Ruby Mage

by Dan Raxor

  I accepted her offer, slinging my arm into hers. She blushed. Like a lot.

  Coming here had involved a long lecture from Rivinia. Not only was I going into a city of mages. I was also going into the lair of a breeder. The concept was foreign and… diabolical to me.

  The children were raised to be mages, later to be pawned off as potential suitors, war mages, and the like. The young men and women would have very few intimate options that were not related, meaning an outside noble like myself would be eyed intently. I certainly didn’t mind the attention that my new power granted me.

  I also happened to like that Siofra eyed me with desire. A new lady wrapped around my fingers would be nice. Especially a powerful mage at my side.

  I let such notions fade to stay on my toes. Rivinia did mention that Master Mage Telfi had a reputation of being so in tune with magic he could kill dragons.

  That was something to be fearful of. Even if he did quit teaching at the academy himself, there were his lessons passed down.

  Siofra led me into the walls and turned left. An over the shoulder glance showed a clump of clean women in nice dresses watching us from around a covered play area. Children chased each other relentlessly; none of them shone with magic.

  Behind them were houses, storage depots, and apartments. The big difference between here and Trimi was the lack of wood, and the excessive amounts of snow-covered empty space that was probably for summer grass.

  Adjusting to look ahead, the sight was much different. An academy structure ate up the whole lakeside area. It was bigger than my university in Kansas.

  Well, I wasn’t in Kansas anymore because the young to moderately aged teenagers all glowed with power. There were hundreds of them here, curious as to who arrived during the winter months.

  Instantly I understood what Holly meant about me not fitting in. Siofra asked about a dozen questions about the silly horses when I grew distracted. I saw homes, stores, barns, and more. This was a full-fledged city run by one man with two purposes. Have children, and to train the young into the next generation of mages.

  “Who ya talkin to?” a young girl around twelve said. She exited a building filled with magic supplies.

  I saw she was different. And not because she had yellow eyes. She… had a black heart in the center of her magical aura. This caused me to gaze upon the others. In the end, I could only see one other student like her in the entire group.

  “You’re special,” I blurted, earning stares from them both.

  “This is Baron Trevor. He’s the firemage the dwarves fear, and also believe is the son of Arenia. Lord Trevor, this is Lady Sapphire, my full sister,” Siofra said with a smile.

  “Different how?” Sapphire inquired, crossing her arms. Ah, sassy teenagers were the best.

  “Your heart is black,” I said with a shrug, passing her to enter the store. “Whoa, it's loaded!”

  “Yeah, Dad just crossed the sea and returned with most of this junk. Bought all their mage supplies because they keep dying in their hidden war,” Sapphire said with a snicker. She smacked her lips. “I gotta go. Egrin wants tea. Told him to ask Dad first. I bet he is a pile of ash by now. Nice to meet you, Trinv.”

  “Dad is not going to burn anyone. I hope. Bye Saph,” Siofra said. “And it was Trevor.”

  On the faintest of whispers I heard, “Black heart my ass. Pretentious asshole.”

  Ah that made my day. The young and their attitudes. It was delightful that I triggered her.

  I resumed my study of the store that held no prices. I picked up parchment tied in rolls, thumbed books, and hefted tomes so big, I felt small. The endless options left me uncertain how I’d ever find time to read them all even if I could.

  “I don’t see prices. How does this shop work?” I asked.

  “For me and mine, simple. I check out up to five items. Every week I return what I don't use or recheck them out. This is not the library by the way. This is the duplicates or partial facts store. The hearsay section is another shop over,” Siofra said.

  “Can I purchase from these?” I asked.

  “Uh, maybe. I’d doubt it though. Father is a hoarder. You know the dragon killer saying, takes being like one to know one,” Siofra said, laughing at a joke I did not understand.

  I noticed Libby peering in from outside the door. “Get in here, Libby. Libby, this is Siofra. Siofra, this is Libby.”

  “A minor mage!” Siofra said, gleefully. “Have you been tested?”

  “I have not, Sir Siofra,” Libby said gracefully.

