THE MAGE SLAYER
CHAPTER 1
“This is going to be so fun, I can hardly wait to get there” Teresa screamed as she walked inside the study room of the keep.
“Get where?” Ray replied.
“What do you mean get where?” Teresa said stunned as she walked over and spread open the curtains to let the sun inside. “We are going to Queen’s ball, every noble is invited no matter their station. I have only been talking about it for a year and a half now”.
“Well have fun” Ray replied as he continued reading his book.
“What do you mean have fun?” Teresa asked. “You are coming as well, all the noble teens will be there, it is Princess Melody’s coming out party. She is officially available for courtship and every noble male between 14 and 19 are invited. Queen Synfany is adamant the princess does not marry a man much older like the Queen had to and has invited all available suitors to her home, so the princess can know her future subjects, possible confidants and meet some potential husbands. What is even better is that all noble females between the same ages are also invited. This is going to be a big matchmaking event, I thought you would be more excited”.
“I am not going” Ray replied as he turned the page. “I am not even a noble”.
“Ray you are my brother” Teresa replied. “Your adoption was legal and that makes you a noble as well”.
“I still am not going” Ray replied as he got to the passage he was looking for about staff making. “I have a new book, I have no need to go anywhere”.
“All you care about are those stupid books and those stupid pieces of wood” Teresa barked as she walked over and closed the book. “We finally have a chance to be lifted out of our station and move somewhere different, see the big city and meet splendid people instead of being out here in the middle of nowhere”.
“We make enough money” Ray replied as he opened back up his book. “And the staves we make bring in a good income, as does the food we sell”.
“We don’t even have servants Ray” Melody complained. “We have a small sliver of land no bigger than two acres that has to be split between us. When another house is built that will shrink the size down even more. Look at you Ray, you could walk out of there with Princess Melody’s favor. I doubt any girl there will fail to look twice at the dashing Ray Riverdale”.
“No one there interest me” Ray replied as he started reading about staff making again.
“You haven’t even met any of them and you barely leave the house as it is” Teresa complained. “I don’t even think you know other boys your age, you just sit there and read books or go off and play in the dirt or make your little staves”.
“I know plenty of people” Ray replied.
“I am not talking about the people you sell crop to or the traders that buy your staves” Teresa said with a sigh. “There are no nobles around here, we may be minor nobles but I am not going to wind up with this life, just look at me Ray”.
Ray closed his book and looked over his adopted sister, this was not the life she wanted, it was not even the life he wanted. Ray was once one of the wildmen of the forest, his people called themselves the Gaea after the mother god of earth. They had their own cities and their own hierarchy but they also had two valuable resources that the people of Holyan wanted, one of which was Rosewood. Rosewood was sacred to his people, it was hard to grow and made good items. The people of Holyan wanted the wood to make staves for their mages. Every mage needed a staff to be effective, but making a staff was notoriously difficult. Not every piece of wood was viable and even then everyone had their own secret to ensure magic could be harnessed by the staff they made. Rosewood needed no special attention, all anyone had to do was to shape the wood in the correct dimensions and the staff would work. What the people of Holyan didn’t know was that a big part of the reason it worked was because of how it was grown.
The Gaea had their own people who could be called mages but the styles couldn’t be more different compared to the outside world. The Gaea could grow things, enrich soil and were good at making different poultices and potions. The Gaea mages though were no match for the people of Holyan, Ray was the son of the great shaman of the Gaea, his mother Raelin. She and others had come up with a plan to defeat the Outsiders, they had a way to diminish the magic that was being thrown at them. If they could defeat the enemy mages then they would only have the soldiers to worry about, this plan was risky but doable. The people of Gaea were thinking long term and thought their fight would last decades, after all they had been in conflict with different Outsiders for centuries and had always did just enough to keep their enemies at bay. Ray didn’t remember most of the technique his mother used, he only knew it involved killing mages and using their blood mixed with some other stuff to make intricate tattoos. The subject receiving the tattoo had to be young so their body would still be growing and get used to the change, Ray was the first and only person to be experimented on. He could still remember when a guard came in and told them they were surrounded and that Outsider men had come into the great forest for the Rosewood and was intent on killing the Gaea for the resource. Ray could remember his mother’s worried face, she needed one more mage to complete things. The blood of the killed mages was only viable for minutes after death and his tattoo still needed to be finished and activated. Ray could remember his father holding his war staff and looking upset as his mother whispered something to his father. Ray could see his mother grab something off a shelf and put it on a rag and smother him with it, it was something to make him sleep. When Ray woke or was woken up his mother lay dead on the floor, her wrist slit and her tattoo needle still in her hand. His father was dead also, he had four wounds all over his chest and had bled out. Men grabbed Ray, and ushered him out of room, he was five at the time and scared to death. Ray thought they would kill him but they had other plans.
