Mind Forged: Book One of the Enchanters of Xarparion (5 page)

I got up and helped her to her feet, feeling drained as well.
We slowly made our way upstairs to the living areas.

“
Rosa, you are not what I was expecting from an elder mage.”

She laughed
. “Sorry, I’ll try to act more like the old elf I am; but to be honest, I don’t really know what that is. I have only met a few other elves in my life and they weren’t that trusting of me. Besides, as you may know, wizards live a longer life and even at seven hundred, I haven’t even hit the midpoint of my life. Enchanters seem to live even longer than the other wizards, too.”

“
So you act young because you still are?”

She
smiled. “Why, thank you! And yes, I have to act like this because if I didn’t find a way to have fun, I would have gone crazy years ago.”

“
I guess I can understand that.”

“
Your room will be the one on the left. No one is in the other room and it’s just storage at this point. My room is the big one at the end there. So unless you have any questions, I’m going to sleep.”

“
No questions. Goodnight.”

“
Goodnight, my apprentice.”

I h
it the bed and was dead asleep before she closed the door.

Alex

I woke up to the sun streaming in through my window. From what I could see from my bed, it was close to noon. I decided it was time to get up. Glancing around my room for the first time, I noticed it was not that big of a room but had everything I would need. I had a nice desk in the corner, two dressers, one with a basin of water to wash up and a towel. In the corner was a small closet already filled with white robes. Not wanting to be in my smelly smithy clothes anymore, I washed up, brushed my teeth, and changed into one of the robes. As soon as I had it on, it changed to fit me just right. From then on, I knew it was going to be a good day.

I
exited my room and followed the hallway back downstairs to see if Rosa was up. But when I thought about her, I somehow knew she was still asleep; I even got a mental picture of her half hanging off her bed and still in a deep sleep. After a few minutes of exploring the main level, I found a small kitchen, complete with well-made pots and pans, a wood stove, dinnerware and a stocked larder. From the looks of things, however, it didn’t appear this kitchen got a lot of use.

I was starving
, but thanks to my mother’s tutoring, I was a good cook. After some digging, I found a dozen eggs, four extra thick strips of bacon and everything needed to make griddlecakes. Once everything was cooking, I thought that Rosa would be hungry too. So I added two more eggs and the last two strips of bacon. Once everything was done, I loaded up two plates and set them at the table. After more searching, I found cups and a strange green juice that smelled really good. Still getting the feeling that Rosa was asleep, I grabbed a tray and loaded the food on it. She was going to get breakfast whether she asked for it or not.

After
carefully carrying the tray of food up the stairs and through her door, I found her right where my vision said she would be, halfway off the bed and snoring. It looked like she hadn’t changed before falling asleep either. Rosa’s room was slightly larger than mine, a bigger bed and some bookshelves dominated the room. She also had space for a small table with two painted wooden chairs in one corner.

“
Master Rosa, it’s time to get up,” I said, as I gently nudged her shoulder.

“
…Fool…I have an apprentice now…and rabbits.” I had no idea what she was dreaming about and I’m not sure I wanted to know either.

“
Master, please, you need to wake up.” Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at me.

“
Hello, Alex, I’m so glad yesterday wasn’t just a dream! And how are you this fine morning?”

“
I’m doing very well, Master, but it’s no longer morning.”

“
Is that food I smell? I see that it is!” If she wasn’t awake before she was now! She sprang across the room and was seated at the table in an instant.

“
Did you make all this? I didn’t know you knew how to cook.” As I walked over, she already had everything off the tray and ready to eat. By the time I was seated and started, she had almost half of her food eaten already.

“
And it’s so good too. Where did you learn to make these sweet flat cakes?”

“
My mother taught me how to cook when I was a kid and still too small to help my dad work the forge.”

“
I see, and is this unusual for boys your age?”

“
Of all my friends, I was the only one who knew how to cook. My mother always said that if I’m going to make a pot, I best know how to use it.” She smiled slowly, paused as if thinking of someone else, and then went back to her food.

“
Today is going to be a good day for us, but we have got a lot of work to do.” She moved her empty plate to the center of the small table and leaned back in her chair. “Lesson number one, make more food! As magic users cast spells, they use a large amount of their own energy. So to replace that lost energy, the body needs more food. I’d say by the end of the week you will be eating twice as much as you normally do. Now, before we start with the day’s basic lessons, do you have any questions for me?” She was looking at me with one of those smirks that just scream ‘I know something you don’t know.’

“
Um, this morning when I woke up, I could sense that you were still asleep and I got a quick flash image of this room.” I thought she was going to say I was crazy but instead she just smiled even more.

