by Clayton Wood
“Whoa,” he breathed.
“Did you see the red symbol?” Kalibar asked. Kyle nodded. “The glasses have a fire rune that senses anyone weaving the fire pattern nearby,” Kalibar explained. “This is connected – by a metallic thread – to a rune that weaves a pattern to make red light. We call the sensing rune a sensory rune...and stimulating it makes it send magic to the rune that creates the light...the effector rune.”
“Oh, I get it,” Kyle exclaimed.
“Good,” Kalibar replied, clearly pleased. “These glasses have sensing runes,” Kalibar explained, “...for almost every known magical pattern. They are connected to effector runes that make light of varying colors and positions. By knowing the particular location and color of a pattern when it appears on my glasses, I can tell what pattern an enemy is weaving. The outer surface of the lenses have a reflective coating,” Kalibar added, “...so that only the wearer can see the glowing runes.”
“Cool,” Kyle breathed. The flame between them vanished, and so did the red symbol on the inner surface of the glasses. Kalibar gestured for Kyle to take them off, and he did so, handing them back to the man.
“Now, you can connect any sensory rune to any effector rune.” He gestured at his staff. “This staff has hundreds of sensory and effector runes in it. The staff automatically senses potential magical attacks, and counters with the appropriate effector runes to generate a defense...or a counterattack.” He smiled. “Not only that, but you can even link one sensory rune to many effector runes,” he added. “I could make a runic device that linked dozens of effector runes together. With a single thought, the entire chain of runes could be activated. If the runes happened to create bolts of lightning, dozens of bolts would be generated within seconds. Or I could use a variety of runes, disabling my opponent's shields, then coordinating dozens of unique attacks, one after the other.”
“Wait, doesn't that mean a Runic is more powerful than a Weaver?”
“Not at all,” Kalibar replied. “A runic device can only do the same thing over and over...a Weaver can be unpredictable, using magic much more flexibly and creatively from moment to moment. In a battle, a good Weaver will almost always triumph over a Runic.”
“Oh, good,” Kyle said, feeling relieved. After all, he was training to become a Weaver.
“Now, there are only so many known patterns,” Kalibar continued. “And no one really knows why these patterns do what they do, although many people – myself included – have tried to figure it out.” He sighed. “The Ancients probably understood how magical patterns did what they did. That's likely how they came up with new patterns. But that knowledge died with them; now, we only know the patterns that managed to survive in writing, or in their runic devices. Nowadays, nobody knows how to make new patterns.”
“Why not just experiment?” Kyle asked. “Just make random patterns and see what happens?” Kalibar smirked.
“Oh, that's been tried,” Kalibar replied. “But random patterns have unpredictable effects...and plenty of scholars have died attempting such things.”
“Ah,” Kyle murmured. Then he frowned. “Wait, if there are only so many patterns, couldn't someone just make a staff that countered every possible attack?” he asked. “They'd be invincible!”
“Not really,” Kalibar countered. “As a Weaver, I test my enemy's runic devices, and figure out their counterattacks early, so I know how to beat them. In practice, Weavers fighting each other have to guess their enemy's next few moves, and act accordingly. We always try to be a few steps ahead of our opponents.”
“That sounds hard,” Kyle replied, suddenly feeling a bit depressed. It sounded a great deal like chess, and he'd never been good at that.
“It is,” Kalibar replied with a chuckle. “But don't worry,” he added, patting Kyle on the shoulder. “With practice, everything hard becomes easier.”
Kyle heard footsteps coming up from behind them, and turned about, seeing Darius walking back to the camp. The bodyguard was dripping wet from his swim, but he didn't bother to grab a towel from one of the packs to dry off. Instead, he reached for his various pieces of armor, putting them back on. Within a few minutes, the bodyguard was a gilded warrior once again, his armor shining almost painfully bright in the sunlight. Even after days of travel through muck and grime, Darius's armor was spotless. The oaf must have spent as much time polishing his armor as he did sharpening his weapons, Kyle mused. It was a shame he hadn't spent more time working on his personality.