The Gaea always thought long term and had several different diseases they plagued the Outsiders with, the worst one was what the Holyan called the cull. The cull made men sterile and was highly contagious, it was spread by treating the Rosewood with a special potion, any man who touched it had the disease and he could spread it to anyone he touched. The fact that only a few children were being born was big news, Holyan lost men due to war and other things and had no way of replenishing their stock. The only people who were immune to this were the Gaea, they could neither spread it or contract it, the disease died the instant it touched them by design. Because of this many Gaea male children had been taken, they were being matched up with poor peasant women to have children. Holyan needed future laborers and soldiers and this was the best way they knew how to do it. The problem was that not many male Gaea existed even in the great forest, women outnumbered them by a sizable margin, Ray remembered this since he only had two male friends around his age. Men from Holyan who fought in the forest could keep anything or anyone they came across, Ray was taken and then sold to Ray Riverdale IV to pay off a gambling debt and Riverdale adopted him and gave him the name Ray. Ray’s real name was Rae’aln’or. Riverdale thought it sounded close enough to his own name and adopted the boy with the strange tattoos but Ray knew they were much more than that.
Ray noticed a difference between himself and others instantly, the tattoos had given him strength far over what a normal man should be capable of, skin as tough and hard as thick leather armor, speed greater than should be possible and increased size. The Gaea were not big people overall, the females were bigger all around compared to the smaller males. The Gaea females were the size of a normal sized woman and the men were considered petite, they were all around five feet but were faster than normal Outsider men. Ray didn’t remember how big his father was but doubted the man reached the level Ray was at. R
ay towered over his adopted family and had many muscles although he did no exercise other than chopping wood and making staves but that was few and far between since he only sold a couple of those a month. Ray looked like a Gaea, he had the rust colored skin and the purple eyes found in all Gaea mages. His hair was typical of the Gaea, it was flat and jet black although he had it cut short like his adopted father Ray did before the man died during a hunting accident a year ago. Ray was now the man of the house, the talent he inherited from his mother had really manifested itself a year before his adopted father died and Ray had used it to grow crops that should be out of season. The family went from almost destitute to making a decent living, they fixed up their old home and Ray started making staves out of cheap wood for fun. It was only after his father died did he actually sell one and had the same trader coming back asking for more. Because of that and the food, his family now had over 300 gold in the bank and the same amount of silver hidden in the house.
“Are you listening to me Ray!” Teresa said as she shook him.
“Sorry things were going through my head” Ray replied.
“This needs to be going through your head” Teresa said as she took the book and tossed it. “You are not worried about anything but I have much to worry about. Men will be there with the mark Ray, I have to go but I can’t go alone! I don’t know anybody that will be there except our closest relation but you already know how I feel about them”.
Ray sighed at this, Teresa did have a point. All males were given a physical to determine if they were able to have children, it was pretty easy to tell from what Ray was told since they wouldn’t have stones floating around in their sack, their body would absorb them which left a lot of eunuchs running around. Those who could have children were given a very painful mark by the mages on the sides of their neck just below the right ear. When a female touched it, it would glow. Ray’s adopted father had taken him to receive his and the mark was now just below his ear. It took many tries to take, Ray’s body would just absorb and heal the wound. It was symbolic Ray thought, everyone knew Gaea men could have children but his adopted father wanted it done anyway.
