The Missing Mage

by Robyn Wideman

  Quinton was trying to get Nathan’s attention, he had just finished making a few adjustments around the eyes of Sharon’s mom and wanted confirmation that they looked better now, but Nathan was staring off into the distance, and turning a bright red. “Are you okay Nathan?” he asked.

  Nathan brushed aside Ava’s memories and turned to Quinton, who was giving him a weird look. “What?” Nathan asked.

  “I asked if you were okay, you totally lost focus for a moment there,” replied Quinton.

  Nathan ignored the question, not wanting to explain what had just happened, especially with Rose in the room. He took another look at Quinton’s picture. “The eyes do look much better now. I think you have her parents almost perfect now. How long will it take to finish painting?”

  “Actually, I am done painting now, and it’s all magic from here.”

  Nathan smiled, when Quinton had said magic Rose had perked up as if he was offering her candy. She is going to be a mage someday, Nathan thought to himself. “That is so amazing, Quinton. I had better get back to the library. I suspect that they are waiting for me now. Rose, you get to bed soon.”

  Rose looked crestfallen. “But I want to see Quinton make a magic painting. Please Nathan, let me stay up just a little longer.”

  Nathan gave Quinton a wink. “All right, but when Quinton says bedtime, no arguments.”

  Rose shook her head vigorously. “I promise.”

  …

  Ava was asking Balthazar about infusing magic power into salves when Nathan returned. They both stopped and looked at him when he entered the room.

  “Well, did it work?” asked Balthazar.

  Nathan nodded. “I felt her emotions and was able to see her memories.”

  “Excellent, was it a happy memory?”

  “Yes, I guess you could say that,” answered Nathan.

  Balthazar could see by the bright glow of his face that perhaps asking any more about the content of Ava’s memories was a bad idea. Balthazar looked at Ava who just sat there with a small smirk on her face. Regardless of the contents of the memories, it was impressive that Ava was already able to send Nathan emotional waves. Perhaps he should retest Ava; it seemed that her magical powers have been getting stronger.

  …

  Sharon was diligently working on her new clothing when Rose came into the war room looking for her. “What are you still doing up little one? It’s late.”

  “I’m looking for you. I have something I have to show you before I go to bed.” Rose grabbed Sharon’s hand and started pulling her towards the door.

  Sharon laughed, there was no stopping Rose when she was on a mission. “Okay, I’m coming, no need to pull my arm off.” Sharon walked quickly with the young girl. When they got back to their suite and Rose pulled her towards her own room, Sharon was surprised.

  “Close your eyes,” instructed Rose.

  Sharon closed her eyes. Rose pulled her into the room, putting her in front of her bed, facing the opposite wall.

  “Okay, you can open your eyes now,” exclaimed Rose, her voice had risen almost to a yell with excitement.

  Sharon opened her eyes. On the wall across from her bed, hung a large painting. Sharon looked at the painting; it was definitely one of Quinton’s magical paintings. She recognized the gardens from the castle. The nighttime scene featured a couple dancing by themselves in the beautiful gardens. The painting began to change, the image closed in on the dancing couple. Sharon was enthralled. It hit her hard, when the painting shifted again closer to the couple and you could see their faces as they danced. The couple momentarily stopped dancing and turned, smiling, and both blew her a kiss before turning to dance again. The picture slowly zoomed out, as if they were dancing away from her. The picture of her parents was too perfect for words. Sharon just stood there while tears formed in her eyes.

  “Well, isn’t it perfect?” asked Rose. “We need to know?”

  Sharon smiled, turning and grabbing Rose and swinging her in a big circle, dancing with her like her parents danced in the painting. “We, who is we, my precious little flower?”

  A voice from the door replied. “I hope you like it. If you don’t want it, I will take it down and paint you something else.”

  Sharon set Rose down and turned to face Quinton. “Take that painting down and I will put my practice dagger through your skull. I don’t like it, I love it. It is perfect, thank you so much.”

