The Mage of Mages 2

by Whiskey Flowers

  “We have an unknown mage in town” Candace said looking at Sawyer. “He won't be any trouble, a mage as weak as he is will be easy to beat.”

  Sawyer wanted to laugh at this, mage power was based on three things and he doubted this girl could best him. The first thing was on the mage’s ability to concentrate and hold on to their magic, no matter their skill level or time spent practicing, there was no way to improve this skill to go into the next tier. In Haven, the country that discovered he had magic, they tested the concentration level by having mages cast a simple spell with a staff, every mage could do that however some required better staves to be useful. After that, people were given a wand to cast the same spell with, not many could do that, maybe a tenth of the mage population. Casting with a wand was harder than doing it with a staff, the only consolidation was that a wand was easier to keep hidden. The wand casters were said to be a level two in power, the final level, level three required someone to cast with the help of a ring. Only one percent of mages could do that, Sawyer was one that could cast with a ring and it was the reason he had a bone ring on his finger. Sawyer was a level three mage but that moniker was misleading, just being able to cast with a ring which was insanely hard but did not mean everything. Other than affinities the mage’s magical reserve also played a big part. Sawyer had met two mages who were at level three and had multiple affinities but had a very small magic reserve. It didn’t matter what spells they were capable of if they did not have enough power to cast them. Sawyer saw the girl’s hands and did not see any wooden rings, if she could cast with one she at least would have had it on. Sawyer was unsure if she was a level two or not but due to his fifth affinity, the affinity of life that was native to Mast and more precisely his family, with it, Sawyer could see the girl’s magic reserves. She was middle of the pack from the mages he had met, she would beat Elena who had a poor reserve and no affinity but that wasn’t everything. Often the quickest, not the strongest mage won a contest. If this girl didn’t know her spells then Sawyer doubted she could pose a threat, after all anyone with life magic didn’t have to actually speak to bring a spell into existence and Sawyer had memorized his father’s spell book and often tested himself to recreate it from scratch.

  “You may have been big in whatever small town you came from but I am an educated mage” Candace replied. “Your sword and size means nothing to me, now where did you come from?”

  “Colten” Sawyer replied.

  “And where are your parents and siblings?” Candace asked. “Are their any mages among them?”

  “They are dead” Sawyer said as his face fell. Elena had moved faster than he thought and Sawyer could barely make it out unscathed himself and had no time to save his family, his adopted father Marlon was a fighter and Sawyer was sure he went down fighting.

  “The war” the girl replied and softened her tone.

  “None of your business” Sawyer said regaining his composure. “Now if you are done” Sawyer finished as he went to turn away.

  “All mages in Perdomo are to be brought to the High Mage” Candace replied. “It is fortunate that we happen to be traveling here in Aston and found you.”

  “What if I don’t want to go?” Sawyer replied as he gripped his staff and grabbed ahold of the girl’s well. Sawyer had come from a great family of mages that could do things other mages only dreamed of, one of his best abilities was being able to grab ahold of sources of power other than his own. Energy could be drained from non-mages but it took a lot to power his spells. The best energy came from other mages and Sawyer had his tendrils wrapped around the other mage’s magic reserve and was ready to use it.

  “What do you mean you don’t want to go?” Candace asked. “Look at you, you are dirty and obviously poor. You stand to be well treated as a mage, you don’t even need money to buy things.”

  “I’ll pass” Sawyer replied, already knowing where this was going. They would give him an ultimatum and he would eventually comply, he didn’t run from Sale only to be killed here.

  “You will go” Candace said as she pointed her staff at Sawyer and the man she was with pulled out his sword. Sawyer narrowed his eyes at the woman and kept his staff out and pointed towards her and drew his blade. Behind him he could hear movement and turned around to see two more men behind him in a similar uniform to the man in front of him. Sawyer was sure he could get out of it, but he was trying to keep a low profile until he could decide how he could get into Aft and if they would still take him after the ultimaums they received from Haven and Sale. Sawyer sheathed his sword and lowered his staff.

  “You all would do yourself a favor to remember me” Sawyer replied looking around at the men. “You won't have this mage here to protect you forever.”

  “Just come along” Candace replied. “Your threats don’t mean anything, now please follow me and don’t try to run. You have a crossbow pointed at you and if you try something stupid you will be shot in the back. Now follow me, the High mage will be surprised by what I found.”

  Sawyer followed the girl, she waved at some of the people on the street as she walked by and they seemed amazed to see her. Some started whispering after Candace passed them by and from a distance Sawyer could see others pointing. More men dressed in red uniforms joined the group and followed, Sawyer had to admit they were well trained and observant. Once any of them saw one of their number had a weapon drawn they all followed suit, Sawyer could hear them whisper excitedly about finding another mage. The girl walked up to an inn and Sawyer could see more people in red outside guarding it, they parted when she came near and one opened the door.

  “Keep moving” said a voice from behind Sawyer as he felt someone give him a little shove to follow Candace through the door.

