Patrons of Capes

Taylor 1.8

Brockton Bay
January 2011

Taylor sat in a park, a bit off the path, so she was around trees. Her teacher was pacing back and forth. Taylor was listening, a small candle sitting on a rock maybe a foot from her. This place was deemed acceptable at the time, it was closer to nature than most areas. Her eyes were shut, her legs crossed, her hands in the grass.

"Breathe. Listen. Feel. If you are to become a druid, you will need to know how to speak with nature. What are you hearing from nature." her teacher said.
Taylor tried to tell, tried to listen, tried to hear. The winds blew, the sounds of cars and the city. The sounds faded as she focused, tuning them out, the sounds of people talking in the park slowly drew distant, then she heard a soft sound...one she couldn't quite tell what it said.

She wanted to hear the sound. Eventually, all she could hear was the soft steps of her teacher. She heard the whispers, may...many whispers, she felt the bugs move around her, giving her an idea of where everything was, then, with an exhale, she felt as if she became the center of a sonar, as she felt, everything clearly.

"There are many voices, and many needs. I felt....like I was one with everything." Taylor said, smiling.

Her teacher drew her sickle and pointed it at Taylor.

"Congrats. You have achieved your first root. Now you just need to sprout your first leaf." her teacher said.

"That feels like an insult." Taylor said.

"Well, you are human, I am surprised you could even root, but you are not the oldest seed I've seen. But not the youngest either." her teacher said.

That felt like it was trying to be a compliment, but turned into an insult anyway.

"Now. I want you to listen, speak to the air, and ask them to ignite the candle." her teacher commanded.

"Ummmm, how do I do that?" Taylor asked.

"You made the connection, you can hear them, they can hear you." her teacher stated

Taylor looked at the candle.

"Air....can you....make this candle burn?" Taylor said.

There was an attempted slap by her teacher.

"WRONG!" She shouted

"But-" Taylor began.

"AGAIN!" her teacher shouted.

Taylor closed her eyes.

"Air. Focus your heat on the candle's wick and make it ignite." Taylor said.

The Candle seemed to melt a little on the edges, then stopped.

"This little seed can't seem to even make a candle burn. Such a shame." Her teacher said, pacing.

Taylor balled her fist, angry. She glared at the candle.

"I command you to make this candle burn." Taylor growled, before the wick glowed, embers forming.

Her teacher looked at it, shaking her head, disapproving.

"I said burn." She growled louder, before the candle actually properly ignited.

The soft glow of candlelight made the small fire burn bright.

"My, my. Anger. Using it to fuel your commands. Not the first time I've seen such a primitive method used. Those short lived creatures and their Shamans. It's forceful, it's clumsy. It's so very.....human." She explained.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." Taylor said.

"If I had to list every time I had to deal with a human who thought that they were above nature in the order of the universe, I would be here until the Modrons March again." She said, angry and annoyed at the same time.

"What.....a modron march?" Taylor asked, looking at the candle, the flame was smaller, not as intense now.

Her teacher shook her head.

"It's where the forces of Mechanus unleash chaos and madness in search of....something. And it happens, 289 years. I was a young acolyte when I saw my first, and I have seen 2 since." She explained.

Taylor had to think of that, do the mental math, somewhere above 840, or were her years much shorter? What if they were longer?!

"How old are you?" Taylor asked.

"Old enough. Now Command the air to extinguish the flame." her teacher commanded.

Taylor looked at the candle.

"Air.....avoid the flames, let it be snuffed out." Taylor said, holding a hand out.

Taylor closed her eyes, before clenching her fist. It felt right. When she opened her eyes, the candle was extinguished, smoke rising up from it.

"I am impressed. The spirits of nature here are weak. Druid craft may not be the most powerful, but it has its uses. In time, I feel you will grow to find it useful, as many have before. Pair that with Primal savagery, you have a pair of cantrips that will maintain you in a fight. I believe there was a fountain in the park, walk over to it." her teacher command.

Taylor got up, pocketed the candle to make sure she left the park as clean as she found it, along with some other bits of garbage she threw in the trashcan as she got to the small fountain in the center of the park.