  “Sir Siofra?” I bugged Libby. “She is clearly a lady, an exquisite one at that.”

  “I’m a knight of Farlake. A war mage who fought in the Ratkin War when I was only eight. You will not find many women or men more powerful than I,” Siofra said.

  I snickered. “Is your penis a foot long too?” I asked in jest.

  “Yeah, how’d you know?” Siofra replied dryly.

  I rolled my eyes while Libby chuckled. “Back to business. I want all this.”

  “Then you should attend the academy. Except, you shouldn't. The Mages Guild will happily trade gold for -”

  “A black heart,” a voice boomed across the entirety of Farlake. That had to be magic carrying his words.

  I left the store front with the others in tow. When I spun, trying to find the voice, I saw a man in his late twenties strolling with his daughter in his grip. He dragged her behind him like a scolded child. She pouted, but was not afraid.

  The man had a short beard, dark brown eyes, and a scowl that would frighten most.

  He stomped his way over to me with Holly’s eyes downcast. The students scurried at the sight of the master. I gazed upon his power and grew perplexed. He held the same black heart as his daughter, but not his Siofra.

  There was an aura of power about triple the size of Holly’s power. I expected him to contain untold magic as a master mage and he did indeed. What I didn’t expect was for him to be so young. The rumors of his immortality were true.

  “A black heart?” he asked, in a gentler tone this time.

  “Yes, her, and him,” I said, pointing to a boy of around fifteen who was peering from a tree.

  “Not her,” the master mage asked, pointing to Siofra. I shook my head. The father embraced the eldest suddenly. He tapped their foreheads together. “I’ll always be proud of you. I need you to help guide Sir Trevor to Crimm and keep our family in his favor.” He broke their embrace and boomed, “Kersin! In my office! Now!”

  Just like that the tense situation broke and the Master Mage departed. Holly wrapped Siofra up, crying. I was missing a whole lot of context. The best I could figure out was that the black hearts held meaning and that Siofra not having one was bad. Based on her astonished face… she was not pleased.

  After the Master Mage vanished, Holly and her daughter had a private conversation. Not wanting to be involved in whatever family drama they had going on at the moment, I returned to browsing the store.

  Ten minutes later they returned with dry eyes and cordial light chatter.

  “Thank you, Mage Trevor, for politely helping my husband. We heard rumors. You… contain the powers of a master mage but not the skills,” Holly said in a friendlier tone than earlier.

  I raised my eyes from the tome I was studying to say, “A fact I’d like to change.”

  When Siofra tried to enter behind us, his mother pointed for her to exit. “You… are a treasure, Trevor.”

  “Huh?”

  “Lovely human in the back, come here, you too, bear fey,” Holly ordered Libby and Susanna. She loaded them up with books from a shelf. “Take these to your Captain of the Guard. Then run back here. Go.”

  They looked to me for permission and I nodded.

  “You trained them well, and they’re even new. How’d you do it?” Holly asked with a sigh of longing.

  “I… I rescued them. Gave them a home, a purpose, and then a cause. What do the black hearts signify?” I asked.

&
nbsp; “Short answer, a blessing from the gods. They are unique and now identified, and again. Thank you. Onto other matters. You’re powerful,” Holly told me something I already knew.

  “With the ruby’s power, sure,” I said, thumbing a book that she snatched away. “What’re you doing?”

  “Giving you intermediate texts. They’re what she’ll need to teach you. There is no book on this ruby magic we heard rumors about. However, you cast common spells, just in a different manner. Which means…” she said with a pause, trying to reach a book on an upper shelf.

  “That I can help you improve. We see auras too,” Siofra said, earning a scornful gaze. “You’re brighter than Mother with all your dazzling gems in your outfit. Plus the horses intrigue me. Like a lot.”

  I rolled my eyes at her charming smile. At least the person they wanted teaching me was a younger woman with looks a model would kill for.

  “You amuse me. I will make you mine,” I told her as she reached up to help her mother.

  “As a girlfriend or a slave?” she countered.

  “Yes,” I said with a smirk, letting her chew on my tease.

