walkway that wrapped around the edge of the obelisk. They got off and headed towards one of the peaked archways that led out into the Guildhouse. Contrary to his expectations, light spilled into the obelisk from the outside, and when they stepped out onto the grassy floor second disk, Nona looked up to see where the light was coming from. Built into the bottom of the third disk were huge, magical spotlights that bathed the second disk in light. The second disk looked less like a house and more like a park. Rows of trees guarded the perimeter of a marble path that meandered around fields and pavilions. Unlike most of the elegant, lacy Elven architecture he had seen, the buildings of the second disk were simple, blocky rectangles without much ornamentation or engraving. The servant had a hard time getting Nona’s wandering feet to follow him. Rarely did he look where he was going, often bumping into the servants and other passerby, too enamored by the sights around him. Groups of children of all ages bustled from one building to the next, herded along by tall masters with serene dispositions. Others ran along the fields, laughing and sending round balls flying towards colored pegs with nothing more than their minds. Classes sat in circles in the pavilions, where a demonstrator was flinging lightening between his fingertips in the faces of awestruck kids. Eventually, they made it to a small group of stone huts clustered in neat rows. The servant stopped at one and stepped aside at the wooden door. His enthusiasm suddenly disappeared, replaced by butterflies in his stomach. He gulped, then pushed open the wooden door, much to the relief of the servant. The inside was much roomier than it looked. It was almost identical to one of Ahsante’s training rooms, with the same stark, white walls and Gigagrub flooring and padding. There were only two differences: no chairs, and the back had a high, walled desk behind which sat a thin, sour-looking elf with tiny spectacles perched on the tip of his nose. He had a high hairline, and straight, oiled blond hair tinged with ginger shimmered the back of his head and fell down the front of his shoulders. His body, from the neck down, was hidden by the desk, and his feathery quill peeked out by his chin. Next Chapter: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/260918710 Previous Chapter: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/260763524?sort=0&page=0
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Sorry I haven’t gotten time to read this yet. Tunic is very addicting. >.<