“Me T-row.” Cage turned his head immediately to Frill padding his way into his partner’s lap and he raised an eyebrow. “yow-hat?”
“Uh, Granny, did I just hear him say something along the lines of ‘Me too’ and asked me ‘What?’ Please tell me I’m going crazy?” Cage said.
Megdline pealed out a hard laugh. “Absolutely astonishing. Cage, that is exactly what he said. It seems your awareness and understanding is growing. Again, your power is beginning to surface for you to at least partially hear Frill speaking is you are scratching at the lower second class of a sorcerer.” Her grey eyes turned down at ask “Old friend, tell him something I wouldn’t say.” Frill smiled with his sharp teeth. “Fff-y Fevor-ow ood is me-asta wiff a-meaooo ine.” The words were higher pitched and definitely not human.
Cage asked, concentrating very hard. “Say it again please.” Frill obliged another four times. Hesitantly Cage asked “Your favorite food is pasta with something, and wine?”
“Very good. Although it will take some time for you to understand him fluently that was a good effort. What he clearly said is ‘My favorite food is pasta spun with tomato sauce with a chilled glass of sweet wine.’ Like I said, well done. But since we cannot continue trying to develop a skill that won’t be perfected by practice. You must continue to get stronger.”
“I find it odd that I could not understand him last night, but I can this morning.” Cage admitted as he dished out the steaming eggs on a metal bowl and gave some to Brooke who smiled thanks.
Megdline also gave him the loaf of bread that didn’t have any poison and took out two eggs for herself and four sausage links from a pocket and began cooking her own breakfast. “Who can say? Maybe you were paying more attention to me as a likely threat as you assumed you couldn’t understand him. The fact is, you did hear him, if only slightly. Now I want to know what you were doing while I slept? My wards woke me when it sensed growing magic. It was very easy to know it was yours, but it was like a fly buzzing in my ears.”
“Sorry about that. I was fixing my gems to my liking.” He explained after swallowing the delightful food.
“May I understand what you did?” He gave his consent and her eyes widened and nearly made her hand slip on the spatula. “My word! I did not expect that. The distribution is perfect! I also sense a structure that binds them to each other in such a way as no one will ever drain completely by itself. Genius! Cage, that is a brilliant and un-congestive pattern. It would take me many more hours to do what you did. So your mind is that complex and focused to come up with such an application when I taught the very basics only hours ago…” She thought aloud and shook her head slowly with a wry smile. “This will make the next lesson go faster.”
While Megdline began dishing hers and Frill’s breakfast Brooke finally found a lull in the conversation to ask “Megdline, why is it Cage does not dream like us? It feels important somehow.”
“It is quite important.” Megdline answered kindly, trying to keep the priestess happy so Cage would remain pleased and focused. Mates, lovers and spouses always achieved more when there is less issue to deal with. “I purposely didn’t explain it. Warlocks are named for one specific reason. They are natural warriors and are inherently aggressive because their lives revolve around surviving. They fight to live and live to fight. We are also humans, Brooke, but our will we live on is significantly less than a warlocks. I kept this quiet because people would think aggressive means evil. You and I know Cage is anything but. Others who do not know what I do would misinterpret my words, but I know no one is listening to us now so it is safe. Because warlocks are so well designed to fight they also need rest. Actually, the main reason Cage is so still and does not dream is to build up his mana much more quickly. Many parts of his body go dormant to allow his strength to have less to repair fatigue. But that does not mean he is absent of thought. The instinct to warn when danger is near or wake when you feel a presence come close or hear something as small as grass crinkling under a foot will wake you, he retains that aspect and his training has focused it so that he will wake with so much as fabric rubbing together. The only time he has trouble is when he overuses magic. More parts go dormant. What would take the average mage ten or so hours to wake will take mere minutes. Warlocks are true warriors. It why we named them so for they are forever locked in war to survive.”
Brooke didn’t understand everything, but she learned what she needed.
Cage then asked. “Before the lesson, I was wondering why sometimes I can make flames that are common orange and then those that are black.”