  Candace walked over to a table where a woman sat, she was also in robes but unlike the girl her robes were a deep purple color and had fancy golden trim. Sawyer immediately grasped her magical reserve and was astonded at what he found. This mage did not have any affinity, Sawyer didn’t know how he knew but had a hunch this mage couldn’t even cast with a wand. What the woman did have though was a huge magic reservoir, bigger than Sawyer had ever seen. Sawyer had a sizable resevoir and until recently met only two other people bigger than what he had but not on the scale this woman’s was. She had at least a quarter more magic to use than Sawyer did, in a fight she was likely able to overpower any mage who wished to cross staves with her. The woman wasn’t young but she was far from old, Sawyer placed her around forty summers and she looked up at Candace and then over at Sawyer.

  “I found a mage wandering around the marketplace” Candace said triumphantly. “He gave me a little trouble, he didn’t want to come but knew he was outmatched when he saw the color of my robes. I don’t know who trained him but they probably did a poor job, he told me he is from Colten.”

  “Does he have any family here?” the woman said excitedly.

  “All died in the war” Candace replied. “Which would explain why he is filthy and wandering around looking lost.”

  “What is your name” the High Mage said looking at Sawyer.

  “None of your business” Sawyer replied. “Can I go now?”

  “We are not your enemy” the High Mage replied. “My apprentice may have been a bit forceful but she had a job to do. My name is Tabitha, I am the High Mage of Perdomo but that is not saying much. We only have fifteen mages of age total in the kingdom and that is including you, mostly young people since the purge. Are you hungry?”

  “I can get my own food, now what do you want?” Sawyer replied.

  “I told you that he was a bit difficult” Candace replied. “Now you know why I had to use a little force.”

  “You are probably not up to date on the laws here in Perdomo so let me enlighten you” Tabitha began. “Unlike in Colten, our mages are strictly watched in an effort to bring magic back into our lands. It was here where the great purge began and a decent amount of knowledge survived from those times. Now that you are in Per
domo you belong to the Queen and to the people. In the abscense of the Queen I am her designee, I have say so over all the mages in Perdomo. You don’t really have a place you have to go anymore, you are right where you need to be. Now are you hungry?”

  “No” Sawyer replied crossing his arms.

  “So angry” Tabitha replied. “Candace see to it that our new mage has a place to stay, we won't be in Aston that much longer but I think it is prudent you and the rest go back out there and search. How did you find him? Did you notice his uh, staff?”

  “No” Candace replied. “Your finder let me know, I could just feel there were three mages in the city all of a sudden. I didn’t want to run out of power trying to feed it magic so it could work so I did a lot of wandering but it eventually led me right to him. When I saw the bone staff I knew it had to be him, this really is a good invention.”

  Sawyer stopped listening to them after that, what was important was that the Perdomo had a way to identify mages. Mages would normally develop their magic somewhat young and unexplained things would happen to them and they would present themselves to the mage tower in Haven. That was how the Havenians did it and a test was given that require the mage to touch something, the fact that the Perdomo had a much better technique was big news. Haven would kill for such technology and they had more mages than anyone, just the class of mages that Sawyer graduated from in Haven had the same amount in that one year than all of Perdomo. They still would welcome the chance to find more and bolster their fighting force.

  “Are you listening to me young man?” Tabitha replied. “I am asking you do you want any real clothes. So far I have been nice to you despite your rudeness, if you continue then perhaps I will have to take you to Maduro. I guarantee the experience, even for a mage would humble you.”

  “Is that really necessary?” one of the men in red asked. “I’ll show this boy to his room and get him something else to wear.”

  Sawyer turned around as a strong arm gripped his bicep and started dragging him on, Sawyer thought abut fighting but as soon as he left the mage’s sight the grip loosened. The man in red looked back behind him for a second then opened a door and pushed Sawyer inside.

  “I don’t want a fight” the man said. Sawyer could see the man was maybe four years older than he was. “I can tell you are not just a spell flinger, I felt muscle under those rags but it doesn’t matter. You better fix yourself and quickly, no woman brings up Maduro that easily.”

  “What the hell is Maduro?” Sawyer asked interested.

  “It is a kingdom within a kingdom” the man replied. “There are rules that apply there that do not apply anywhere else in the kingdom. It is every man’s nightmare to be sent there, getting out is a lot harder than getting in, it is like a prison of sorts.”

  “I thought you said it was a kingdom, not a dungeon” Sawyer replied confused.

  “It is both” the man in red replied. “Maduro is a city, the Queen made it as a safe haven for women and girls. Rules that apply there are different, men have no power or rights in Maduro.”

  “That makes no sense” Sawyer replied. “Men are naturally the stronger of the two sexes, who could enforce such a rule except another man.”

  “Female mages are inside of there” the man in red replied. “And it is illegal for any man to have a weapon inside without permisson so only females have knives, daggers, swords and crossbows. In the odd case they need other back up, men who are close to completeing their sentence can be put on a force dedicated to stopping bad seeds. If they stop so many then they can be released, trust me when I say the place is bad news.”

  “How can such a place stay open?” Sawyer replied.

  “How can it not?” the man in red replied. “Criminals and enemies of the crown are sent there to slave away at whatever. Who on the outside cares if a bunch of criminals are treated poorly? Many sadistic types of women go there along with those who just want a break from the outside world. Women pay for nothing in Maduro and along with their kids, providing that none of them are male always have a place to stay and food to eat.”

