by Crissy Moss
But why would Master Tanolis, or any other mage who didn’t know me, allow me passage? And passage for free on a ship that I had no money to pay for.
“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know if they’ll take me, but I have to try. I have nowhere else to go.”
He leaned forward, stroking his mustache and studying me for a moment.
“What’s your name, girl?”
“Sybel, sir.”
“And, Sybel, why do you want to be a mage?”
“I don’t know that I do,” I said, being honest. Even if it meant not reaching my destination, there was no point in lying. “I don’t know anything about mages, or magic. I don’t know what would make a good mage. I just know that I need answers, and the only place that I might be able to find them is on Kemoor Island, among my kind.”
“Mages aren’t all-knowing, Sybel,” he said, folding his hands in front of him. “We study the arts, see how the world fits together and how the magic flows through the ether, but we have not been alive to see all that is—or will be.”
“I know, but mages have been collecting information for generations, and my questions are about magic, so it is likely I will find at least some answers there. Please,” I said, my shoulders slumping, “are you Master Tanolis?”
“I am Master Tanolis,” he admitted, “one of the gatekeepers of Kemoor. Potential students must go through me before they are allowed onto the island. Not to keep you out, girl, but to keep you safe. There are dangerous men and women on the island, and the wizards are only some of them. If you can’t handle yourself among them, then you might not make it out alive.”
“I’ve spent the last two months traveling with two servitors, one of which was a spoiled brat that tried to kill me several times, and a muscle-bound bag of meat that got it into his head to teach me sword skills,” I said, my hand on the pommel of the short blade at my side. “I think I at least have a fighting chance.”
His smile widened. “You seem to have the ego, at least. But there’s more to you than meets the eye, isn’t there? The intensity behind you; there is something pushing you to the shores of Kemoor, something more than magic. Isn’t there?”
I didn’t breathe. How much did I tell this man? Of course, I wanted to know about the magic, to know how to keep myself from hurting someone else, and I didn’t mind sharing that. But I also wanted to know who I was and where I came from. Why I had magic when no one else from my village did. Who was my real father?
I couldn’t say that out loud—not to Ayrula, not to Mykul during our training sessions. Not even aloud to myself. But that was what I wanted: an answer to where I came from.
He must have taken my silence as reluctance because he leaned back in his chair, hands on the edge of the table, and gave me a long look.
“Rural girl, from the northwestern provinces, I’d say,” Tanolis said. “You’ve had a long journey by the looks of you. Dirty, worn shoes, and threadbare sweater. That shade doesn’t quite suit you, though. A gift from someone you met? Perhaps a trader?”
“A…a companion, yes.”
“A companion but not someone you necessarily want to speak about. Ah, you have secrets, do you?”
“Everyone has secrets, Master Tanolis,” I said, standing a little straighter in my grubby shoes. “Not one person on that street is willing to say everything in their hearts and minds to strangers.”
He chuckled. “Quite true. We protect ourselves, and those we care about, that way. The trick is learning when to trust someone and when to be silent. In this case, I don’t want your most precious secrets, Sybel, only those that are pertinent to this situation. You’ve been touched by magic, I think. Is that why you’re seeking out the collegium?”
“I have.”
“Just as I thought,” he said. “Kemoor might be a school of magic, but there are many who go there for political reasons: to hobnob with the mages or to use their influence to garner favors. We let many of them in, of course, but it’s still better to know that before they go. You don’t have that air about you, though. You’re not rich, and you haven’t started spouting off about connections. No, the first thing you said was that you want knowledge. People seek knowledge for power or for understanding. It’s not power you want, so you truly do want to be a student.”
I nodded, happy to let him talk his way through everything.
“Well then, students are there to learn. But learning magic isn’t like learning to spin yarn or swing a sword. In order to learn true magic, you have to have some innate magical ability. An affinity with the elements, or cantrips. It isn’t an easy thing to come by. Only a small number of children are born with that ability.”
He stood, his lengthy body unfolding in front of me. He was only a head taller than I, but his shoulders were wide and his long arms gave him a reach I wasn’t used to. Mykul would have suggested keeping my distance, using my speed against his reach in battle. But this wasn’t a battle of arms; it was a battle of wits. I was less sure on my feet for that. How could I be anything but unsure? He had years of training and decades of knowledge that I didn’t. For all my travels, I was still a farm girl.
He leaned against the desk, staring me directly in the eye.
“Show me,” he said, eyes glittering with curiosity, or devilry. Perhaps both.
