November 12
Word Count: 2007
Lynah was not happy. In fact she didn’t think she’d ever been more furious in her life. There they all were, complaining about Saratin and his autocratic manners thinking he knew everything about being a Great Mage and leading them. She volunteered her knowledge and expertise and they treated her as if she were nothing. They treated her as if she were as useful as lint. No, they treated her as if she were as useful as a speck of dust caught in a piece of lint.
Not a single person voted for her. They all voted for the one they had complained about. Even Trevelyn had abandoned her. She’d moved out of Lynah’s apartments as if she was some sort of leech or leper, trying to suck all the life out of her. It shouldn’t have surprised her when Trevelyn voted against her. Trevelyn was Saratin’s new go to girl. He made her his secretary, and let her do lots of things while Lynah was shoved to the background. Saratin even taught Mitty, the tailor to do magic before her.
Lynah paced back and forth in her apartments trying to decide what to do. She had to take some action to show them exactly what she thought of them and their decisions. She needed to be able to show them that she had more power, class, and beauty than all of them combined. They needed to know they wouldn’t get away with ganging up on her or treating her like a child.
A knock sounded at the door. Lynah knew at once that it was Trevelyn, who had come to console her with false apologies. Unfortunately none of the doors in Tamarin had locks installed into them.
“Don’t you even think of opening that door, Trevelyn!” Lynah shouted, not wanting to even see her. The door cracked open.
“Lynah,” Trevelyn said. “I…” Lynah ran to the door and threw her weight against it, slamming it against Trevelyn. That felt good. That felt really good.
“I told you I didn’t want it opened. I don’t want to talk to you. So just leave me alone!” she screamed. Lynah would have been happy to scream some more, but she heard the sounds of receding footsteps. Trevelyn had given up quite easily. It just showed how untrue her apology was.
“Your Highness, may I help you with something?” Lynah turned to see Brother Ilden standing there. He must have already been in her apartments when she entered. They were vast and she had not thoroughly checked them.
“I’m… I’m… I’m just mad!” she said, stomping her foot.
“I understand why, Your Highness. From what I have seen over the past few days, the other Great Mages treat you with very little respect.” Ilden stood there in his new black robe, his hands folded out of sight in front of him.
“Exactly. And tonight. There they were, all complaining about Saratin. Saratin this, Saratin that, and then they voted him in as leader! Over me!”
“That’s seems quite illogical to me, Your Highness. Anyone with intelligence could see that Brother Saratin has no special talents for leadership. He is a scribe and a librarian… an apprenticed one at that. You are princess of Galadin.”
“Oh, but he has all of them entranced. If he says jump they jump. If he says go kill some dragons, they nearly kill themselves doing it. And Trevelyn is no better. She hangs on his every word as if it were golden. And do you know he taught Mitty magic before me?”
“I don’t believe he wants you to know magic. I think he is afraid of the power you could wield, if you knew what he did. He would be no match for you.”
“Exactly! Now I just need to figure out what to do about it. He’ll never teach me!”
“I might have a solution to your dilemma,” Ilden stated. He waited for her to reply.
“Yes? What is it?”
“There’s a man who lives in the forest, outside the city. He’s quite wise, and he has knowledge that Saratin doesn’t possess. He could most likely help you become more powerful than Saratin.”
“There’s someone who can help me to learn magic besides Saratin?” Lynah wasn’t sure if Brother Ilden was clear on what she needed.
“Yes, Your Highness. He is quite knowledgeable in that area. I can take you to him.”
“He’s not evil or anything like that, is he?” Lynah asked, remembering what had happened to Iber and Trevelyn when they had trusted Nelyr to help them. They had ended up comatose floating around like ghosts. Lynah didn’t think that sounded so appealing, and she didn’t plan to be that stupid.
“No, of course he is not evil. I would never take you to someone I didn’t trust completely. As your chief of staff, your health and well being is my first priority. I would never put you in harm’s way. I mentioned him because I think that learning magic is central to your well being. You cannot have any power without knowing how to control it.”
“Well, then, if you’re sure he’s not evil, lead the way. Just let me grab a wrap. The forest can get slightly chilly at night.” Lynah practically skipped to her closet. This was perfect. She grabbed a pink shawl that matched her dress and presented herself back to Brother Ilden. “I’m ready.”
“Then it will be my honor to show you, your highness.” The left her quarters and proceeded out of the city. No one seemed to mind the two of them walking along, but whenever they passed a brother, he would stop and give a little bow. It gave a little start to notice that they were bowing to Ilden.