  “I helped too,” exclaimed the jubilant Rose. She loved magic and making Sharon happy pleased the small child to no end.

  “Oh, well thank you too Rose. I love it,” said Sharon, as she leaned down, giving Rose a kiss on the forehead. She then turned and walked to the door. Giving Quinton no chance to argue or be shy she grabbed him, giving him a big hug and then leaned back and looked him in the eyes before placing a big kiss on his lips. When Rose’s giggles filled the room, Sharon pulled back and, looking Quinton deep in the eyes, she whispered softly. “It is the most beautiful painting ever. I will cherish it forever.”

  Chapter twenty four

  WHEN MORNING CAME, Nathan dressed in his vraber-skin clothing, as good the armor any knight or mercenary would ever wish to own, and gathered his weapons before saying goodbye.

  Sharon, Quinton, and Rose were surprised to hear that Nathan would be going with Balthazar. Nathan had not told them anything about his plans the previous night. “It’s not really a big deal. We are just going to check on a friend of Balthazar’s and work on magic lessons. Verin and his rangers are the ones who are going into dangerous areas,” Nathan lied. He did not want his friends worrying about him. It would serve no purpose. Ava knew parts of the truth and Avera knew all of it, which was enough.

  “I am not sure about that. Everything I hear says the entire forest is dangerous right now, but you are traveling with the most powerful mage in the kingdom, so I suppose it is safe enough,” replied Quinton, doubtfully.

  Sharon gave Nathan a quick hug. “Hurry back, I am going to miss using your workshop while you are gone. Oh, and I might miss you too,” she teased.

  “Well, I’m glad to know I am almost as important as my workshop. You can use it any time you want. Can’t have you slacking off of weapons practice just because I am gone.”

  Next Nathan hugged Ava, who held him tight. “Try not to worry too much, Ava. Balthazar is the most powerful mage in the city. I should be fine.”

  “Pfft, I expect you to protect Balthazar, he might be the most powerful mage in the city, but he is no spring chicken. You are young, well trained, and have the best armor around. I am not worried about you. You bring my magic teacher back in one piece or else mister.”

  Nathan looked carefully at Ava, as they worked on connecting their minds, he was becoming much more attuned to her moods and feelings. He could tell that even though she was being cheeky about it, she was not angry or worried that he was going on a quest. This was a relief, he was glad that she was accepting that life was different now and so was he.

  …

  “I am getting too old for all this walking, perhaps I should have reconsidered the idea of using horses,” said Balthazar.

  Nathan, Balthazar, and a ranger named Corey Poole, had been walking through the forest all morning, the mild weather and slow pace made for a pleasant walk. Nathan knew Balthazar was not serious about his complaints regarding walking, as the man looked fine and had a bit of a smile as he said it. Obviously, the mage was enjoying being out of the city.

  “Were you not the one who said ‘horses are too easy to spot’?” asked Nathan.

  “You are just disappointed that you had to leave Thorn at home,” said Balthazar with a laugh. “I don’t blame you. Your horse is a beautiful animal, and I too would be looking for reasons to go riding. But, as much as riding to Cyrnic’s house would have been quicker, it is vital that we are careful and don’t run into our enemies unaware. An extra day of travel is well worth it. Besides, this way we able to put some of our traveling time to good use. Ha
ve you made any attempts to send memories to Ava since we left the city?”

  Nathan nodded. “A couple times. She has sent some memories as well. The connection is weaker as we get farther from the city, but it is still there.”

  “Good, that is an excellent sign. The next step is to progress beyond powerful memories to more current ones. Right now, take a good look around, she can’t see what you see. But, if you close your eyes and picture what you just saw, you have a recent memory that can be shared. Recent memories can distort as they travel, so what she sees won’t be a perfect replicate, but it should be close enough that she can tell we walking through the forest and she will know your current emotions.”