  “A city filled with women” Sawyer replied.

  “Whatever you are thinking, strike it from your mind” the man replied. “It is no where you want to be for any amount of time. I don’t even recommend walking near it, you might just be kidnapped inside. Do yourself a favor and don’t piss off the high mage, I don’t know your skill level but I have seen her fight before. No mage has come close to beating her, even those with an affinity would prefer not to have a magic duel with her.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this?” Sawyer asked. “Didn’t I just threaten you not to long ago?”

  “Because that was just me doing my job” the man in red replied. “I get paid a lot but any failure in my duties could end up with me in Maduro. I don’t wish that on any man, I knew a man that went there once. He went in a load of hard liquor and curse words and came out as meek as a baby lamb. He had scars all over his body and looked malnutritioned, he never would talk about what happened but I have pieced together enough of it to determine what happened and will happen to anyone going there. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, you don’t have to be her friend but don’t become her enemy, I have seen the high mage send two of my fellow guards there in the last two years. She is not bluffing so don’t try her.”

  “Thank you for the solid” Sawyer replied. “And don’t worry about the clothes, I can launder them and make them smell decent again. I thought looking like a bum would make everyone leave me alone since it would be obvious I had no money.”

  “I am going to find you something anyway” the man replied. “The name is Chews, no it’s not my real name but it is the only thing I go by.”

  “My name is Sarlon” Sawyer thought quickly, using a combination of his and his adopted father’s names.

  “Well Sarlon just learn to play the game first” Chews replied. “You will be away from this place before you know it.”

  Sawyer nodded and wondered why the man looked so scared, it had him shaken. Sawyer was expecting someone to act gruff and commanding like they were speaking to a child, technically Sawyer was only 18 but Chews couldn’t have been more than 22. Sawyer had to come up with a plausible story just in case some one was looking for him, they probably figured he ran to Aft or even Haven and would have never suspected he ran to the enemy. Sawyer was unsure of what would happen to him if anyone here knew his real identity and didn’t want to find out. It was the reason he cut off all of his hair including his eyebrows. He was bald now and still held the bone staff but hoped no one knew what kind of bone staff he carried. Sawyer took off his clothes and cast one of his more useful spells, dirt, grime and odors lifted into the air from the steam cleaning spell and deposited itself on the floor. Sawyer did the same spell, just in lesser intensity for his body. Sawyer put his things back on and dug into his pocket, he still had a few apple seeds there that he took to carrying. If he had a little dirt Sawyer could grow multiple fruits within a single day, he was hungry but had been eating fruit during his entire escape. He needed something more filing but poison is what helped to bring down his real father, he wasn’t stupid enough to blindly try anything here. A knock sounded at Sawyer’s door and then Chews came back in holding some clothes.

  “These are mine” Chews replied as he put them on the bed. “Wow you cleaned up quickly.”

  “Thank you” Sawyer replied as a thought hit him. The enemy had no idea how powerful he was and although the spell was small and didn’t take much magic, it was outside of the reach for many people. Sawyer had used a combination of water, fire and air magic for the steam, Sawyer had only met one other mage that could boast of having three affinities and he would need to explain himself. Sawyer was sure his secret would be out in no time but thought it would be smart not to just give things away. Already he was seen as a barely trained mage from Colten and he had no idea how Colten even trained their mages.

  “These clothes are nothing to write
home about but they are sturdily built” Chews replied. “I am the closest to your size here, you are tall but kinda lanky despite those muscles under there. You fight with the sword?” Chews said as he looked at the weapon Sawyer had not fastened back on.

  “I can handle one decently enough” Sawyer replied. In reality he wasn’t the best he had ever faced but he could count on one hand the men capable of beating him and that was including when he started hiring master instructors to spar with him and give him instruction.

  “The other mages I have met all carry swords but I think they are just for show” Chews said. “Perhaps we can spar sometime, I am decently skilled which is how I got the job.”

  “You make this job seem nerve wracking, why stay in it?” Sawyer asked.

  “This is not a job you apply for or can readily leave” Chews replied. “I was taken from the army for my skill and have to stay here for the same amount of time I signed up for, four years. Already I am three years down so I don’t have too much to worry about. The pay is extremely good, one gold a week. Not many people can boast of such a fortune, when I leave I will still be young and will never have to work again. Maybe I will just try to switch mages, get away from the high mage and find one of the lesser mages.”

  “How long will I have to be involved in whatever this is?” Sawyer asked.

  “Forever” Chews replied. “You are expected to serve the kingdom and save us from any outsiders. You are an extension of the Queen’s will, you may have different duties assigned to you but I am sure I know which one you will fall into.”

  “And what is that?” Sawyer asked.

  “Slave catcher of course” Chews replied. “That is almost every mage’s primary mission, to gather slaves for the kingdom.”

  “Slavery was outlawed centuries ago” Sawyer replied.

  “Not anymore” Chews replied. “Due to the skirmishes with Colten, any man captured is placed in indentured servitude.”

  “Any man?” Sawyer asked.