And there was the catch. I did have an affinity with flame, but I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t just demonstrate an ability to cast fireballs, and if I did I could risk burning down the building. I had singed Yunta and scarred Mykul. I could step into flames, but my clothing would burn off. And was it wise to do so? Ayrula’s words came back to me. I needed to hold on to my secrets to stay safe.
“I can’t,” I whispered, my heart sinking.
He studied me like a cat studying a mouse, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
“You can’t? Or you won’t?”
I blinked up at him, unsure. I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t find a way to expel the fire unless defending my life. But if I could have done it, would I? After seeing Mykul, and burning Orin’s servant, I couldn’t bear the thought of harming someone else.
I clenched my jaw, straightening and looking him in the eye.
“I wouldn’t—even if I could.”
He nodded. “Good. It isn’t wise to be mucking around with natural forces that you don’t understand. Having some restraint is good. But you aren’t back home on the farm, girl. This is Ludwald, and I am a mage. If you think there is any magic in you that I can’t handle, then you would be wrong.”
He had a good point. I would need to learn to use the magic, and the only way to learn would be to use it. Would I be able to? Resigned, I realized I had no choice. If I didn’t learn to control it, I wouldn’t be able to lead a normal life. And if I couldn’t trust this mage—the one man who had been left here to decide who could go to Kemoor and who couldn’t—then who could I trust? Better to go back to the farm now if there was no one on the island for me to confide in.
Perhaps I didn’t have to draw the fire out. That wasn’t what got me to Tanolis’s office to begin with. Rather, it was going into the fire—and coming out whole.
I could feel Master Tanolis’s eyes on me as I walked over to the fireplace. Then stepped in.
Even he could not stifle the sharp intake of breath as I stepped into the flames. I felt the fire lick up my legs, caressing me, singeing my dress again, but that couldn’t be helped.
I also felt the hunger deep inside, yearning for more. I shoved that desire back down again, unwilling to indulge in it. That way only led to destruction.
“You’re a fire mage,” he said as I stepped back out of the flames.
“I wouldn’t call myself a mage.”
“Not yet, dear girl, but soon. I’ll see to it you’re taken to Kemoor on the next available ship.”
Epilogue
Tanolis led me down to the dockyards the very next morning and found me a berth on the Blue Lady. It was a smaller vessel, with two masts, b
ut still seaworthy.
From the docks, I could see the white-crested waves smashing against the rocky shore. The sea was restless, answering to the sharp winds of winter.
“Don’t worry,” Tanolis said, watching my gaze on the waters. “The Blue Lady has been making the crossing for some time, and they have their own mage aboard. You’ll be fine.”
I nodded, unwilling to let him know just how much the sight of the rough waters bothered me. It was yet another opportunity for me to see a mage’s power up close, but I hoped for an eventless journey.
I stopped at the edge of the dock, looking out at the Blue Lady. A man stood in white robes at the head of the ship. Wind seemed to gather around him, billowing out his robes, tugging and pulling at his beard, and yet there was no wind where I stood.
“He’s a mage,” someone said.
I turned to see a young girl with black hair cut short in a bob. Her freckled nose and bucked teeth made her adorable, if awkward. Too young to be a mage, then, but old enough to be at the dock to watch the ships going to and from the island.
“You’ve watched them a lot?” I asked, kneeling down to be closer to her height.
The girl’s grin widened. “I watch them whenever I can. Mom doesn’t mind as long as I stay out from underfoot.”
I laughed, tousling her hair. “If I had lived here when I was your age, I would watch them, too. They’re amazing!”
She jumped up and down a bit, clapping her hands, thrilled to find a cohort in her admiration.
“They do all kinds of magic,” she said. “Sometimes it’s water; sometimes it’s earth. That one’s wind. He’s going to fill the sails to take the ship back out to the island.”
“Well then,” I said, standing, “I suppose I should get on the ship so they don’t have to wait for me anymore.”
“Are you a mage?” she asked, her eyes going round.
“Not yet,” I said, giving her a wink. “Maybe someday.”
She watched in amazement as I followed Tanolis up the gangway where the captain waited for us.
“Captain Hester,” Master Tanolis said, shaking his hand, “I’d like you to meet Sybel. She’s a new recruit. Sybel, this is Captain Hester. He’ll be seeing you across the lake to Kemoor.”
“Of course, young Sybel,” the captain said, taking my hand. “I’ve seen a number of young mages to the shores of Kemoor. Have you ever been aboard a ship like this before?”
“No, sir,” I said, “I can’t say I’ve been aboard anything larger than a dingy.”
“Well then, let a crewman know if you feel queasy, lass. Keep on deck, and watch the horizon. That helps. If you need some tea to settle your stomach, our cook can help.”
“And how long is the trip?”
