Nivenmage

The Forgotten Race

The landscape of Pyriam contained green fields and low hills that rolled over almost the whole province, it was comfortable enough, but Argenen now realised how dull it was. He was looking at Tiraen in awe, shifting his eyes from the thick and friendly trees nearby to the lush green forests farther away. Even the Grey Wall behind was undeserving of its name; for the green flowed up onto the sides of the mountains until it was met by the white snow on their tips. The forests looked thick, and looking at it from above he could only a few clearings here and there in the distance. Slightly to the left a river ran through and divided the forest. It curved out of sight in the distance, and Argenen wondered how close they were to the northern sea.

"Still far." Said Brumil when he asked him. "That river runs into the Nevea Falls first, and even that's quite far away."

Brumil seemed to have been in Tiraen before, but didn't know exactly where the Valiaphites lived. He told them he was sure it would be in a dense part of the forest, and to the east of the river. They walked down the mountainside and towards the deepest green they could see, hoping the Valiaphites weren't as secluded as they had heard. As they descended, the green engulfed them, and the spectacular view disappeared behind the tall, pervasive trees that now surrounded them. Argenen felt a strange new feeling come over him as they walked on. His wounds were almost completely healed, and the pain was gone. He didn't even feel exhausted when they finally sat down to rest. Then he wondered if something more sinister could be at work.

He had already done something he had never done before: he had somehow collapsed the Fabric around himself in the tunnels. He hadn't spoken about it but had been immensely curious. At the academy in Pyriam they had been taught how to use the Fabric. This was the power of all Neveans, and their ability to manipulate this substance was extremely useful in battle. It was the invisible force that, as he had been taught, formed the barrier between the Realm and the afterlife. Neveans used it now to tear through ranks of Soulless but it was always accepted that its potential was much greater. He himself had somehow removed it completely, and created a space filled with absolutely nothing, a void. He remembered with a shudder the sensation he had had as he was pulled upwards into that emptiness: a sudden idea, a deep fear of what lay beyond that portal. For that was what it had felt like, a portal, to some unknown and ominous place.

He had never, in all the wild stories and rumours of childhood, heard of any other Nevean producing anything of the like. They could all create ripples, and waves of varying strength. The stronger mages would learn to conjure explosions of Fabric and there was still much that even they didn't know. He assumed idly that the most knowledgeable mages were probably those of the Circle of Pyriam, for they were the eleven strongest Neveans chosen by the Nivenmage herself. Then he realised that one such mage was now walking beside him, and turned to Brumil to voice his questions.

"Brumil..." He started, and found it was harder to ask the question aloud than it had been inside his head. "Um...Did you see what happened in the tunnels yesterday...when those things were chasing us?"

A look of understanding came from Brumil; as if he had been waiting the question. "You are worried about what you did." He said. "I must admit, I was surprised."

Brumil's statements did nothing to answer his question, and slightly annoyed him. He tried again. "Have you ever seen that?" He asked. He wanted to elaborate but didn't know how.

"No, I haven't." Then, seeing Argenen's frustration he explained. "But, after everything you learn at the academy, and then afterwards, even after becoming a member of the Circle, you eventually realise that you will probably never see everything that a mage is capable of. While working with the Nivenmage I have seen things that astounded me, and I'm sure she could do much more that I couldn't have imagined. I've given up on trying to know everything, really."