In his currently weakened state, he couldn’t resist as hunger ravaged control over the bodily needs. The snack tasted delicious and filling. Brooke helped him sit up and took over the job of feeding her exhausted mate. While he ate small bites, Frill jumped in Brooke’s pack and brought over her water bag in his teeth. She thanked the feline before giving her love a drink he desperately needed. Megdline gave five more tasty bars, that he enjoyed, before asking “Cage, how did you do the impossible again? You returned a ghost back into a spirit. Such a thing has never been done before. Ghosts have to be destroyed… My grandson…”
Cage laid a hand on Megdline’s shoulder with compassion. “I don’t have an explanation that can be put in words. It was instinctual, like that dreaded feeling I first felt. So it worked, I healed her?”
“Yes, My Love, you did.” Brooke wrapped her arms around him. “She is a good spirit yet again. Though I could not see her like the three of you, I could hear her relief and admiration for you. If you can make bad spirits good again, when none other ever has, then you truly are a ruler of the dead. Only one who can truly fix a spirit can be named as you have. Lord Death, you reign over spirits. When you first commanded her, she obeyed. Only my man could free a tortured spirit and save us again.” He chuckled as she kissed his scruffy cheek.
“We should get going.” Megdline purposed. “I believe the spirit’s warning and want to leave. Cage, you are in no condition to walk. Brooke, I’m going to make us glide again. It will be up to you to pull him. Do not worry, he will not slow us down and will feel weightless.” Her topaz glowed for a moment and the coldness on his lower extremities vanished when his entire length floated on nothing. Before he knew it, Brooke had him hold onto their things as she effortlessly pulled him behind the sorceress and Familiar. The rope around his waist didn’t hurt as she pulled him along.
It didn’t take long for Megdline to locate the glass disc and slammed the end of her staff through it, making it shatter. The calmness they experienced vanished in an instant as a light blizzard replaced the void they were trapped in. Megdline made a simple barrier around them and moved along the pass they found themselves in.
Cage wasn’t sure how long they walked for he fell completely asleep while getting dragged. Overusing magic still remained exhausting.
Cold darkness greeted Cage as his eyes opened. He looked up and became mesmerized by Brooke’s swaying backside and the thoughts of what he so wanted to do, heated his blood. He saw her outline because a floating white orb guided them. He glanced to either side to find they were in a shallow ravine. Megdline led the way with Frill through the crisp and clear area, all while keeping everyone afloat and maintaining the light. He felt slightly hungry, but good as new. Cage said “Can we stop for a minute I need to go use a bush?”
His words startled them because of the quiet, but they quickly calmed. He sat up and put the supplies down on the firmly packed snow. Brooke glided and stopped at his side. “Love, are you well?”
“Good as new.” He said while standing up. “Granny? Please release your spell.” She obliged for all of them, knowing everything to be safe. He then walked off, making his own soft white orb in his hand and moved behind a snow covered bush to relieve the pressure in his bladder. He washed his hands in the snow and air dried. He returned to find only Megdline waiting. “Where did she go?”
“They hadn’t said anything, but they had to go too.” She said and looked oddly at him. “Are you sure you are feeling alright?”
He heard a crunch of snow and looked to see Brooke returning. Frill came back from the other direction. “Yes, I’m doing fine. No lingering effects besides some hunger.” Brooke came close and gave him a strong embrace.
Megdline casually put a hand on her hip. “Well that can wait. The food I gave you will last a while yet and the rest of us ate along the way while you rested… Cage, are you sure you cannot tell me how you restored a spirit from a ghost? If we could learn this skill we won’t need to destroy the essence of a person’s soul anymore. Please, I want to know.”
Cage kept a hand around Brooke’s lower back as she did to him and with his other hand he scratched his head absently. “Granny, I wish I could explain it. It was like an instinct, like how we know fire will burn us because it is hot. I cannot explain any better than that, though I wish I could. I knew that I couldn’t bear to see a spirit ruined for eternity and wanted to help. Then a feeling overcame me and I understood without words how to control and help. And the odd thing was how calm and sure I felt when I commanded it to be quiet. Then I just willed her to be healed and become whole again and it happened, but it required a great deal of mana… My voice sounded similar to when I tried summoning my Familiar. My voice had the same, otherworldly quality.”
“I noticed that.” Megdline admitted. “When someone summons something, their voice gets layered with mana. My voice does it too when I have to summon Frill, if he is ever gone from my side. But I never heard anyone commanding a ghost that wasn’t the necromancer, even with that voice. It is hard to accept the impossible, but I saw what you did and want to understand. Such a spell could revolutionize how we deal with spirits and no ghost would have to be destroyed completely. Not even in the books I studied told me anything about warlocks making ghosts into spirits again.”
“And I wish I could help. This information I would give freely if it could be expressed in any other way. Since there isn’t any way to read another’s mind, I do not ever see anyone other than me using this skill.” Cage then asked carefully. “Granny, when Grandpa stopped your grandson, are you sure there is nothing left? If I studied necromancy, I might find a way to do what I did to the ghost.”