It wasn't that big, it was more like a bird bath. Some fight damaged it and it didn't drain right, so it kind of grew stagnant, and froze, a bit of a gross shade of green.

"Pick up some of that sand." her teacher commanded.

Nearby on the base, it was less sand, and more like, fine stone chippings and dirt....so, kind of sand. Taylor picked up a pinch of the sand, it was maybe enough for her to pile up in her hand.

"Focus on the sand. The dry nature, the heat trapped inside of it, now. Cast it into the water, focus on the dry nature." Her teacher said, standing on the other side of the fountain.

Taylor did as instructed. As the sane made contact with the water, it vanished. The fountain was still damp, still had mildew on the inside, but the water was gone, as if it evaporated but there was no heat.

"That is one spell. Now I will teach you one or two more today. The first is one for a fight, and needs but a drop of water. The other is a utility, to move greater distances faster. After that however, I fear you may not be able to cast these more powerful spells until after you rest, or suffer from pushing your body too much." Her teacher said, rather satisfied by her tone.

Taylor looked down. If she was a hero....if she had this power, what was better to train with now, combat...or utility.

"The utility. We can focus on combat when I get stronger, and have a greater understanding of our power." Taylor said.

"Well then-" Her teacher began, before a group of what Taylor felt was safe to assume, Merchants came into the park.

They were laughing, before seeing her.

"Hey! Girl! Come on! We know where a great party is! Want to come with?" the leader of the three Merchants said.

Taylor just walked away, trying to get some distance.

"Hey! What? You a fuckin prude? We can show you a great time!" one said, moving towards her a bit faster.

"Call upon the spirits. Let them act with you." her teacher said.

"I don't know what to make them do." Taylor almost whisper-shouted.

"The spirits do though. Listen, let them direct you." Her teacher said, as if I was missing something obvious.

Taylor walked and tried to listen, what could she do? Then, he heard it, tiny paws moving up a tree.

"Spirits, answer my call, make them fear an attack." Taylor whispered softly, trying to connect to the spirits in the park.

The Merchants still followed her, then the wind blew a bit harder, the snow picked up a bit, then more as it moved by them in a stronger gust on the road. Even a few animal sounds came from above them.

"Fuck. Was that a cape?" one asked.

"I don't know, but I can't be caught. I got shit on me." the other said.

Taylor felt as they ran away, she could sense the lice, and other bugs on them got further and further away. She was safe to assume no one would believe them, right? Anyone they told would just assume they were high and seeing things, not that they found where she was training to become a hero.

"Maybe....I should get a mask or something, just...just in case I have to fight." Taylor said.

"Why? Is it to be more like your teacher?" She asked, almost mockingly.

"Cause I don't want people like the empire, merchants, or ABB attacking my dad, or...me." Taylor said.

"So you hide. I feel that this is a useless bit of human foolishness." Her teacher said,

"You wear a mask and hide who you are. Are you calling yourself foolish?" Taylor asked, taking the chance to critique her teacher's seeming hostility and superiority complex.

"I am not a fool. I wear the prize of my greatest hunt. The cloak I wear is that of my own making, of the beasts I slayed in the FeyWilds." Her teacher argued

"Is that why you do not remove your mask? I guess it's not foolish if you can't be seen by anyone else." Taylor said, before the End bringer Sirens sounded. When they tested them, it was a month too early.

Looking around, Taylor saw her teacher looking up. Following her gaze, Taylor saw what it was....a black, floating, writhing mass, that seemed to try and focus, it was blurring and sharpening like the image an old tv would do when adjusting the antenna.

"That is not good." Her teacher said, shaking her head.

"What is that teacher?" Taylor asked, hoping that she might know, given her statement.

"Not good. That just....feels unnatural, it's against the order of this plane. It's trying to break in and this plane is rejecting it." Her teacher explained.

"But what is it?!" Taylor shouted.

"I don't know the answer yet, but it has magic. Let us hope this Plane's laws force it back from whence it came before it causes havoc." She stated.

Taylor wanted to run, where were the heroes? Why were they not reacting to this? Then it vanished. The clouds swirled over the bay where that thing was. Her teacher stood there, looking up where it was.

"We will rest, and recover. I will have you ready to fight in one month, let us hope you can grow, little seed." Her teacher said.