Rising of a Mage (7 page)

“We’re just friends, Ma” he said, but she just looked at Mariah and smiled… and why did Mariah smile back.

Mariah had to admit she was enjoying this. Anwar wasn’t showing any emotion just like every other time, but she was enjoying this topic. She was going anywhere near it, of course. Anwar would bring it up when he was ready to, but she was enjoying it, anyway. She new Anwar cared about her and she wasn’t going to press the issue.

When they left, they went back to the guild. She went back to his room with him where he packed a blanket, a knife and, of course, a book into his pack, and then grabbed his staff. He followed her to the room that she shared with another girl. All students shared a room, but Anwar didn’t, because he was a guild masters’ apprentice and there were a couple of apprentices to other priests or wizards and they had their own room. Mariah checked that her roommate was not in the room and then told him to come in. This was the first time he had ever been in her room and he noticed that, even though her room was set up for two people, it was not much larger than his. Their bathing room was twice the size of his, however. She packed a blanket, a knife which she slid into her boot, her bow, her sword, and a camp cook set that contained two tin cups, two forks, two spoons, two tin plates and a pan. Once she was packed they left the room. They left to go inform their guild masters of their plans.

Anwar walked into Master Gabriel’s office. “Sir, do you have a minute.”

“I always have a minute for my apprentice.”

“Sir, I just wanted to inform you I am going into the woods tonight.”

“Are you going alone?”

“No, sir, Mariah was planning on going and I didn’t think it wise for her to go alone.”

“Ah, yes, quite noble, and when can I expect your return?”

“We will return before her classes on Monday, sir.”

“Very well. I believe you have mastered the practical uses of magic. On Monday we will begin your practice of the basics of magical combat. Here is your first book. Monday we can discuss it and we shall begin.” Anwar was excited but he showed no outward sign. Gabriel knew he was excited and continued to be impressed by how well Anwar controlled his emotion. In fact, the only time he had seen Anwar show any real emotion was from a distance when Anwar was with Mariah. “Thank you, sir, I’ll see you Monday.”

He left the office and followed Mariah toward Master Gibbins’ office. “Nice book,” she said, smiling at him. “I believe you have read more books in your six months here, than most do in a six-year study course here at the school.”

Anwar countered this with, “And you have spent more time in the training grounds then any priest who has ever gone through the school, I have no doubt.”

“Aye, but still you remain my better.”

He gave her a polite smile before she went into Guild Master Gibbins’ office.

“How are you, Mariah?” He said as she entered.

“I am fine, sir. I just wanted to make sure that it is ok if I go into the woods this weekend.”

Master Gibbins raised a curious eyebrow. “You are a brave one to return to those woods after your last experience.”

“Thank you, sir. I would have returned sooner, but I have been quite busy.”

“Yes, your instructors say you are far ahead of your classes. I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“Sir?”

He smiled. “Mariah, your instructors say you are far beyond the abilities of your classmates, that you are teaching yourself the lessons so that you have practically mastered skills by the time the class approaches the subject. I would like to take you on as my personal apprentice, if you so desire.”

“I would be honored, sir.”

“It is settled then. Monday you will check in with me after you return. I must be honest; I am a little uncomfortable with you going into the woods alone again.”

“Anwar is going with me, sir. He insisted I not go alone.”

“Yes, I suppose I should have known. Very well then. I will see you Monday.” With that she left.

They set up their camp just inside the woods near a stream about an hour’s walk from the city. Anwar was following Mariah when she froze. There was a fat rabbit hopping away from them and, by the time he realized what she was looking at, the arrow was in the air. It took the rabbit in the back. Anwar was a good shot with a bow, but he had to admit she was better. He walked up to it and removed the arrow. The head of it had broken on the rabbit’s spine. He cut away the head and feet, and then he cut from the inside of one leg to the inside of the other, before peeling the hide up the body. He handed the meat rabbit to Mariah. When they got back to their camp, she saw that he was still carrying the rabbit hide.

“What are you going to make with that?”

“One day I will show you,” he said. Then he went to the creek and cleaned it and hung it on a branch to dry. Mariah smothered the rabbit in pine needles and then wrapped a string around it to hold them in place. Then she skewered the rabbit and cooked it over the fire. When it was done she brushed away the pine needles and cut it into pieces. She took out their plates, and they ate. He read his book while she cooked, looking up occasionally at her and smiling.

As they ate, Anwar nodded in approval and said, “Not bad.” They spent the next hour sparring lightly with each other. These days, as well as sparring against each other, they sparred as a pair against other pairs at the guild, even sometimes four on two. They had entered themselves in a pairs city competition to take place two weeks from now. They would be younger than everyone else. Most of the pairs they would fight would be members of the city guard, but they were learning each other’s movements. They fought in harmony with each other that left few openings. The fact that Anwar had grown another two inches and gained nearly thirty pounds of lean muscle in the last six and a half months didn’t hurt either. He was already the strongest in the guild, including the guards, and he wasn’t even sixteen yet. After they had finished sparring, Anwar spent an hour studying his new book.

“What is this one about?” Mariah asked.

“It is the introduction to magical combat. Monday I start learning to fight with magic.”

“That’s great! Monday is a big day for me too.”

“Really? What are you doing?”

“Monday I start my apprenticeship with Guild Master Gibbins. I will be assisting in all of his healings and take my lessons directly from him.” “That’s great. Riah”

“Well, I’ll let you finish studying. I’m going to go set a bed while there’s still light to do so.” Anwar wanted to say—There’s always light to do so; you just have to ask—but instead he said, “Ok, thanks, my blanket is in my bag.”

