The Lightning Mage

by Whiskey Flowers

  “That is a shame, only three commoners out of that whole lot back there could read Monica,” Farrah Golad said to another girl, which caused them both to laugh.

  “Well what do you expect, most of them look like they haven’t met a good comb or brush before” Monica replied.

  “Well at least they are not all pathetic,” a feminine looking man said, joining the conversation. “Three of them have made it this far. Of course they will all die at their first battle so they shouldn’t get a big head about it.”

  “Leave them alone Gerald,” Farrah said laughing. “They have made it this far. At least let them bask in their achievement before this next test brings them down to reality.”

  “Casting magelight is easy,” Monica said and looked right at Jonathan. “Don’t you wish you could do this?” Monica cast magelight and let it play in her hand.

  “Me?” Jonathan asked.

  “Monica you are scaring him,” Farrah said laughing. “Just look at the expression on his face, he probably has never seen real magic before.”

  “Pity,” Monica said. “So who are you? Some peasant that found out you have magic and got lucky.”

  “He is not poor,” Farrah said, as she looked down at Jonathan’s hands. “And he doesn’t work out in the fields or with his hands. We have plenty of hard working men in the Duchy and they all have rough looking hands.”

  “Look how skinny he is,” Monica said. “Maybe he is a messenger or something. Is that it?”

  “No,” Jonathan said.

  “He has a country accent,” Farrah said. “What job did you have prior to coming here?”

  “None really,” Jonathan said.

  “Well you had to do something to eat,” Farrah said.

  “I helped my grandfather with his horses sometimes,” Jonathan said.

  “So that’s it,” Farrah said. “Your parents are servants or something and your grandfather is a stablemaster for someone. Probably someone wealthy and he was able to get someone to teach you to read.”

  “My grandfather isn’t a stablemaster,” Jonathan clarified. “He has a couple of stablemasters, but he owns the business.”

  “Your grandfather has a bit of money,” Monica said. “No wonder you can read. For a commoner I guess you have been blessed twice.”

  “Stop flirting with that person,” Russell Golad said, as he walked over.

  Jonathan looked up at the big noble who gave him a sneer. Jonathan was considered tall for a man, but this noble was something else altogether. Jonathan had heard the people close to the mountain were tall. Russell’s sister Farrah was almost Jonathan’s height. Russell though, had him by a head and looked to be at least twice Jonathan’s weight. Russell was blond and had the beginnings of a beard coming through. Jonathan didn’t believe himself to be a coward, but this noble was definitely one person he didn’t want to get into a fight with.

  “We are not flirting,” Monica said. “You have nothing you have to worry about Russell. We were just wondering how this commoner learned to read.”

  “Does it really matter?” Russell said. “He is a commoner mage and probably thinks he is someone special.”

  “His family has a little bit of money,” Farrah said. “They raise horses.”

  “So what,” Russell said. “Shoveling shit is nothing to be proud of. Why don’t the both of you leave this boy alone.”

  “Who are you calling a boy?” Jonathan said finding his voice. “You can’t be that much older than I am.”

  “Watch who you are talking to” Russell said as he pushed Jonathan down. Jonathan looked up at him in surprise. Jonathan had never been shoved like that before and knew this noble could break him in half if he wanted to. He backed away and climbed to his feet. If he was going to lose a fight he wasn’t going to lose it curled up into a ball.

  “Russell leave him alone,” Monica said playfully. “He is just a commoner and you are probably going to be the King’s next champion or his Archmage.”

  “I hate it when commoners think they are something special and always cry about things,” Russell said. “Commoner mages are the biggest crying cowards in the kingdom. They're always crying about what is happening to them or what someone owes them.”

  “I don’t want any trouble with you,” Jonathan said, looking at the huge blond. If this man had magic as powerful as he was physically there would be no way Jonathan could compete with him. And this person was going to be a Duke. Even without magic he could crush someone like Jonathan without any trouble.

  “Then remember your place,” Russell said, and turned around. Russell grabbed the two girls Jonathan had been talking to, and walked them to the front of the line.

  “You should leave Lord Golad alone,” one of the commoner mages named Millie, quietly said. “People like him are much too important to have to waste their time dealing with the likes of you.”

  “He came after me,” Jonathan replied. “I didn’t do anything to him.”

  “Well stay out of his way then,” Millie said. “He has to worry about taking care of an entire duchy. And I heard the Tower Mage say Lord Golad was the strongest mage he had ever seen come through here.”

  “He is?” Jonathan asked. “How does he know; we haven’t been tested yet.”

  “Nobles already know how to do magic” Millie whispered. “They come into their magic sooner and have been trained how to use their magic, the word gets around quickly, just look.”

  Jonathan looked as Russell opened up his hand and light shone from it. Jonathan wasn’t sure if Russell was showing off or not but the light was so bright Jonathan had to turn away and cover his eyes. Jonathan could hear people in the room gasp, when Jonathan opened his eyes back up he could see spots like he was staring at the sun. Plenty of people were giving Russell good natured laughter about how they were all blind and how strong he was. Jonathan guessed that Russell had to use an insane amount of his magic to make the spell so bright. Jonathan thought about trying the same thing then he thought better of it. If he was not as strong, he would look foolish for even trying.