“I think we've had enough theory for today,” Kalibar declared. He took his staff from Kyle, and gestured for Kyle to follow him out of the camp and to the water's edge. “Take off your clothes and go into the water again,” he instructed. Kyle complied, stripping off his shirt and pants, and wading into the water. It was considerably cooler than it had been yesterday afternoon. He winced as his delicate areas dipped into the water, then took a deep breath in, steeling himself before dropping himself neck-deep into the lake.
“We'll continue where we left off yesterday,” Kalibar stated, standing at the shoreline, staff in hand. “We need to continue sensitizing you to magic, until you are able to sense the magic within your own mind.”
Kyle nodded, forcing himself to kick his legs up into the Dead Man's float. He lay there suspended in the water, immediately feeling the vibration of magic a few feet to his left. He waited for that vibration to wane, trying not to sigh. If today was anything like yesterday's sessions, it was going to be a long, long morning.
* * *
The sun shone down on the camp from directly overhead by the time Kalibar let Kyle step out of the water and onto the sandy shore, shivering despite the warmth of the sun's rays. Kalibar grabbed a towel from one of the packs by the carriage, handing it to Kyle. Kyle dried himself off, grateful to be out of the water...and to finally have a break from his training.
“Not bad, Kyle,” Kalibar declared, patting him on the shoulder. “You're improving.”
“I guess,” Kyle replied, skeptical of just how much he'd accomplished. Despite hours of practice, it felt like he'd gotten nowhere.
“Are you hungry?” Kalibar asked. Kyle nodded, his stomach grumbling in agreement. Kalibar retrieved some dried meat and soup mix from the packs, magically filling two bowls with hot water and handing one to Kyle. Kyle accepted his gratefully, warming his cold hands on it. They ate in silence, and Kalibar returned the bowls to their pack. The former Grand Weaver paused over the pack, then reached in and grabbed something...a dark brown glass bottle. A loop of twine was tied to a ring attached to the neck of the bottle, and Kalibar handed this to Kyle.
“Wrap this around your arm,” Kalibar stated. Kyle complied, and then Kalibar handed Kyle the bottle. Kyle took it, then gasped as the bottle rose upward, pulling out of his grasp and floating upward into the air. The twine around Kyle's arm went taught, stopping the bottle from rising any further.
“What the...!” Kyle exclaimed, hastily grabbing for the bottle, holding it in both hands. The slick, cool glass continued to pull upward. Kalibar grinned.
“That's the feathergrass extract I showed you earlier, remember?” he explained, gesturing at the bottle. “It floats – and so does anything it's kept in,” he added. “I thought you'd want to try it out.” Kyle's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but feel a burst of glee.
“Can I try it now?”
“I don't see why not,” Kalibar replied with a wink. “Here, hand it back,” he instructed. “I'll show you how to drink it...it takes a bit of practice.” Kyle handed the bottle back – carefully – and Kalibar held the bottle upside-down, twisting off the cap. Nothing poured out of the neck of the bottle, of course. Kalibar tipped his head back, then brought the upside-down bottle to his lips. With his mouth sealed around the opening, Kalibar brought his head down, and the bottle right-side-up, taking a gulp of the extract. Then he tipped his head back up, holding the bottle upside-down before twisting the cap back on.
“That's how you do it,” Kalib
ar explained. Then he handed the bottle over to Kyle, wrapping the rope around Kyle's wrist. “You try,” he prompted. “First, tip the bottle upside-down, so the liquid doesn't float up and out.” Kyle did so. “Now, untwist the cap.”
Kyle untwisted the cap, tipping his head back, then bringing the neck of the bottom to his lips, just as Kalibar had done. Then he slowly brought his head back down and forward. As the bottle went right-side up, thick liquid floated up and out, filling his mouth. Kyle nearly spit the fluid out – it was a bit bitter – but managed to stop himself from doing so. He swallowed, then tipped his head back, re-capping the bottle. He handed it back to Kalibar.
“This is the hard part,” Kalibar cautioned, putting the bottle back into the pack. “The extract is going to float up from your stomach and into your mouth if you're not careful.” Kalibar was right; Kyle felt the fluid filling up in the back of his throat, the bitter taste making him want to gag. He swallowed it back down with some difficulty, but it came right back up. He swallowed it again, feeling queasy.