  “Stop flirting, get me the tomes on arcane, lightning, and entrapments,” Holly said, tapping her chin in thought. “Then add anything else you want to teach that might help. Oh.” She touched my outfit. “A fire mage robe… This will turn to cinders when he casts too much. I’ll have one crafted before you leave for Crimm.”

  “Yeah, I went on fire and almost killed the horse, and was forced to fight in the nude. It was rather epic until I took an arrow to the guts,” I said with a grunt.

  Holly eyed me speculatively. Her mouth opened to issue a reply that she decided to hold in. Eventually she said, “Follow me. We go to the sanctum.”

  “You sure?” Siofra asked. Her eyes shot between us in excitement. “Can I come?”

  “For once, daughter, you can. You get to pick out your battle outfit,” Holly said and I grew confused.

  “So… Ming and Norlan are getting healed, you’re buying my fey, and Siofra is going to teach me spells which solves the whole academy drama,” I said with a huff. “Yet, I still feel like something is off.”

  “And why a battle outfit?” Siofra questioned.

  Holly grumbled. “Just be grateful you get to… You’re right. Answers will help more than hurt. This young man will be hunted as a threat. With you at his side that will deter many. You’re a spitting image of your father and one of his most powerful children. As a support mage you’ll -”

  “Support mage?” Siofra said in shock.

  Holly led us through the street. She redirected Libby and Susanna to get supplies from the same store. Once that was done she led us into the sanctum and only then did she continue to lecture her daughter.

  “You dense lass. You know how much raw power he has. What did Father tell you recently?” Holly asked.

  “That I might go to Veno and serve in a great challenge that benefits all of my family,” Siofra said with a grunt. “Doesn’t mean I want to be a support mage.”

  Holly halted our walk. “The only way you’re going to Veno is if your liege takes you. Did you not hear your father, did we not just have this conversation?” Her eyes shot to the ground. “You serve Lord Trevor in whatever capacity he sees fit. Your father wants you at his side.

  “Defending him means you get to live and win. Now. Listen before I tug on your ear. Trevor will create waves. If we know he is using new magic, hailed by the dwarves as a demi-god of fire magic, and arriving with horses so large they have to be foreign…”

  “Then the Council of Dukes will know,” Siofra finished, walking to keep up with her mother who continued for the big central building. “Surely they’ll use caution.”

  I was catching up to the situation as Holly saw it. This was her baby girl. She was… frightened for her to be joining me because of the political dangers within the realm. That spoke volumes from the powerful mage.

  There were twelve dukes if I remembered right. They formed a council, ruled their own cities, and when the time came, anointed new kings. Appeasing them seemed prudent after hearing what she said. Almost enough to give each a stallion, and I could always get more.

  The dukes managed the empire on a different level than the king did, but were vital nonetheless. My arrival would mean they would see me as another pawn to exploit.

  “How does Master Mage Telfi stay above the fray?” I asked.

  “I knew I liked you. In the beginning, he went to war against a duke and won. Was offered the man’s responsibilities and rejected them.

  “Then he earned a name of being feared. Finally he inserted his sons and daughters into every major household to have a voice of caution. Most importantly he kills people who bother him, and thwarts assassins,” Holly said, ending her lecture and diving into the bowels of the central castle.

  “So you’re saying I’ll never know peace?” I asked in frustration.

  This was a telling fact of Lornia when compared to Earth. On Earth I was a nobody who could enjoy luxury when he felt like it, how he felt like it, and the rest of the world was oblivious. Here I could be akin to a king but kings held court and dealt in drama. For now, I was definitely still determined to give this life a try.

  “This is Lornia. Women birth young, men fight their whole lives, and the world is extremely dangerous. If you live on the edge of society, sure, you might know brief bits of peace. But that peace by distancing from humans will bring attention from the wilds,” Holly said over the echo of our feet going down the spiral staircase. “I’d recommend you pick somewhere on the ocean. Means fewer attack avenues, and being a fire mage would tell pirates to flip right off.”

  “I can see that. I… saw a flying woman scout us. I need someone who can manage their kind to get me from southeast of Trimi to wherever I set up shop,” I said with a shrug.

