His heart thundered like a herd of horses across the grassland that was his chest. For the 16 years of his life Brin had dreamed of this day. He would announce to the clan elders what he do for his right of passage.
Every young warrior must do this. Though none are as strong as I. I was born for this. I will show them that I am meant to be champion.
He waited in line behind the other two boys that would declare their Task. Outside of the tent of the Elders, only the commotion of the village could be heard. The anticipation threatened to make his stomach do summersaults.
"Next." He waited as patiently as he could as the other two went and came from the maw of their future. They walked proudly in with their heads held high and left with a determination to their step that told Brin their requests had been met with approval.
I would rather fight each warrior of the clan than wait like this.
Finally it was his turn and, as he stood before the seven Elders, the adrenaline made his head light and him movements mechanical.
"I will hunt and I will bring back the tusks of a Frost Giant. Alone."
There were icy stares from the unreadable faces in front of him. His mentor was a among the Elders in front of him and he could see the disapproval in his eyes.
"This is a greater Task than we allow children to take on. Especially alone."
Brin had expected and steeled himself for this response. Careful to keep his face and body language neutral he answered, "Then let me complete this task and show each clan that I am to be no normal man, but instead one of the greatest the Wolveshire have ever bred."
The pride and determination in his voice seemed to earn the approval of the shaman in front of him. After a brief pause, all seven men nodded in unison and granted him permission to begin his Task.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The questers began to make their way from the peaceful meadow. Bard was brimming with confidence, elated that his vision had come true and he was able to be of use to their mission. Price on the other hand, could be heard grumbling about the time they'd lost.
They only had a few more days to go in order to reach Cainhorn Fort. So they took their time, all three of the Magi interested in what their gifts could allow them to do.
The next night around the fire, Brin decided to bring up something that had been bothering him. "How do all of you fight? I don't know the extent of any of your abilities other than Price's skill with the sword."
He was answered with blank stares and the sound of crackling flames in the night.
Well this is productive...
"Gavira, what does your magic allow you to do? How does it work?" Brin prodded, knowing that the girl loved to talk about what she was studying.
She looked up from a book she was reading on the log opposite Brin. "Well I'm not sure how to answer that. What do you mean 'allow me to do'? Magic is just a source, I can make it do whatever I want if I'm given the time and the mana."
Brin perked up, "You can make it do whatever you wish? How is this possible?"
"Well it starts with a lot of schooling and studying," she laughed, " but it all comes down to the spellwork really." She closed her book and set it next to her.
"Could you make me fly?" Brin asked, his curiosity barely contained.
"Well, I mean I could... though it wouldn't be very practical and it would probably take a good amount of time."
Brin deflated at this. These magicians aren't restrained like I am by the Oatytili. That must mean they can be extremely powerful. Perhaps I should be a bit more cautious.
"But this relic," she continued quickly, "could really change so many things! I've really only started to look into the possibilities but this really shatters all of the barriers of our western magic. Typically a complex spell takes several days due to the need to complete complex spellwork; this requires a continuous stream of mana into the spell. Because of this it typically takes several magi to keep a constant stream flowing into the spell. This relic changes all of that!" Her tone got more excited and she began to speak a bit faster as she continued to explain.
"How so?" Price asked, everyone around the fire seemed to get a bit more interested in the conversation.
"Well, these complex spells themselves don't actually take much mana; what makes it so hard to cast is the length of time it takes to cast them. This gift from Ezol allows me to complete complex and lengthy spells in moments, which essentially cuts out the need for large amounts of mana!" Her eyes seemed to shine in the firelight,the embers dancing in her pupils like fireflies in the night.
Warrel whistled, "Oh my. That could be game changing."
"Old man, do you even use magic?" Price prodded with a laugh.
Warrels answer was a swig from his gourd and a burp. "Not anymore. Though I can understand what she's saying, I've used my fair share of magic. If what you're saying is true girl, then you could possibly be the strongest Mage in a millennia."
Gavira blushed and attempted to turn the conversation towards Brin. "What about you mountain boy?"
Brin grunted and stood, stretching. "It's getting late, I think I'll get some rest. I can explain that on the road."
Gavira huffed at the dismissal of her question, but couldn't complain too much because everyone of the them was exhausted from the long day of travel.
The following morning as Brin and Price sparred, he gave a brief explanation of his Oaytili and how they worked. "This relic does change a lot for me. Possibly not as much as you Gavira, but it's power is staggering nonetheless. I am able to pour all of my energy into my runes, and then as soon as I take a few deep breaths, I can do it again. It's almost as if the Well of my spirit now has a spring constantly filling it with running water. Before it would take months to fill my runes with enough energy to be battle ready, now I can do it in an hour. I also don't need to worry about how many weapon transitions I make."
To highlight what he was saying, he let the sword fall from his hand and produced a bow, then repeated the process by producing his scythe, two daggers, two shortswords, a staff, and a greatsword in succession. "I think this will give me a huge edge in battle. With practice I could constantly change weapons during a fight, confusing and forcing the enemy on the defensive."
Once on the road, Gavira returned to her reading and note taking. Warrel returned to his drinking and singing and Brin fell into a deep meditation, attempting to store as much energy in his runes as possible, testing to see if there was a limit to their storage. The next few days were spent on the well traveled road attempting to make up for lost time.
YOU ARE READING
Cambolton's Fall
Fantasi"The frozen wastes ahead of him stretched out like an endless sea of glass, reflecting the sun's light. Everyone that he ever knew or loved was behind him, standing like statues. Every pair of eyes staring at his broad shoulder blades. They were ush...