Megdline held a finger up as she finished eating and went to drink the last of her tea. “That is common. The color of magic is sometimes universal and then there are those unique to the individual. Most refer to the phenomenon as combat magic because it usually occurs when the person in about to deal harm. For me, when I’m forced to fight, my magic becomes golden. My conjuring alters color without me telling it to. For you, Cage, yours is black because they just are. The colors don’t have any verified meaning and seems random. It really isn’t different, but the color means that this isn’t a game and I’m trying to kill you. But in the case of fire conjuring with a color change, be careful. Colored combat magic when applied to fire is very dangerous for it will eat through living things if it touches. It takes on a liquid fire aspect. It is like wyverns, the fire is made of magic and won’t stop unless the caster tells it to or another mage can find a way to counteract the spell. It was lucky your fire became black when you fought the General Adair on the mountain because anything else would have been incinerated.” Cage took the last swig of his drink and was glad it happened, though he didn’t show it. “Now I need to ask you a question, have you used magic that has done something unexpected?”
“Yeah. I tried imagining something like this” He raised a hand and made an illusion of a small white directional arrow that spun like a needle on a compass. “when I tried finding something, but” The image vanished. “I instead made the seeker thread. When I wanted to create an explosion I imagined a square block of what I used to use back home called C4, a plastic explosive. Instead, I got a small red ball that exploded on contact with anything that had a solid surface.”
“It has to do with common magic. Battle mages use many offensive spells and what you described is practiced often. For some reason, our conjuring of spells have unexpected results. Most work as we intend, which is very good. Do not let it bother you, just know that experimenting might not be what you desired. If it does come to be you will find it can be used for the same purpose.” Megdline then said “Cage, go wash our plates while I make preparations for what you will need.”
He got up without question and took all the cups, bowls, utensils and plates outside in the slowly brightening world. Cage used the snow to clean every item and found some ice sickles and filled the bowls to melt over the fire so they can store water. He returned and found Brooke packing slowly while his tutor had set out a few rocks and he could see her using magic on them, some turned a golden color. He set the ice holding bowls over the fire and went over to sit down. Brooke was also curious and sat beside her love to watch what the elder was doing.
Less than two minutes passed before Megdline stopped using magic. “Cage, since your gems have begun storing excess mana, we can begin to place wards. Wards are protection that automatically defend us from circumstances that take us by surprise or warn when there is a danger our senses cannot detect.”
“Like deadly radiation or poison gas?” Cage asked.
“Precisely. If you take a look at my staff you can see small writings carved into the wood. Each one is a word or phrase that will allow me to remember every ward I’ve implanted into my gem. As you can see, there are thousands, but if someone were to read it they would not understand anything because they are cryptic meanings only I am aware of. I have so many wards and have so much stored mana in the gem for fuel I am one hard Granny to shake off.” That got everyone laughing
. “Over half of the wards I’ve embedded are dormant and been used once or twice over the years, but they will always be at the ready. One day it will be the same for you.
“We will start adding wards into your diamonds to protect you from physical and magical harm. Since these will keep you safe you must make sure to add a variance to the gem you want to protect yourself from. Ideally, you will need to erect a shield if something is thrown at you faster than you can avoid, like an arrow or an object sped by magic. Think of the bubble-like barrier you first used to encompass you and Brooke when I arrived. The variance I spoke of must be focused on increasing the firmness of the barrier in conjunction of the approaching object’s speed, size and weight. The variance will use only the necessary amounts. And as for magic, do it the same way so long as the magic has a physical aspect.” Megdline paused. “Brooke, it would be best if you sat behind me for your own safety and don’t worry, I made sure Cage will not come to harm if his wards fail.”
“It’s alright.” Cage said before Brooke became upset. She stood and moved around and behind the other woman. As she sat she went rigid as Frill encompassed her legs and began to purr. She slowly reached and stroked his soft fur when she didn’t feel threatened. When he saw Brooke relax, he did as said and applied the barrier spell and limited its activation to not initiate for anything slower than the speed of a sword or physical strike. Cage also added a dozen more that he wasn’t told. He looked up when he felt the fourth gem take in the spell. “I cannot feel it doing anything. How can it react without it sending magic as a warning?”