“I am telling mother Ray” Teresa said as she straightened. “She understands me”.
Ray watched Teresa stomp off and prepared himself for the same argument he had been having with his adopted mother. His mother Gertrude had wanted to move into a city and buy an estate complete with servants. Ray refused to do this as he liked where he was and felt connected with the earth around him. Why should he move to a city full of buildings when he had lush greenery just outside of his door? He didn’t have to dress up all fancy or act a certain way out here, he could grow his crops, improve his staff making and not worry about all the stares he always received. Many people could pick him out as being Gaea, that wasn’t hard but they always pointed out his size or his eyes. The mages of Gaea for the most part were left alone after the war and returned to the forest, Ray doubted the Outsiders knew what a mage looked like or they would have been taken. Most were females, while the Gaea males were welcomed in Holyan the females were not. People argued that the males would just stick to their own kind, because of this it was encouraged for the women to return to the forest. Ray braced himself as his mother walked into the study.
“You are going on this trip Ray” Gertrude said as she walked in with Teresa behind her. “No one wants to stay here in this place and a trip away would do you some good. Your sister and I have already taken the liberty of getting you some nice clothes made. If anything you could sell more produce and things to the people in the capital. You can read whatever stupid book you had open on the trip there”.
“The stupid books I read are the reason we have meat on the table everyday mother” Ray replied. “I have more things to worry about than some stupid dance for some stupid girl”. Ray didn’t wince or move as his mother slapped him hard across the face. Ray saw the blow and heard the sound it made but knew his mother hurt her hand with the blow. Ray opened his desk drawer and took out a small jar and spread the contents on a small cloth and put it on his mother’s hand.
“You don’t talk about the princess like that” his mother winced as the poultice started working. “Every since your father died I have been trapped in here with no way to take my mind off of things”.
“I’ll go to the stupid ball” Ray replied. “It is a waste of my time, what exactly are you going to be doing there mother?”
“There is also a gathering for the parents” Gertrude replied as she flexed her hand. “So potential matches can be discussed. I will be around people my own age and it will be the first time they can’t look down on me”.
Ray knew what his mother was talking about, their family had always been poor and wore the same outfit until it was threadbare. Their nice clothes were kept hanging up and rarely worn but it becomes obvious when someone wears the same outfit and his mother’s dress had went out of style. Ray never went with them to any festival or anything and preferred to stay home, his father let him and Ray was happy. They would always come back with stories about how nasty they were treated by the Treachers. The Treachers were a distant relation, a long time ago the fifth son of who was then Baronet Treacher had a fourth son and that fourth son’s daughter married Ray Riverdale II who had a similar story. As a wedding gift, Baron Treacher gave Riverdale II a worthless piece of land and he had a house built on it. The house used to be a one story with four rooms total, currently it had a sitting room, five bedrooms and was a two story. It was where the majority of the money Ray made went to. The new Treachers didn’t know this though and probably didn’t care, they were well off and liked to look down on lesser nobles. Their twin daughters were mean brats as was their fat son Gregory. Ray had only seen them a few times many years ago since it was below their station to travel down to Ray’s home and he hated their company. They called him Gaea, the title given to any man of Gaea birth but used more as a slur. Holyan men were not happy they could not make babies and took out their frustrations on the shorter Gaea, not using their given name was one way of doing it.
“You have new clothes then?” Ray asked his mother.
“And a carriage that should be completed along with four good horses to pull it with” Gertrude replied.
“How much did all of this cost?” Ray said breaking away in shock.
“A lot” Gertrude replied.
Ray could see this meant something to his mother, she would finally get to step out like a grand noble and show off a bit and wanted both of her kids there to enjoy it.
“No splurging until we get to the capital and I need to bring my wagon to recoup whatever it is you just spent” Ray said as he could see his mother and sister’s face light up that he had given in. “And I don’t want to meet or dance with any silly girl there, I am just going to make sure my sister doesn’t get into too much trouble and if any of those old farts there try to get fresh with you mother just know they gotta go through me first”.