When he noticed her stare, he said, “Please, you must forgive them. I am of course wearing the colors of my office. They don’t recognize you as a Great Mage when you do not wear white. Otherwise, we could not get out of the city with at least one of them falling onto their knees. It is actually quite fortunate you have chosen not to be recognized. Saratin will not receive news of us leaving the city.”
“So I’m in disguise?” She asked as she drew her wrap tighter around her. He was quite right. She didn’t want Saratin to know she’d found someone else to teach her magic.
“Yes, your highness.” They walked in silence, past the gates of the city and into a part of the forest Lynah had never been before. In fact, she hadn’t left the city since the day that they first arrived. She’d never seen a reason to wander into a forest that could possibly have dragons in it. Brother Ilden did not seem to be worried about walking through the forest at night. In fact, he was prepared. He had a small latern that was lit not with a flame, but some unseen light source. It was a simple magical item, that anyone could use without power, like the locater ball that Malek had gotten.
They walked for about 15 minutes, keeping the mountainside that formed the formidable boundary of the city on their right. The light seemed to penetrate quite a ways in the darkness and finally they came upon a small door in the mountainside. Ilden simply walked up to it and said, “We are here.” The door swung open and a light brightened in the room. Ilden put the lantern into his pocket and motioned for Lynah to enter.
Lynah raised her chin, picked up the hem of her dress, and stepped over the stone threshold. The hallway proceeded for about ten feet into the mountainside before ending in a staircase that led down. The torches lit as they approached the staircase and Lynah walked down the steps.
At the bottom of the steps was a room carved entirely from the mountainside. It was rather cluttered and unorganized, filled with books, and odd knick nacks. Off to one corner was a were bookshelves filled with texts and in front of them stood a wooden desk that looked like it had seen better days. It was covered in papers that seemed to have rhyme or reason to them. Lynah counted four rather comfortable looking leather chairs scattered about the room. In one of them sat a young man. He had quite dark raven hair and spectacular green eyes. When he stood to bow, he had a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Lynah returned a small courtesy, and smiled back at him. It was impossible not to smile. She couldn’t believe she had ever thought him to be evil.
“Good evening, Your Highness, Brother Ilden. It is such a joy to have visitors.”
“Thank you, sir,” Lynah decided to get right to the point. “Brother Ilden has told me that you can teach me magic.”
“Are you hungry? Would you care for a snack?” He held out a bowl of small white candies.
“No thank you, I’ve already had dinner. Can you? Or am I in the wrong place.”
“Brother has told me of your plight, and of how the other mages treat you. I would be happy to teach you how to be a mage. A true mage, not like the others who simply play at knowing magic.”
“And how is it that you come by the skill yourself?” Lynah asked.
“Well,” he laughed, “I’m not as young as I look. In fact, I used to know all of the old Great Mages. That is where I learned it. From them.”
“Are you a Great Mage?”
“Goodness no,” he laughed again, “I was an assistant of sorts. You see, I have found the secret of having magical power without actually being a mage.”
“You have? Why then anyone could be a mage! Even Brother Ilden!” The brother smiled and nodded.
“That is not quite true. Take a look at the candy I offered you. It’s not really candy.” He held the dish out to her and she took a piece. “You see, there is a tree that grows these, well, the villagers who used to farm them called them calca.” She looked to see indeed that it was rather like a pure white nut or hardened bit of sap. She put it up to her nose. “Go ahead and try one. They are quite sweet. The primary benefit of calca is longevity. You can practically remain young forever… if you continue to eat it.” Lynah took a bite. Indeed it was quite pleasantly sweet.
“Of course, you have no need of it as a fruit of longevity, as you will continue to remain young as long as you wish. However, for mere humans like me, upon consuming enough of them a day, I can create power that mimics that of a Great Mage. While I am growing quite tired of the stuff, I find that I can help so many people with the power that I cannot bring myself to stop eating it.” He popped a few in his mouth to illustrate his point.
“Unfortunately, the tree that it grows from does not grow enough to support more than a few who could consume calca at my levels, so the theory that all people could become Great Mages is fairly flawed. But, the good news is I have been able to survive off calca, long enough to bring the power of the Great Mages back into this world, and I have chosen you, Lynah to lead the rest of the mages back to their full glory. If you would allow me, I ask to be your humble teacher. Of course, if you wish to think further on it, Brother Ilden will be happy to show you back to the city.”
Lynah did not hesistate. “I need no more time. I accept your offer. Teach me.” The young men smiled as he took her proffered hand and gently kissed it.