“
And you feel relaxed around me, too, is that correct?” I was starting to get a little nervous now. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. Since our talk last night, I’ve felt no need to return home; in fact, I just want to stay here with her. That thought made me feel a little guilty, as if I was already turning my back on Foalshead and my parents, but something told me that this was where I needed to be.

“
Don’t be afraid,” Rosa continued encouragingly. “I was secretly hoping something like this would happen but didn’t think it would happen this fast. You see, sometimes over time, a master and an apprentice will form a bond. Not from a spell, but just from their individual magic being so close to each other for so long. What happened is that last night our magic merged together and formed one of these bonds. You must have a very large amount of magic for this to happen so quickly.”

“
Is it going to be dangerous?

“
Oh, heavens, no! In fact, this will make life very easy for both of us. Not only will we always know where the other is but, as the bond gets stronger, we should be able to communicate through it. It should also let me show you how the magic is weaved in enchantments. No, I think we are going to be a great team!”

“
Do the other masters bond to one of their students?”

“
None of the other teachers can. They all have at least five students each. In fact, most of the other teachers don’t even have apprentices. But as there are only two of us, you automatically get an immediate promotion!” This raised more questions for me to ask later, but for now I’ll try to think basic.

“
Now, come on, we have a lot to do today. You’re like a toddler just learning to walk. You have spell craft to learn, materials, incantations, and most of all, we need to teach you to eat!”

“
Hey,” I protested, “I’ve been eating just fine since I was a baby!”

Rosa laughed merrily
. “No, I mean you need to learn to eat like a wizard! Like a pig! Like a dachshund loose in a sausage warehouse! A ravenous beast in starchy robes!” She giggled hysterically and explained, “Seriously, as I explained earlier, it takes a lot of food to provide the energy to cast spells, and the more you cast, the more you need to eat. So you will train to increase your caloric intake and storage capacity. Beware the fat wizard!” She slapped me on the back and herded me out the door, still chuckling.

..........................................................................

Far in the east, a dark tower settled uncomfortably on a rock promontory along a savage rock shore. Crumbling with age and ridden with decay, the smell alone inside the tower would have killed most heroic men, but these halls were filled with only the dead. One such creature dragged itself through the putrid antechambers until it entered what had been a throne room in a much earlier and more pleasant time in the long life of the fortress. He drew himself up and spoke reverently to a dark figure barely outlined by moonlight on the large chair in the center of the room.

“
My master, our spies believe the prophesized one has finally appeared!”

“
WHERE?” boomed a rough voice that dislodged dust from the empty torch sconces that still protruded from the walls throughout the room.

“
Xarparion, my lord, which is also the current location of the girl!”

A loud grumbling sound filled the
unlit stone halls. “Is that so? It seems they could not protect the children forever. Now is the time! Our caged canary in the coalmine has done her job and she is no longer useful. Send my best assassins; I want her dead without fail.” The creature bowed and then ran off to fulfill its orders, leaving the room silent once more. After a long pause, the voice from the throne grated once more to no living ears.

“The child of darkness and the child of light
, at last. Let’s see what they’re made of.”

Alex

Two weeks have passed and I have gone through more books here than I had ever even seen at home; thankfully the history of enchanters is not a long one. Master Rosa has taught me a lot about what separates us from the other wizards. To start with, the description the Headmaster gave me at the test was that only wizards have magic. After about ten minutes with Rosa, I found that to be completely false. Everything and everyone has magic, it’s one of the many building blocks of the world. What the orb test really does is find the ones who can channel magic.

From what I have
learned so far, a wizard can collect magic from either themselves or the runoff magic from the area around them. They can then channel the collected magic through their bodies in what appears to mage sight to be magical veins or conduits. With this, they can bend the magic into almost any shape they want.

Enchanters
, on the other hand, don’t have the same system. We are unable to project magic like the others do. Instead, we shape the magic that’s already in an object. By doing this, normal items can take on new qualities or even magic powers of their own. I seem to be naturally gifted with items made of metal, but with other materials, stone, wood etc. I always seem to have more trouble.

Mind you
, that does not mean that I haven’t had my fair share of problems with metal. In fact, the first week was a nightmare for me as I was trying to learn how to control my magic. Rosa had me perform enchantment after enchantment to no avail, not even matching the one I did on the pot. I don’t know how many practice rods I destroyed, but she was forced to order them by the hundreds. It wasn’t ‘til I learned how to use my mage sight that I could even start to get them right. Once I learned that, I could just watch her and do my best to copy what she was doing. Working with my mother, I learned to watch and memorize from watching her tend to the injured. But even with what she called a ‘natural talent’ for enchanting, I still have a very long way to go before I can hope to do what she can.

Rosa also took the time to teach me
about the world, more precisely, about the kingdoms of the world. She had me sitting on a bench in front of a large map she pinned to a wall, using a long stick as a pointer.