“As if anyone would want me, I am an old lady” his mother blushed. “And don’t use those kinds of words around me and Teresa”.
Ray watched them walk away and knew at least someone would try. His mother was plain faced and used to have the body of an older woman that had given birth multiple times. Gertrude had three stillborn babies before Teresa and her body used to look it. When Ray was experimented on, he had some of the knowledge of those killed imprinted on his brain. While he did not know who their wives were or their favorite food he kept a lot of the dead mages knowledge, including that of his mother. One of the things he was able to recreate were the potions given to various people, Gaea warriors ate differently than nursing mothers. Ray had used a combination of this to eliminate the fat his mother and sister used to carry around and make their hips shapelier and their breasts bigger. Their skin was clear of any blemish and Ray just told them it was because they were eating cleaner which was just a half truth. Any man who saw them would have to notice their luscious brown hair
and clear skin, combine that with their figure and any shortcomings they may have had in facial features could be overlooked. Ray picked back up his book and looked through it again, he just couldn’t get the staves made correctly.
Ray wanted to use Rosewood but it was practically non-existent now, the pieces that were taken had either been destroyed or hoarded and according to the Holyan, the seeds wouldn’t grow outside of the great forest. Ray thought he could grow his own tree though, he was a mage capable of growing a single harvest in the span of minutes instead of days or months but the book he was reading on how a rosewood staff could be shaped was a little confusing. Normally staves were between six and seven feet tall and no wider than a three inch radius. This book claimed a rosewood staff could technically be made much shorter than that, more like a walking stick than a true mage’s staff. Maybe it could be Ray thought, he wouldn’t know for certain until he got ahold of some Rosewood but that was unlikely to happen. Ray got up and gathered everything he would need on the trip, he would need sod and fruit seeds and he would gather all twelve of the staves he had made, there were mages in Xalen and he could charge them far more than what the trader paid him. The trader wasn’t certain he was getting a working staff so he only paid a silver for each one, Ray had sold the man a decent amount but always just one or two a month instead of the 50 or so he wanted. Ray figured he should be able to get a gold piece out of it but would try for three. Not all staves were created equal, although some could focus and channel magic, others could do it better. Ray wasn’t sure where his staves were in the hierarchy but hoped it was at least somewhere in the middle.
CHAPTER 2
The Travelers
Ray followed the carriage with his old beat up wagon, the wagon had seen much better days but it could make the trip to Xalen. Ray had been on the road for a week now, he made easy money in whatever town he stopped at, spineberry was not in season and even then it was hard to grow. It was one of Ray’s cash crops and he found out all who traded with him must have made good profit off of his hard work. Spineberry was a fruit the Gaea ate, it could last two weeks off the vine and had a perfect mixture of sweetness and tartness. Spineberry was also tough to grow away from the great forest, each vine normally only had a few berries on it and could only be planted and harvested in late winter. Ray got around this using magic and saw that the fruit he normally sold for a silver a pound could go for a gold a pound. While a gold for a pound of fruit was ridiculously expensive, the fruit had other qualities, it acted as a potent aphrodisiac to Outsiders and was apparently more sought after than Ray had thought. Deviant fruit is what Gertrude called it and forbid it in her home and Teresa from eating it. His father though when he was alive had snuck the juice of one in his mother’s drink a few times. Maybe getting out was what he needed to do, just this trip alone he had made 20 gold and he hadn’t even reached the capital yet, he used the money to stay at inns and treat his family well while they traveled, something both women appreciated since they had people running around desperate to please them since both of the women were decent tippers. Ray though didn’t eat the food the places had served, he was content with the spineberry he would grow and would probably eat better once they reached the capital. He stuck out in the small towns they passed even though he was plainly dressed and wore a big floppy hat like most farmers. But his height was a talking point, especially when they saw he was Gaea. Some were just curious and some felt threatened by him, a couple of women had even propositioned him to work in the houses, but he would never do that.
The Mage Slayer Page 1