  “She will be able to tell how I feel from me looking at trees?” asked Nathan, slightly confused.

  “No, you are not just sending what your eyes see. When you remember this forest, you might be thinking about the scent of the pines, the way the ground feels as you walk, the breeze touching your skin. Your most recent memories are often all of your senses combined, that is part of why they get distorted. You are sending a lot of information at once. Older, more powerful, images tend to carry only the vital info. The senses that were triggered for that memory might only be an image or a smell or a combination of a couple senses while the less important details are removed. Your old memories are like sending someone a letter. A current memory is more like a book, it is much more complex and the amount of info is substantially larger. However, once you get used to sending each other current memories you have an ability to communicate that is not far from talking out loud.”

  “So how come I just don’t try talking to her in my mind then? Wouldn’t that be the easiest way to communicate?”

  Balthazar shook his head. “Easiest? Perhaps, but certainly not the smartest. If we consider an old memory a letter, a new memory a book, then trying to talk to each other right now would be like focusing on every book in a huge library all at once. Your brain would overload, it would be dangerous. Your memories would entangle with hers, confusing your mind. People have gone crazy from this. No, the correct path is progressive training to slowly build up your connection. It might not be necessary, some people naturally develop the magical connection. But the risk is not worth it.”

  Going crazy? That did not sound like fun, Nathan thought. “You might have mentioned that sooner. I was trying to send her thoughts before.”

  “Your connection is not strong enough for that just yet, and you probably wouldn’t go crazy right away, the first time you actually ‘talked’ with her in your mind you might pass out,” replied Balthazar, downplaying the potential danger of a first conversation.

  “Oh, only pass out, that is comforting,” replied Nathan.

  …

  “So what do you think of my new armor?” asked Sharon.

  Quinton examined her new outfit. Tight red leggings, topped with a black shirt decorated with red embroidery work that ended around her neck, leaving her shoulders and arms and a healthy hint of cleavage exposed. Red gauntlets covered her forearms. On closer inspection, the embroidery work on her top was an intricate design of roses and knives. An interesting choice, Quinton thought. Overall, the outfit was not one Quinton would think of as that of a warrior, but it was a beautifully made. “Well, I am not sure I would consider that armor, but it you look amazing in it,” Quinton answered honestly.

  Sharon beamed, twirled around, and laughed. “It is not the most modest outfit, but it certainly is functional and it is armor. This is the spider silk, no clunky metal or thick bulky leather. I can move perfectly and all my vitals are protected. As for looking amazing, well I do work in the best dress shop in Balta. I can’t go around looking like a hobo, and besides if having boobs is going to distract men while they are fighting, might as well use it to my advantage.”

  Quinton grinned and tilted his head to examine the body parts discussed.

  Sharon smacked Quinton on the arm. “No peeking down my top. Well not right now anyways, you are helping me with dagger training today.”

  Quinton groaned, she was dressed like that and being flirty and he was supposed to concentrate on daggers? Life was cruel some times. “Right, daggers. Today we will just spar. You already have good technique and footwork from your lessons with Nathan, it is just a matter of practicing now.”

  A bruised and exhausted Quinton called an end to the training lesson. Sharon was a holy terror with her daggers. In her few short days of training, she had already elevated herself to a level of combat skills that equaled most of the soldiers in the navy where he had trained. A far cry from the last time they had sparred. “I give up. You are too good for me already.”

  Sharon smiled brightly, ever since Nathan had started to teach her, she had been spending extra hours each day and night working on her footwork and techniques with the training dummy. Nathan was still too good for her to defeat, but beating Quinton was a major accomplishment. “You are not going to be one of those boys that gets upset because his girlfriend is better with a weapon are you?”

  “No, I am not. Wait, did you say girlfriend?” Quinton’s eyes widened at what his ears thought they heard.