“It is doing just that, but the amount being used is so infinitesimal that none will ever notice it. Not even you, the caster.” Megdline picked up a rock and threw it. Cage easily caught it. It make her shake her head. “Stupid, just stupid. Cage, your barrier should have blocked that.”
“Where is the fun of that? Besides, I went much further than your explanation.” He tossed the rock back as he continued sitting before Megdline, with fifteen feet of distance separating. He sensed her magic flash and watched the stone stop dead, just outside her reach. It then dropped to the ground. As she reached to retrieve it he spun till his back faced them. “Try it again with my back turned. Oh, do it when I’m not prepared.” In the middle of the second sentence he felt his gem activate in a sudden burst. It stopped and he heard the stone drop.
“What wards did you place so quickly?” Megdline wondered.
He spun back around and rolled the stone between his fingers. “Several actually. I made it so if anything inanimate moves more than a hundred miles per hour it will block it. If something alive comes up from behind that I’m not aware of I will feel a slight twinge of pain of warning. If I’m deeply asleep and anything comes within ten feet it will wake me and if anything comes within reach that moves faster than a hundred feet a second it will activate a barrier while also giving me pain to jumpstart my adrenaline and warn me a fight is near. If more than one object approaches me the barrier will activate and run infinitely till I tell it to stop or if it runs into conflict with the spell siphoning from me, it again will cease. Any dangerous projectiles while awake will start a fifteen second barrier regardless… and it goes for magic as well, giving me plenty of time to decide whether to keep it running or let it run its course. The strength also increases automatically and responds to my mental need to weaken if I connect to it. In the case of magic designed to cut through a barrier or explode I added a spin to the barrier to divert such direct cases aside. I also added a counter should someone invert my shield where instead of protecting me, it will trap me. If it cannot be reversed the spell will end and immediately create a second one. If at any moment I chose to charge, all barrier wards become null, unless I link to a barrier and draw it to myself and extend the range as I choose.” He ended the explanation.
“So many in so little time?” She breathed.
“I understood what I wanted and no conflicts arose in the layering. I designed these variations because I’ve used them before and know how they work.” He shrugged casually while grinning.
“Using pain to wake is a good plan, one I will test and make sure you did it correctly. Very well, let me see if your wards protect you. Raise a hand if the stored magic in the gems runs low.” Megdline then asked. “I hope you didn’t implant retaliatory wards to fight back?”
“No, I don’t like the idea of automatic counters that I didn’t do. It wouldn’t be any fun or fair to the opponent. I will only make wards to protect or warn, never to fight.”
“Then it is good because gems are not designed to fight. The stress of offensive magic has a habit of breaking gems, even diamonds. In rare cases, even just one offensive spell can make the stored mana explode, destroying everything nearby. Only the stupid use wards offensively, like the mage you killed that had the dog. Wards are protection, not a weapon.” Being reassured he hadn’t done the foolish, Megdline began to test his wards. First she sent a spark of gold fire that she controlled perfectly and his ward flared to life, reacting to the magic. She made the fire larger and hotter and his ward strengthened to match and be able to resist. Her own barrier sustained as she made to protect herself, Frill and Brooke. She stopped the fire and saw fifteen seconds later that the barrier ceased being used. Cage sat calmly, focusing on how his diamonds reacted and how Megdline tested him. Her test took a good portion out of them. Rocks were fired, sometimes two or three at a time. When she nodded it was sufficient, Cage stopped the spell. She sent a rock to try and slip pass his barrier and the air swirled for a second, diverting the rock that flowed and shot through the wall behind him, leaving a deep hole. She made a red explosive magic the size of a pea, but Cage erected a barrier out of reflex. “Not to worry, the explosive will only make the living feel a strong chill to simulate we are dead. It will not harm anything. If you are confident in your wards then drop your barrier.” He did and it made a faint pop as his barrier spun away the problematic magic. When he felt nothing he received a nod. Eventually Megdline ran out of tests. “Good, now you have adequate protection from average physical harm…”
“Wait, we have to test his last ward.” Brooke said while standing. “Cage, when I stalk, I do not make sound. Turn and let me sneak up on you. And distract yourself with your ocarina so it will be more realistic and not know this is a test.”