“A few hours if the winds hold. A bit longer if the mages have to twist it. But don’t worry; you’ll be settled into your bunk at the collegium by nightfall.”
He turned away, motioning for me to follow up the plank.
“Sybel,” Tanolis called.
I stopped on the gangplank and looked back over my shoulder at him.
“You’ll do fine at the collegium, Sybel. You have a lot of raw talent, and you’ll go far with it.”
“Thank you, Master Tanolis, I appreciate that. I’m less concerned with rising to the top and more interested in controlling it, though. I’d rather not risk burning down a building.”
“Fair enough,” he said with a smile. “Keep your head about you, and I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
With that, he disappeared into the crowd, leaving me to the sea and the wind. I turned back up the gangway and made my way onto the deck.
The ship sprang to life moments later as crewmen bustled around the deck, pulling ropes, pushing crates, and securing anything that wasn’t held down. A few fellow passengers stood about the small deck, hugging the rails to stay out of the way. I followed suit, trying to stay as close to the front of the ship as possible. I wanted a good view of the collegium when it came over the horizon.
It wasn’t long before the captain called for all hands to stations, and the ship pulled away from the dock.
It moved away in a lazy arc, one sail pulling in a bit of wind to get the ship away from the traffic of the harbor. Once clear, the sails were dropped, and shifted a bit to catch the full force of the wind. The sails billowed out, and the ship surged forward, a spray of water erupting against the hull.
I did not move from my spot on the deck, watching as Ludwald fell away behind us and we were left in a beautiful sea of blue.
For the first time since meeting the caravan, I was on my own. It struck me that the sea before me was not unlike the sea of grass I made my way across only months before. Cold, barren, and devoid of anything beyond the small island of wood that I stood on. And nothing to point me in the correct direction.
At least I didn’t have to worry about finding my way this time. I had the captain and his crew along with the mage that made sure the wind obeyed.
The sun slowly rose in the sky. I found my gaze wandering to the mage, watching as he wove the winds to his will. Through gestures and words, he seemed to draw it out of nowhere, sending it into the sails.
Is that what I would do? Would I work fire the way he worked the wind?
“Land ho!”
I turned at the call from above, realizing that in my distraction the time had slipped past faster than I thought. We were approaching our destination.
The spires of Kemoor were more beautiful than I could have imagined. Pearly towers that glittered in the sunlight, their steep walls turning white, then pink, then purple. Glowing lights hung from each precipice, flickering as they turned about on the wind. I could not tell what held the orbs from this distance, but they appeared to be as large as a man was tall. What feat of will could make an orb of light like that?
I could feel excitement bubbling up inside me. Each tower, each window that came into view, had a question behind it, and I wanted to explore all of it.
I was on my way. The city was calling me, and I would soon have my answers.
Author’s Note
If you enjoyed Dragon’s Flame I encourage you to leave a review so that others will be encouraged to read it. You can also join my mailing list here to find out about upcoming books, and get a free copy of Witch’s Sight, the prequel to my first series, The Witch’s Trilogy, which is available right now on Amazon.
Thank you for reading Dragon’s Flame. I really appreciate your support. You, dear reader, are why I do this. I hope you enjoy losing yourself in the worlds I work so hard to create. Hopefully you’ll try some of my other novels when they are available.
Until then, keep reading!
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Crissy Moss
About the Author
Crissy Moss is an author of multiple short stories and fantasy novels, you can find more about her at CrissyMoss.com.
Crissy Moss grew up in the rural California foot hills entertaining herself by playing with the dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, and geese that lived on the family farmstead. Since then she’s lived in four states, and traveled to most of the lower 48.
Today she makes her home in Washington near the bustling city of Seattle. She loves the rain, warm fires, and sipping coco. She also loves to dive into fantasy books filled with magic and mayhem.
She started writing when she was seven years old, publishing her first essay in 1995. It
was an interesting time as websites started offering more content. First newspapers, then magazines, and finally books became easier to get online. And in the midst of it, writers had to adapt, too.
Her writing is eclectic, ranging from fantasy and sci-fi to a bit of horror and paranormal. But she always tries to find the human element, the heart of the story.
She has also been a co-host on Self Publishing Round Table, Story Telling Podcast, and The Bradbury Challenge discussing craft and story telling.
She currently has several short story collections and books available on Amazon. Follow her on twitter at @crissymoss
Dragon’s Flame
Half-Blood Sorceress Series
Crissy Moss
Kindle Edition
Published by Crissy Moss for Kindle
Dragon’s Flame
Copyright © 2017 by Crissy Moss
Cover Illustration
Copyright © 2017 by Crissy Moss
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination.
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