  “Yes, I am not waiting around for some Balta floozy to steal my mage. You now have a girlfriend so act accordingly,” said Sharon as she raised a dagger to point at Quinton to give a playful emphasis her point.

  Quinton didn’t know what was more terrifying, the idea that she might use the dagger on him, or the fact that he had just been anointed boyfriend. Either way he couldn’t imagine a better outcome to getting his butt kicked in training. “Does this mean I won’t get stabbed for peeking down your top?”

  “Peeking in private is okay, but be a creeper in public and the dagger you get.”

  “there is no one around now,” Quinton pointed out.

  Sharon smirked and shook her head. “Sorry I am not done training yet, you need to get ready for round two.”

  Quinton groaned. “You may be ready for round two, but I am done. I have an alternative for you. The next best thing to me… me.” Quinton turned and pointed to the practice dummy and, with a wave of his hand, the dummy turned into a replica of him.

  The dummy smiled and waved its small sword before taking a defensive position.

  “Wow,” said Sharon. “That is awesome, how much does it move?”

  “Evil warlord dummy doesn’t move forward or back, but the illusion is strong and the sword will move. It will seem like you are fighting the real me, except for the fact that he doesn’t move. He will parry, attack, and defend. Nathan and I worked on it late last night. I might have been the model for this handsome warrior, but Nathan provided the swordsmanship. Attacking the dummy will be a challenge for you. It should help your training a lot.”

  “That is so awesome, and I think the dummy is cuter than you. How is his kissing?”

  “Hey!” protested Quinton. “If you are my girlfriend that means no kissing other guys, even if it is a practice dummy. If you need a practice kissing a dummy, that is my job.”

  “That might not be a bad idea, maybe after I kick the evil warlord dummy’s butt,” replied Sharon with a wink.

  Quinton blushed. He liked the sound of that.

  …

  Helena stood beside Ava and watched as she transferred her magical energy into her salves. “Good work Ava you are already getting better at transferring magic. I can tell without even doing a spell that these ones are better than what you did yesterday. You will be a good healer in no time at this rate. It will take you longer to familiarize yourself with traditional healing than it will using magic.”

  Ava was happy, this was her second day working in the infirmary with Helena. So far Helena had been a wealth of wisdom. Her knowledge of herbs and plants was extensive and she had many helpful hints on how to magically improve each potion or salve that Ava already knew how to make. Ava might not end up being a traditional healer but her potions and salves were quickly becoming very powerful. “Thank you He
lena. Do you think we can work on combat magic for a while now? I would like to learn more.”

  “Certainly, what would you like to focus on?”

  Ava thought about it for a moment before answering. She already had the bloodstone rocks Nathan had imbued for her so she wasn’t without weapons. “Something defensive,” she finally answered.

  “Wise choice, Ava, combat isn’t just about being able to attack. Magic can be a very strong defensive skill. Magical energy shields can defend an entire army from attacks if the mage is strong enough. But, even on a smaller scale, an energy shield can help a small group of people. Say you are attending to a wounded soldier and a fireball is coming towards you both. You can surround yourself and the soldier. Like other spells, we will start small and you can practice increasing the size of your energy shield as you strengthen your magical powers.”

  Ava liked the sound of that. ”Okay, so how do I make an energy shield?”

  “Wait here one minute,” said Helena as she walked away. Shortly Helena returned carrying an old wooden shield. “Take this shield, carry it. Get used to it, have one of your friends attack you. Spar with them using this shield. Using that shield to defend yourself should become second nature. “

  Ava took the wooden shield and hefted it about. It was reasonably light. She could easily lift and hold it with one hand.

  “Making an energy shield takes a bit of energy. Start by trying to make a small ball of energy above your hand, like this.”

  Ava watched as Helena made a small ball of energy appear above the palm of her hand. The ball of magical energy flashed and pulsed. Ava was familiar with transferring her magical energy into objects, but she had never transferred energy into air. “How do I make the ball appear?” she asked.