“Here, lay on your right side,” Kalibar explained, pulling Kyle down onto the ground. Kyle complied, lying on his right side on the sparse grass of the camp. He immediately felt better; the feathergrass extract was still making his stomach feel weird, but it was no longer refluxing into his mouth.
“How long do I have to do this?” Kyle asked, feeling a little awkward. Kalibar chuckled.
“Only a few minutes,” he reassured. “The extract is quickly absorbed through the stomach. Once it gets into your blood, your stomach will calm down.”
Kyle waited. His belly gurgled, and then he felt something shift. The upper right part of his belly felt as if it were pulling upward, then he felt his chest do the same. From there, the sensation spread to his head, then his arms, and finally, his legs. He felt as if at any moment, he might float away, falling forever upward into the infinite blue sky. He panicked, rolling onto his stomach and grabbing on to tufts of grass with both hands. He heard Kalibar chuckle.
“Don't worry,” Kalibar reassured. “Everyone does that the first time. You can let go...I promise you won't fly away.”
Kyle hesitated, then slowly let go of the grass with one hand. To his relief, he didn't float upward. He paused, then tried pushing himself up onto his hands and knees. The motion catapulted him a few feet above the ground, and he flailed his arms wildly, crying out. To his relief, he fell slowly back to the ground, landing gently onto his belly in the tough grass.
“Try using small, slow, gentle movements,” Kalibar suggested. “The slower you move, the less likely you are to lose control.” Kyle complied, getting into a push-up position, then carefully pushing himself off of the ground. With his feet as the pivot point, he swung upward until he was standing straight up, his feet firmly planted on the ground. He stood there for a moment, then glanced at Kalibar, who was watching Kyle with a grin.
“What now?” Kyle asked.
“Now,” Kalibar replied, “...we have some fun!”
With that, Kalibar bent his knees, then leaped upward. High into the air he went, until he was soaring above even the treetops around them. He sailed over Kyle's head, then fell slowly downward, landing some fifty feet away, near the lake shore. Then he turned around, gesturing for Kyle to follow suit.
“Come on!” he yelled. Kyle took a deep breath, then bent his knees all the way down, like Kalibar had done. But then he hesitated.
“Go on,” Kalibar urged.
Kyle took another deep breath in, and then jumped!
Or rather, he chickened out at the last minute, hopping a few feet into the air, then landing on his hands and knees on the ground. He heard Darius chuckle from a few feet away, and felt his face flush.
“Oh come on,” Kalibar called out with a grin on his face. “Don't be afraid...just let yourself go!”
Kyle heard footsteps approaching, and turned just in time to see Darius lean over and grab him under the armpits. Before Kyle could react, the bodyguard heaved him up into the air!
“Ahhhh!” Kyle screamed, hurtling upward. He flailed his arms and legs madly, the world dropping out from under him at a terrifying speed. Still upward he went, until the camp was easily forty feet below. His ascent slowed, and then stopped.
Then he fell.
“Craaaaap!” Kyle yelled, his stomach doing cartwheels in his belly. Downward he went, slowly at first, then more quickly. He closed his eyes as the shore rose up to meet him, throwing his arms in front of his face. His feet struck the ground, and threw his arms in front of him, his palms hitting the moist sand. He tensed up, fully expecting to feel a burst of horrible pain...but he only heard laughter.
“See?” Kalibar exclaimed between guffaws. “You can't get hurt!” The older man walked up to Kyle, offering him a hand, and Kyle took it, allowing Kalibar to pull him to his feet. “Now,” Kalibar stated, “...ready to try without Darius throwing you?”
“Yeah,” Kyle grumbled, wiping the sand off of his hands. Kalibar grinned, crouching down low, then leaping back toward the camp. He traveled in a slow arc, landing a few feet beside Darius. Kyle hesitated, staring at the two men, then grit his teeth, bending down low. He crouched down as Kalibar had, taking a few short breaths in and out.
Here goes...
He paused for a moment longer, then jumped!