Mariah decided she was going to make one bed, lying on his blanket and under hers. She made a bed of pine bows and then laid his blanket over it and folded hers in half over his. When she was finished, she lay down and watched him. A few minutes later, he closed his book, suffocated the fire and walked to the little shelter. He noticed she had made only one bed and thought, well, we slept in the same bed before. He climbed under the blanket behind her, unfolding the blanket over them, and then put one arm around her. He justified it in his head—its more comfortable this way. Mariah did not say anything; her last thought before falling asleep was that her body fit perfectly in his.

Anwar woke to the sound of something moving in the dark. He put his hand over Mariah’s mouth and nudged her awake. “Shhh, stay here! Don’t move and be quiet.”

She did not know what was going on but she trusted him, and did what he said. He stepped out of their shelter, taking up his staff. The noise was only about ten feet away now. He made a fifteen-foot ring of light and there it was—a huge black cat. It must weigh nearly two hundred pounds, he thought. He thought of the first attack he was studying in his book, a basic magic bolt. He had not mastered it, but he knew it well enough to do it once. He willed the magic, said the word and a bolt that looked like an arrow shot from the end of his staff into the back of the huge cat’s neck at the base of its head. The bolt impacted, jolted and the beast was dead before its body could even register the pain of the impact. Anwar walked to the animal, closed its eyelids, and told Mariah she could come out. He flicked a finger and walked to Mariah’s gear. She looked at the beast. “By the gods, what is that?”

“That cat is called a panther.”

He walked back with Mariah’s sword and removed the huge cat’s head. He skinned the panther, carried the carcass away from their camp and then went to the stream to wash the panther hide. It took at least an hour before he was finished and then he returned to the camp and hung it next to the rabbit’s hide. Then he made sure there was no blood trail from where he had carried the body and threw all the bloodied dirt from the ground were the beast had died into the fire. When he was finally done he looked at Mariah, who was smiling at him.

“What are you smiling about?”

“You just seem to know everything.”

“I read a lot of books.”

She laughed.

“No, I used to go camping with my father; he taught me a lot.”

Then they lay back down the same way they had before.

“Anwar, you are amazing. I am glad you are with me.”

The next day was rather uneventful. They sparred, studied and talked. Mariah killed another rabbit and fried it in her pan this time. It wasn’t as good, but he wasn’t telling her that, and they slept again. The next morning they got up early and packed up their camp. Anwar stuffed the panther fur and the two rabbit furs in his pack and knew what he was getting Mariah for her birthday, which was still two months away.

Chapter Six

The Gift

A
nwar took a short nap before going to see Master Gabriel. As he lay in his bed, he was already missing having Mariah in his arms. He woke a short time later, dressed, took his book and headed to see his mentor.

“So how was your trip?”

“It went well. I finished reading the book but will need to spend some more time with it. I killed a panther with a magic bolt, and I think that Mariah and I are nearly ready for the Dual Duelz,” he said in a completely non-committal tone, as if he was relaying the weather.

“What was that second part?”

“I’m going to need some more time with the book. I finished reading it but there are quite a few spells in here I will have to copy. There are also a few subjects that I will need some more time studying and compare with some of my previous notes to come to a more certain conclusion of how to interpret them.”

“Anwar, I often forget how young you are. Your appearance makes you seem nearer eighteen and our conversations often would make you my equal. But, as interesting as it is to see how well you are mastering diversion, I believe I would like to hear more about the next part of your story.”

Anwar nodded. “A panther came into our camp in the middle of the night. I was unaware of what it was when I heard it. It may have left us alone completely, if I had not come out, but I think it was better to deal with it, than wait and find out. I had read the magic bolt spell over and over, so, when I lit the area and saw the panther, I cast the spell. I had obviously not mastered the spell, so I willed the bolt, pictured it hitting the target where I wanted, said the command word and killed the panther. Like you said, I forgot the spell once it was cast. I have, however, relearned it and I believe I have now nearly mastered it well enough to retain the ability to use it again once cast.”

“Anwar, you continue to impress me.”

“Sir, there was one more thing I feel I should understand, but I am still unsure of.”

“And that would be?”

“Well, sir, when I cast the spell I felt a pull as it left, almost as if I felt the energy that the bolt used as it left me. It was not substantial, but I did feel it.”

Master Gabriel smiled. Why did he look so pleased by this?

“Anwar, have you ever felt this before?”

“Yes sir. Every time I cast magic this weekend, even if it was just to make light, I could feel it, but with light or fire it was hardly noticeable.” “Yes, yes, very good, Anwar. You have learned to truly control magic. The pull that you feel is you controlling the magic and the amount of energy that you allow to put into the magic itself. It seems that you controlled the spell so that it would use the minimal amount of energy necessary to kill the animal, rather than allow the bolt to completely destroy it.”

“Yes, sir, now I remember. I will return to my notes and study this more. I remember reading about it and now it truly makes sense to me. There was one more thing I wanted to ask, if you could help me, sir?”

“Anwar, it would seem you guide your training to what you desire before I offer what I feel you should learn. I am sure you are about to do it again”

“Ah… yes. Sir? I was hoping to make the panther’s hide into a coat as well as the two rabbit hides I collected this weekend. The panther’s fur is jet black and the rabbits were both a snowy white. I believe it will make a beautiful coat and I would like to imbue the coat with magic. I have been reading about enchantments and the creation of magical items. I read about one enchantment that will make clothing keep its wearer warm in the cold and cool in the heat, but I have not been able to figure out exactly how it is done.”