  “I… That was Arabel. Things move so quickly only to slow to a crawl. Harun Port has a Count opening. A Count that we pay tithe to. Siofra,” she said with a huff.

  We halted out front of a door that brimmed an aura of magic.

  Holly’s hands swirled, magic danced from her core to attack wards on the door.

  The sight was fascinating as she performed magic that was beyond my understanding as to how it was done. The static yellow of the ward fizzled, sizzled, and then popped in a bright display.

  “How’d you do that, Mom?” Siofra asked, trying to mimic the spell and failing.

  Her mother turned, reaching up to flick her on the forehead. “Get in there, you have three minutes before that ward reconstructs. Any longer and even I can’t save you.”

  Siofra rushed into a vault of sorts casting an illumination spell. Treasures of gold, weapons, and brilliant gems rested inside. While it all intrigued me, I didn’t know what was what.

  Holly saw me eyeing the goods. “It's rubbish of past knights. Most of the items are decent. Nothing too grand, but whatever she removes should help you both. This is the most Telfi would allow. I’ll accept the consequences,” Holly said, telling me we probably shouldn’t be down here.

  “Hey, keep me out of it,” I said.

  “Out of what?” Siofra’s voice echoed out of the room.

  “Nothing,” Holly and I said in unison.

  “What should I know of Crimm?” I asked.

  “Get what you need, then get the hell out. Crimm may seem grand and majestic. I assure you, it is not. The King’s Court will have you watched. Our agent, Juniper, will be told of your arrival. Expect her to visit you.

  “Almost forty, a pretty woman with the best fake smile there is. She’ll find you around the same time the King does. Even Telfi holds minimal sway in Crimm. A perk and yet, a minus of being a lowly Viscount,” Holly said with a shrug.

  Siofra exited, tossing me a fine vest of chainmail that looked about the right size for me.

  “Wait that was in there?” Holly asked, while Siofra equipped a shiny sword. “That belonged to his first
elven wife he lost in Dwarven Filheim Wars.”

  “I thought there were no dwarves in the Filheim Mountains, only dragons,” Siofra said and her mother scoffed.

  “They won, it’s your father after all.”

  I felt the metal of the links. “Well thanks, won’t this -”

  “Melt? No. That is dwarven forged for an elf, irony. And yet it didn’t save her,” Holly said sadly. “Alright. Out you go. I’ll be by in the morning to wish you farewell with additional supplies and your gold for the fey.”

  Siofra gave a head bob to head outside. Before I caught up I saw Holly sit on the stairs, having an emotional moment. That was something I could relate to. Dad sent a video of Mom crying on the stairs when I left for college.

  Instead of going to school, Holly’s daughter was going to be part of my harem guard. I wasn’t sure what to feel, but one thing was certain. I didn’t get the wrinkly old man as my mage instructor like they did in the movies. Score.

  CHAPTER 34

  Lornia - Farlake Academy

  338th day of the 1st year of King Partel’s Reign

  I sat at the head of a makeshift table constructed of wagon planks. My chair was a hunk of wood that teetered as I tried to get comfy. Ming, Norlan, Susanna, Siofra, Rivinia, and I were here to discuss a request from Ming.

  “I’d like to go home, but I agreed to stay on until you were able to take me home,” Ming said, leaving none of us surprised.

  “Ha!” I scoffed. “Yes, you’re in fine spirits. Good to see the old Ming back. And hell to the no am I taking you home now to spend three weeks to get back to this point. I get that you’ve had a bad trip.”

  She had a miserable time, hated the cold, and almost died getting to this point. Her pale complexion was restored, her illness gone, and now there was no reason for her to carry on with us.

  The healer was worth every coin. It was great to see her restored and I was kinda surprised she wanted to go home already. Ming lived for Lornia until she had a bout of illness. Her life revolved around studying that book on being a gem magician.

  And now she was stuck here with Lars babysitting her in the middle of a winter. Maybe it was her missing Yukio, they did love each other. Either way, she was trapped, or the future travel could be weighing on her.