“Whoaaa!” he cried as he shot upward into the air, higher even than Darius had thrown him. His stomach lurched again as he reached the top of his leap, then fell downward toward the camp. He overshot Darius and Kalibar by a few dozen feet, landing just beyond the perimeter of wards opposite the lake.
“Well done,” Kalibar exclaimed, walking up to Kyle. “Try again...follow me,” he added, leaping upward again, gliding through the air in a gentle arc and landing a few feet from the shore. This time Kyle barely hesitated, crouching low and leaping into the air toward Kalibar. He felt giddy as he flew through the air, the wind whipping through his hair as he went.
I'm flying!
Forward and upward he went, sailing over the camp. He laughed as he passed over Darius, imagining himself pooping on the bodyguard's head like a bird. Then he began to fall toward Kalibar...or rather beyond him. He'd overshot again...and this time, he was headed right for the water! He cried out, crashing into the water, feeling cool wetness envelop him. He bounced upward clear out of the water, flying through the air like a skipping stone, landing again, then flying upward, until he settled on top of the water at last. He rolled over from his back onto his stomach, floating effortlessly on the surface. He paddled toward Kalibar, making his way awkwardly to the shore.
“You did that on purpose,” Kyle accused as he stepped out of the water, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Kalibar gave him an innocent look.
“Me?” he replied in mock astonishment, holding back a smirk with little success.
“Yes you,” Kyle retorted, unable to hold back a smile of his own. Kalibar chuckled.
“Now you can imagine,” he said, putting an arm around Kyle's shoulders, “...that feathergrass is especially helpful for people who can't swim. Sailors use it so that if they fall overboard when performing risky tasks, they'll float on the surface instead of drowning.”
“Huh,” Kyle replied. Then he frowned. “Wait, how long does this stuff last?”
“It's most powerful for the first half-hour or so,” Kalibar answered. “The effects fade afterward, and are gone by an hour or two.” He paused, then smirked.
“What?”
“I thought about not warning you, but that would be too cruel,” Kalibar admitted.
“Warn me about what?”
“Well, most of the extract is...released in the urine and stool,” Kalibar explained. “I recommend being very careful when you...remove the extract from your body.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everything floats,” Kalibar replied rather cryptically. “It takes a bit of practice to deal with properly. I'll tell you more when the time comes.”
> Kyle frowned, trying to imagine just how he'd deal with floating...stuff.
“Come on,” Kalibar said. “We've still got time before the extract starts to weaken!” With that, the former Grand Weaver jumped high into the air, landing further along the shore. The two spent the better part of the next hour leaping to and fro. It wasn't long before Kyle's aim improved, and soon he was following behind Kalibar as the older man leapt from the ground to a large tree branch, then to another, and another. They jumped up to the top of the cliff where the waterfall began, then sailed over the edge. Kalibar had enough forward momentum to land on the shore over fifty feet below, while Kyle landed somewhere in the middle of the lake. They both whooped and laughed as they played, leaping about their slice of paradise with abandon. It was, without a single doubt, the most exhilarating time of Kyle's life.
But as all things good and bad come eventually to an end, the effects of the extract waned, and Kyle soon found that he had some rather urgent matters to attend to. He quickly sought Kalibar's advice about matters eliminatory, and thankfully, the old man was rapid and very clear with his instructions. After expelling the extract from his system, Kyle realized that Kalibar had been right. Without his expert consultation, Kyle would have had quite a mess on his hands...and everywhere else, for that matter. Luckily, everything fell into its proper place at the end.
Afterward, they ate, then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with Kyle back in the lake, practicing sensing magic. By the time the sun had set, and the brightest of the stars had become visible in the night sky, Kyle was all too eager to be done with his practice, and left the now-cool water to join Kalibar in the camp. The former Grand Weaver set their sleeping bags in a ring around a small campfire, and Kalibar set it alight with his magic. Darius, Kyle, and Kalibar sat down on their respective bags, their legs dangling over the edge, their faces lit from below by the orange-red flames. The heat of the fire was heavenly after hours in the cool lake, and Kyle soaked up the warmth with a contentment he hadn't felt in a long, long while.