  Slowly the nobles in front of them were tested. All of them tried to outdo each other and make the brightest mage light they could. The only nobles who had anything to brag about Jonathan thought were Monica, Russell and his sister Farrah. Prince Xalen was strictly average in power and that was putting it nicely Jonathan thought. When the nobles were finished Jonathan was next.

  “Well hurry up and do whatever you can do” an older man with a long gray beard snapped. “If you don’t know what you are doing then take a seat until I finish with the rest of you.”

  “Uh, okay,” Jonathan said.

  “Well hurry up. I don’t have all day” the older man snapped again.

  “Look at your commoner now Farrah,” Russell said. “He is so stupid he can’t even follow Mage Winchell’s instructions.”

  “Just go sit down boy,” Mage Winchell said as a small amount of light came from Jonathan’s palm.

  “You know magic?” Farrah said looking at John.

  “This is even more disgusting,” Russell said. “He must have a mage parent that sold herself to some commoner with a little money.”

  “Go line up with the others boy,” Mage Winchell snapped.

  “You have nothing to be proud of with such a small amount of light,” Prince Xalen said. “Perhaps while you are here you will learn to work with what you have and use it in the defense of our kingdom.”

  “I will try Your Highness,” Jonathan said. Jonathan figured he would let them think what they wanted. He had gone out of his way to cast the smallest amount of light possible. Mage Winchell had just made him nervous by rushing him through it while being patient with everyone else. The two girls behind him, Minnie and Glenda both failed in casting magelight. They would have to stay in class with Mage Winchell. Jonathan could tell as soon as he cast the spell that Winchell hated him even more. Jonathan became very self-conscious as he went to the next class. Bill and Thurman were
there and stood up as they all entered. Bill looked shocked to see Jonathan enter. He had assumed Jonathan came from a poor family, somewhere with no mages.

  “What is this then?” said Mage Erlanger. Jonathan knew this mage’s name because he seemed more approachable than the other instructors. “Looks like we have another one of you lot.”

  “His mother was most likely the mage and married his father who is a commoner with a little money” Prince Xalen said. “Now he thinks he walks on water and even challenged Russell to a fight.”

  “Is that so Your Highness,” Mage Erlanger said. “Whoever you are, if I were you, I would leave young Golad here alone. From the rumors I heard he has even more magic than most of the instructors in the tower. Of course you can’t believe everything you hear.”

  “I think I am as strong as most of you here,” Farrah said. “So let’s do this test.”

  “Well the test is not in here,” Mage Erlanger laughed. “I am going to take you outside. Before I do any of that though, I want to know how many of you can cast two spells at the same time. I know you all can cast magelight. Let me see each of you keep two of them going. If you know you can’t just move over to the side. The ones who can, I need your names because you will need extra training.”

  Jonathan saw only four of the nobles walked to the side, the rest were holding their hands out and trying to cast their magelights. Jonathan was surprised Monica was one of those who could only cast one spell. Russell threw his hands out and Jonathan looked away and covered his eyes, an intense light shone for a few moments from two spells then went away. Jonathan took the light a lot better this time, as Russell walked away smugly. Prince Xalen looked at Jonathan oddly since he was still standing in the line. Xalen turned around and started casting. It took him longer to cast than it took Russell. Slowly two glowing lights started to form. Jonathan knew it took some mages a lot longer to get two spells going than it did for just a single spell.

  “Well hurry up and stand to the side commoner,” Xalen said. “You have made it this far. So now you can go back and brag about that to everyone else who doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.”

  “As you say Your Majesty,” Jonathan said as two small points of light started shining from his hand. Jonathan wanted to smile from the gasps he was hearing in the room. Jonathan knew no one in the room expected him to be able to cast twice. Now that he showed it off he proved he was better than at least some of the other mages were.

  “That means nothing commoner,” Russell said. “Being able to hold two small magelights would not protect you from a mage with more power at their disposal. You will get put in your place in this next test.”

  Jonathan looked at Thurman, who gave him a wry smile. Bill kept his face blank during Jonathan’s test, but it was probably due to the chattering that was going on. Many of the nobles were outraged Jonathan could perform as well as he did on the test – because he had bested them. They cursed his mother for being such an idiot. Some even insulted her looks without knowing what she looked like. The consensus was that she could have married a noble with a lot more money and had noble children. Instead she'd given magic to a commoner who would most likely use it for evil. By the time Jonathan followed the group outside he was called everything from a future bandit to someone who was probably going to get lucky by marrying his magic talent into a noble family.