The stick landed on a ring in the center of the map
. “This is Xarparion; you will note that it does not show up on maps that are not made by us, so average people don’t know where we really are.”

She pointed to a jagged area shaded in green a fair ways from
Xarparion. “This is Anshea, your home kingdom. We have never really had problems with them so our relations are solid.”

She pointed to another area
shaded in orange. “This is Ocance; they don’t really like our kind, so try to stay away from there. But even though they look down on us, we still have a trade agreement that is very profitable for both sides.”

The next area was in blue and bridged the gap between the two others
. “This is Elcance; they are a good people who are very fond of magic. In fact, that’s where almost all wizards reside if not in the tower or on assignment. In reality, that’s not more than a handful at any given time but still, most own land there.”

Those three kingdoms only took up a third of the area around
Xarparion, the rest was in black. She pointed to the black area. “This land has been lost. It used to be the great kingdoms of Normount and Wereia but is now controlled by goblins and the undead as the seat of power for The Lifebane. But even with their close proximity on this map, it would still take them months to march here.”

She talked some more about the
world’s history, but I could tell that something else was on her mind. She must have heard that because she quickly wrapped things up to speak with me about it.

“
Alex, we need to talk about something.” Oh crap, what did I do? Did I track mud in or ruin something?

“
No, it’s nothing you did, but let’s go sit upstairs and talk for a bit.” I quickly settled into the same chair that I was in the first night I came to her door, and she did the same.

“
I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed these last two week with you as my apprentice. You’re like the son I’ve always wished for; however, I know it’s not fair for me to keep you cooped up in my hall all your life. After listening to your thoughts as you worked, I have written a new lesson plan for you. Starting tomorrow, I’m giving you two more classes; well one is starting tomorrow and the other three days from now. Anyway, your mornings will be spent on my ‘surprise’ class until noon. You will also need to interact with your fellow students and apprentices; if you hang out with old elves too long, you’ll start acting like one! To fix that, you will now go to lunch at Central every day that you have class. Even though I will miss your cooking very much, it’s for the best. After lunch, you will go to your second class and be back for dinner. At this point, you’re mine and we will continue your training.”

“
If my first class is a secret, then what is my second?”

She
smiled brightly, showing each and every one of her teeth. “I thought you would never ask! Your second class is weapons and armor smithing!” I thought I was going to die right then and there. She was not only going to let me learn about magic, but smithing as well. This was like a dream come true for me.

“
I don’t know what to say” was all I could think of. What do you say to someone who made one of your wildest dreams come true and did it out of love and not greed?

“
You don’t have to say anything. Remember, I can hear your thoughts. But don’t get too excited, you still don’t know what that other class of mine is.”

“
I don’t care if it’s advanced mathematics; I’ll gladly do that and much more for you. It must not have been easy for you to get me into that class.”

“
Well, actually, it’s not a class; I just know the master smith here rather well and called in one of the many favors he owes me. But do you really want to repay me for this?”

I
nodded eagerly. “Yes, I’ll do anything!”

She
gave me an evil smirk. “Well, in that case, you can clean the lab today.” All the enthusiasm I had was drained away in seconds. I should have said anything but that!

By mid afternoon
, I had most of the lab cleaned up; that is, until Rosa came in to check on me. The rest of the evening was spent with her running all over the room rediscovering all the things she presumed lost but that were, in fact, buried under a large pile of clutter. And I would have to put it all back, again. We finally finished our little dance of cleaning and re-cleaning just before midnight.

“
I can’t remember the last time the lab was this clean!”

“
Probably six hundred ninety-nine years ago” I grumbled under my breath, but even at that low a volume, I forgot the mindreading. She spun around and punched me in the shoulder. “Hey, now that hurt!” I complained. “Remember I don’t have a magical boost to strength yet!”

“
Yeah, well, you deserved that one!” she said self-righteously. “And I have cleaned the lab before!”

“
Really? When? And don’t count the times where you tricked someone else into doing it for you.”

“
Um…well, there’s that time the cockatrice eggs hatched early and I had to hose it all down to clean up all the…Crap! Fine, you win! I don’t clean, ok? I just don’t.”

“
Then who cleans the main floors?”

“
Oh, I have housekeepers for that.”

“
And how many times did you try to get them to clean the lab, too?”

“
I’ve lost count. They always give me some lame excuse about something blowing up and being too dangerous for humans! I think they were just trying to get out of it; you’re human and you’re still alive after cleaning the place!”

“
Thanks, I’m going to bed.” Goodnight, crazy lady.

“
I heard that!”