He thought it to be a good idea and dug in his bag. Megdline stood and sat beside him, for she had never seen what he held. Brooke wouldn’t start till she knew he was completely distracted. As he began to play Megdline said “Such a wonderful sound. Play something cheerful and exciting.” He obliged and the cave became saturated with music. It flowed and made a complex harmony as his fingers moved with speed and precision and made a person’s heart race in response to the sharp and clear music.
After two other songs he felt a mild twinge appear on the back of his head and jerked it around. Brooke came within five feet. “Good, that is a safe distance to make a person’s surprise attack spoiled and give you the time needed to retaliate, Cage Love.” Brooke said in satisfaction. “Megdline, is this enough for now?”
“It is, we can leave.” She confirmed and stood. As she began feeding the pillows and sheet back into her pocket she watched Cage taking the hot water and filling his container and Brooke’s water skin. “Cage, that was amazing music. You have many talents.”
“Thank you, but it is a pale imitation to what an ocarina should sound like. I wish I had tools to seamlessly join the halves and smooth the inside till there isn’t one bur or crack.” He admitted.
“It is wood. Use magic to join the fibers and make it as smooth as glass if that is what you want. It is simple manipulation magic. Your good at taking words and figuring things out. Do it now.”
“I’ll need to focus on keeping us alive. I cannot be distracted out there. It will have to wait.” He pointed outside as he stood with his pack sealed and the fur rolled under his arm.
“I’ve got that covered. We’ll be moving fa
ster my way.” She grinned and it was genuine.
“How will we do it any other way?” Brooke asked as she kicked out the fire.
“Why, we aren’t going to walk.” Megdline laughed at their confusion.
Chapter 9
“Both of you, hold still.” Megdline said they stood outside under the perpetual cloud cover and chilling wind. The four of them waited in a relatively open space where they lingered for the elder sorceress to begin. She raised her staff and focused on the two. With her free hand she aimed it at them. A golden ray of light shot from it and wrapped around Cage and Brooke’s legs. A feeling if weightlessness overcame them as they hovered a few inches above the ground. Brooke gasped and grabbed Cage’s arm. Megdline spelled herself and Frill the same way and none of them touched the ground. “This is how I was able to reach you so quickly. Now don’t be frightened. Until we leave this place, it will be safer to move in this manner. Since I cannot Jump us out of here, it will have to do. This spell will allow us to glide over the ground. If you must stop quickly, lean back or quickly turn around and move in the other direction. I must ask you stay within fifty feet of me at all times so the strain isn’t too great for me to sustain. Watch me and learn.”
Cage focused on her movements as she glided just above the ground. For every five to ten normal steps would take only one reasonable step this way. After watching for a few seconds a grin formed. Instead of walking like Megdline he had Brooke let go and be patient. She didn’t want to, but she did. Cage began gliding from one foot to the next and said “Granny, back on Earth, we had an invention called rollerblades that do exactly the same thing.” Megdline stopped to gawk as Cage began skating with absolute skill and precision in seemingly erratic patterns, but she knew immediately he was having an amazing time as he laughed. Cage found out quickly that the spell only makes the feet hover, but he did flips on the snow that boggled the mind. He built up speed and flipped with such power and grace that even Megdline had never seen practiced. He would make hard turns without decelerating by leaning sharply, putting a hand on the ground and speeding in a different direction. His tall, lean form blended power and speed perfectly in the test. The cold wind would be a problem, moving much faster than walking, but the spell kept them off the ground and treacherous snow. Cage felt so excited at this feeling of speed and flexibility he knew he would come to love learning the spell. He had a pure, joyful laugh as snow sometimes spewed from sharp turns like a skier doing a slalom. He came to a perfect stop beside Brooke to excitedly say “That was awesome.” Cage then grabbed Brooke’s hands and said. “I got you. A natural dancer like yourself will find it easy to skate above the ground.”
Familiar's Ancient Throne (Book 2 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 27