  “Alright I have two tests for you overall,” Erlanger said. “Casting spells and shaping your magical energy or aura. Some spells call for you to keep your aura as pure as possible. Spells like shields use pure aura. I am going to have all of you put up a shield. If you can take three full on hits from a mace you will move to my other test. All you have to do in the second test is slide a metal block I have set up on a platform the length of an apple. Wind magic works best for the task, it is the easiest spell to use for the purpose and those with only slightly above average power can get it moving. To make everything fair I have a future army hopeful here to deliver the blow with the mace. Young David is a noble and is the only one in his family who didn’t get the gift of magic. He is quite upset at the sneers and looks of pity he has received from mages. Since he was a little boy he has been honing his body and mind to fight with various weapons. I know he looks young, David is only twelve. But I assure you that he knows what he is doing. Now who is going to be first?”

  Russell stepped up first and his shield snapped into place after a second. A young angry looking boy came over holding a weird looking mace. He slammed the mace into Russell’s shield as hard as he could then repeated the gesture two more times. Russell’s shield flashed every time it was struck but it held fast. Farrah went next and Jonathan thought she didn’t have too much trouble keeping her shield up either. One by one the nobles went up. Slightly less than half of them were successful. Jonathan began to feel a little good about himself then. Many of those who didn’t pass took forever to get their shield up. Jonathan wasn’t sure if their shield failed because they didn’t know how to keep it up, or because they just didn’t have the power. Jonathan looked at the young boy with the mace and braced himself.

  “Here comes the end of the road for your commoner, Farrah,” Russell said laughing as Jonathan’s shield snapped into place. “I bet he can’t even take a single blow.”

  “Enough of that Golad,” Erlanger said. “Away from Magus Mazuli you are big news, but here you are just a student. Pick on each other away from my hearing or sight. And before you ask, that means you too, Your Highness. If you had a last name I would be calling you by that instead. Now go on and hit the boy's shield David.”

  Jonathan took the first blow and felt his shield give a little. He was not pouring everything he could into the spell. But he thought he had his shield the same thickness and brightness as other shields he had seen pass. Jonathan purposely kept it on the lower end of passing. If he thought the nobles hated him before, it seemed as if they now wanted him dead. By just using enough skill to ensure he passed, he had landed himself in the middle of the pack. He had passed two tests that some noble mages could not pass. And now the angry nobles were whispering among themselves and shooting him blistering looks. Russell went first again in the final test. He put so much wind magic into it that he blew the heavy iron block off of its platform.

  “By the gods!” Erlanger screamed. “I have only seen two people move that block like that. The Archmage and the Tower Mage. Do you know the significance of what you just did Golad?”

  “Russell is going to be the next Archmage,” Xalen said. “The only competition he has is Farrah, and she doesn’t want the job.”

  “Well I see what the hype is about,” Erlanger said. “Alright Lady Golad, let me see what you have.”

  Jonathan watched her pour almost everything she had into her spell. The block moved and was at the edge of the platform but it did not take flight the way it had for Russell. Xalen was not able to move the block the required distance and a lot of the mages who came up did not have the power to move the block at all. Despite not being able to work two spells, the Monica girl had enough power to move the block the distance needed. Jonathan figured from her body language that she and Russell were either a thing or she wanted them to be. Jonathan came up last. He noticed there were no insults directed at him. The nobles all showed worried faces as they watched to see what he would do. He briefly thought about trying to blow the block off the platform and thought better of it. He restricted his wind magic and the block moved just enough for him to pass the test.

  “Who is your mother?” Erlanger asked. “For her to marry a mundane and give you this kind of power, she must be very strong.”

  “Or she had a love child,” Farrah said. “A love child she wanted to be kept hidden.”

  “My mother is Sara Thunder,” Jonathan replied as he knew his secret would get out anyway.

  “I don't know any Sara Thunder,” Xalen said. “If she was anyone important then I would know who she is. I along with Russell was trained by the
Archmage himself. I would have at least met her in passing.”

  “Your father must be very rich to get a mage of that caliber to be with him,” Erlanger said. “That business of his must make a lot more money than anyone here thought.”

  “I should put him out of business,” Xalen said. “He robbed the crown of having a mage with actual skill. If she would have married another mage then he would have been stronger and would not just be a lucky commoner.”

  “How many siblings do you have commoner?” Russell said as he looked at Jonathan.

  “None of your business,” Jonathan said. Inwardly he winced and wished he could take his words back.

  “You want to have a go with me?” Russell said. “You have some power but you are not on my level.”

  “Answer his question commoner,” Xalen said, looking at Jonathan.

  “None,” Jonathan said. “I am an only child.”

  “What is the name of your father’s business?” Xalen asked. “A man like him should be punished for what he did.”

  “My father doesn't own a business, Your Highness,” Jonathan said.

  “Liar,” Russell said.

  “You all made the story up. My father does not have a business,” Jonathan said.

  “Lying to the crown is punishable by death,” Xalen said. “As a mage you will be thrown in the arena where you will have a chance to fight for your innocence. The Archmage will be your opponent, consider this your only warning.”

  “My father does not own a business though,” Jonathan said. “He is a mage like my mother. They taught me my magic and how to read.”