The next day, after
my normal routine of cooking and tidying up for the seven-hundred-year-old elf who can’t cook or clean, we headed out the door for the first day of class. Rosa insisted that she come along to the first class to verify that everything was alright. Somehow, I didn’t think that was the case; she was acting like a mother who was about to send her child out on his own for the first time.

I could smell the forge befor
e we could see it. It was located out between the first and second wall, much closer to the first, because the wizards complained about the smell and the noise. Personally, I liked it; it reminded me of home. The building wasn’t so much a building as it was a giant stone cone with the largest forge I’ve ever heard about. There looked to be ten complete stations all surrounding one grand kiln. Smoke from the wood burning to charcoal was roaring out the top, and I could see the heat distortions making everything below the cone look wavy. Currently, only one of these stations was in use, by a dwarf in full swing. The noise made a heavy comforting din of activity, so much different than the quiet reflection time in Rosa’s library and I found it all very exciting!

“
Darroth, it’s good to see you again!” Rosa shouted. The dwarf put down his hammer and removed his gloves. He was stouter than most of the dwarves I had seen in Xarparion, with his reddish beard plated into stubby braids to keep it out of the coals. A worn leather jerkin and copper armbands completed his outfit.

“
Rosa, it’s good to see you, too. So what can I do for you today?”

“
You know that agreement we made last week? Well, today’s the day.”

“
Already? Then this is him?” She nodded and Darroth walked up to me and gave me a once over, paying special attention to the size of my biceps and the calluses on my hands. “Rosa tells me that you were a blacksmith before you came here, correct?”

“
Yes sir, I worked with my father.”

“
Cut the ‘sir’ crap, I don’t believe in that stuff. Well, let’s get you doing some good honest work and see what you know. From now on, anything that you learned about how to treat the metal is to be forgotten. Steel is much different from the farm grade iron you worked with. Understand? Good.” I followed him inside to the workstations, and he handed me a wrought iron bar. “Now, I know you have never done this before, but I need to get a sense of where your skills are. Today, your job is to turn that raw iron into the semblance of the blade of a long sword. I don’t care about the hilt or guard at this point, just the blade. I know whatever you end up with won’t hold an edge worth a damn or be pretty, but I’m not having you muck up a bar of good steel for an entrance exam, so get to work.” Turning his attention back to Rosa, “I’ll send him back to you when he is done with my test.”

“
If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stay and watch.”

With that
, I set to work at one of the open stations, quickly setting things up the way I liked them. I rammed the iron bar into the hottest part of the coals and was soon ready to work. After cutting the basic pattern and an hour of hammering and reheating, I started to notice changes in the bar and myself. I had a general knowledge of how to build a blade; after all, a harvesting scythe has a blade of sorts. Methodically, I concentrated on creating the bevel and that work formed a rhythm to which I was completely lost. Time meant nothing to me. I didn’t even feel the heat, flatten, fold, sand, repeat, and finally quench in the barrel of oil behind the kiln. My mind noted indifferently that the blue glow that I had last seen on the magic pot at home had found its way into the metalwork, but still I continued to plow effort into the blade. Suddenly, as if a candle were snuffed out, I came out of my daze, a bit unsteady, but curious. I looked down at what a few hours ago was just a long strip of iron and was now a complete blade, hilt, and guard, too. I stood there dumbfounded, how was this even possible? My brain and limited experience knew that there are many steps that need to be done to a sword before it is complete. It needed to be cooled slowly for hours, and then hardened and tempered so it won’t crack, then sharpened. But here it was, a sword in my hands, a nearly finished product, in less than a day. And I did it all with just a hammer and some sanding blocks? Something was very much wrong with the world as I knew it!

“
Well, that’s something I wasn’t expecting.” I jumped at the sound of a deep voice right behind me. Turning around, I spotted the dwarf stroking his braided beard with a very puzzled expression. “Now I was told that you’ve never made a sword before, but somehow, you made one in a few hours when it should take days. Care to explain this?” My mouth dropped open and I’m sure I did a reasonably precise imitation of a carp out of water. I didn’t know what to tell him, do I say that I fell into some sort of trance and just did it?

“
I’ll take that question, Darroth.” Primus Rosa got up from her chair in the corner and walked over to us. “You see, it’s rather simple, he’s my apprentice. And I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

“
Hold on just a darn minute here! Are you telling me that the boy you wanted me to train is your apprentice? And when were you going to tell me that he was an enchanter?” He huffed a little, then picked up the blade I made and looked it over. “This is some fine looking work you did here, even more so seeing that it’s just iron. Of course, it will probably snap like a twig the first time it strikes something unless you somehow found a way to magically normalize and temper it in an afternoon. But hey, I told you to fashion a sword and you more than passed. This could get interesting if we gave you some steel to play with and taught you some bladesmithing basics.”