The Princes of Versutia

chapter four

Unknown POV:

He dropped his head into his hands. The mages had spent the last couple of weeks whispering and throwing glances in his direction, but never really looking at him.

It had been this way for at least a month. He had never seen them act like this, secretive, almost afraid. He wondered if it was the hunters again. There had been no incidents lately, no one accidentally stumbling upon their hidden village since that one unfortunate hiker. He cringed at the memory of it, the mages circling him, chanting in their unknown language. They hadn't had to use a lot of magic, just a few simple spells to erase a piece of his memory and send him on his way home.

The mages had been living peacefully for over a decade but the small incident was enough to put people on edge. This specific area was known for the large amounts of concentrated power that it held. All parts of nature held magic, it was in the trees, the soil, even in the birds. As time had passed, men had marched across the land, contaminating the pieces of nature with their shovels and their bricks. They had built upon the land, taking the resources with no bit of thanks in return. The land had openly and willingly shared itself with man, but the more man took, the less she had to give. She started withholding from the thieves, giving them less rain in certain months, even freezing her own waters to retain from them.

The earth began to realize that the humans that took from her now did not know of the sacred agreement. They didn't understand that their power came from her and that without her guidance and help, they would not live. They depended on her, not the other way around, but they were too selfish to realize this. Yet not all men were evil. There were few that realized that the earth was not infinite. They began to replant on her land. They buried seeds deep in her soils and watched as trees grew from her. They relished in her power, thankful and grateful. She in turn rewarded them for their generosity, she granted them bits of her own power, her own magic. They understood the meaning behind their gifts, the responsibility they now held to protect her and each other. This was a skill that was only to be used for life.

But some humans remained foolish. They did not acknowledge the true purpose of the chosen few's gifts, instead wishing to utilize it for further destruction. The same men who took from the earth then turned to take from her chosen ones as well. She protected them as best as she could, she sent floods down upon the greedy oppressors and violent snowstorms trailed behind her people, protecting them from their attackers, yet the humans were slippery. They managed to weasel their way out of her grasp many times, intent on obtaining her powers.

She did not have enough strength to protect the mages anymore. She hid from the people, scattering herself deep in the world, away from the men, but the sheer glory of her power was enough for only the mages to sense. They felt drawn to her, like a child to its mother. They found a piece of her again and settled there. This was the hidden society of the mages. They had remained here for many centuries. The mages would become a thing of fables, stories told to children late at night, but pieces of her still remained in the world, continuing to search out those replenishing her and giving back to her, solely for the purpose of keeping her alive. Those would be the ones she instilled her powers in, those were her chosen people. Those were the mages. The ignorant never understood who was granted with the great powers, for they were selfish. They could not comprehend a way in which they would tend to the Earth without taking from it, so all they did was take. She never gave more than she could, she never let them see the true beauty and magic she held, she never truly revealed all of her glory to them, and she never would.

The boy had been told this story all throughout his youth. He had grown up amongst the mages, learning the ways of Her and learning the way to tend to the Earth. He was gentle and kind to Her. He appreciated her beauty and cared for Her tenderly. He was the only one in the village without powers. He never truly understood why and he was never told. The mages had explained to him that he was under their protection. They would care for him even though he was not one of them because their job was to protect life, and as long as he was living, their promise to him remained strong.