Megdline shook her head and wiped a tear away, but had strong self control and kept her voice normal. “Although you fixed the girl’s ghost, you had something to work with. When my husband was forced, he had to quite literally rip apart everything that was once our grandchild, to save ourselves and likely others. Everything that made him who he is, can never be attracted or gathered ever again. Imagine throwing a pebble at the sun, nothing that is the rock will remain when it reaches that powerful force of nature. He will never exist after being destroyed. I thank you of wanting to help though, but it is too late.” She turned around. “Let us continue onward and reach the end of this place. If it cannot be learned to heal ghosts, then you are very important, more than even I can imagine. We leave.”
Before Megdline could take a step, Brooke moved around and embraced the other female tightly. “Do not hide your feelings, Sister. You are not alone. If you are to teach my mate for some time, then you will also have me. I feel for your loss and do not blame your husband for what he was forced to do. Be pissed at the evil magic-man who turned your grandchild’s good spirit into a bad one.” Megdline nodded, afraid of how her voice would sound at the moment. Brooke pulled away and placed a hand over the older woman’s heart. “And do not think him gone. He is here, in your heart, for all time. His memory remains through you. Remember this always, Sister.” Brooke gave her another tight hug and Megdline this time wrapped her arms around the priestess. Frill came closer and rubbed up against his partners leg, not needing to say anything.
Brooke then pulled away to smile. “Shall we go then?”
Cage used the spell to float for himself just so Megdline would have one less person to support. She asked how long he could sustain it and he replied “Even with my gems still siphoning, I can maintain this effortlessly. Just barely though. If I had to support anyone else… I could do it for maybe three or four hours before getting exhausted.” Megdline understood and reapplied her spell to the others while keeping the glowing orb further ahead as they skated on. Cage kept his own light orb directly above them so they were better illuminated.
As light began to appear they were greeted with a change in the weather. Some actual warmth. Instead of heavy blankets of snow, there was slush. Then an hour later Brooke hooted with joy “Look! Up ahead! No snow!”
Three miles later, all four of them collapsed just outside the edge of Frozen Forest and laughed with relief. They survived. Brooke threw her ice axes back into the forest and took off her moccasins to dig her toes into the chilly earth and smell the rich aroma. After feeling the relief of surviving the traps and natural dangers, Cage went into a snowless forest to collect firewood and came across a suitable shelter of adequate size. It was completely hidden by the dense foliage and would be perfect. He called out to the others in the distance of his finding and they came to like the location without criticism. There was a steep sided granite wall about seven feet tall with a few leaning trees that made a decent canopy. A little work is needed to make it rainproof, but it worked. He built a fire and found leafy branches to fill in the gaps as Brooke and Megdline started a meal.
Cage smiled as he said “We will stay here until tomorrow morning. We need to recover and rest since we took five or so days off my initial estimate. And I wanted to have you listen to my perfected ocarina… Granny, I had no idea I could manipulate fibers in the wood to make a seamless piece.”
She was about to say something and stopped as he closed his eyes and began to play a slow, soulful song that pulled at the heart. Frill found it to his liking and began to purr in harmony. Brooke couldn’t help herself as she stood and began to dance in front of her man, letting the music flow through her. The music progressed and evolved as he felt and it turned into something fun and exciting. Brooke couldn’t contain herself as she pulled Megdline up and had her dance too. Frill’s tail began to thump to the music. He stopped playing as he smelled food burning and quickly hurried over to move the food around before it all burned.
Megdline collapsed beside Frill with exhausted excitement. “Cage, I didn’t believe you were serious about that instrument not being perfect until I heard that. It is a wonderful device I might like to learn one day. And it is good we rest all day today. We both need to restore our gems for what may lay ahead.”
Brooke pushed Cage back a little ways and sat directly in his lap to say “Every warrior knows to rest often or when there is opportunity, otherwise all the work is meaningless if we are exhausted and cannot function .” She leaned forward and fixed the meal and saved it from being ruined. Brooke made the breakfast large and everyone got a large portion to make up for missing out on proper meals. Cage silently checked for hazards in the food and found none. He had to use his long arms to reach around Brooke to eat since she stayed in his lap. It was different, but not uncomfortable. Brooke smiled tenderly and kissed his cheek at one point to say “Cage Love, that was wonderful music. Wear your red bead with pride. Few could make such unique melodies. Megdline and I both needed that release and pleasurable experience.”
“You are both welcome.” He said and kissed Brooke’s neck and it made her giggle.
She pushed his head back. “That tickles! You need to shave.”
“Tickles, does it? Big mistake.” Letting me know that is. He thought and went to kiss her neck again.
It made her giggle and then he started poking her ticklish ribs. Brooke sat the food aside before knocking it over and pulled her tomahawk to place by his neck. “Stoaahaaaap.” Brooke laughed. The weapon shook as she tried to regain control. He tickled her rib again and the hatchet dropped. She quickly stood up to get away from his assault, while laughing. Frill and Megdline joined in as Cage got up and took chase, making smooching sounds and wiggling his fingers meaningfully. She didn’t get far before he got her on the ground and tickled her up and down till tears poured and she couldn’t resist any more.
When she had had enough, Cage got up and walked back to the fur and finished eating. Someone would chuckle now and then.
As Brooke went to grab her tomahawk, a green gleam caught her eye and then she remembered. She grabbed the handle and peeled back some of the leather binding. “Love, I forgot about my two emeralds I kept after killing the stupid highwaymen.” She held out the uncut stone for him to see.
He smiled. “I remember you had a lot of fun toying with them.”
“That I did.” She grinned and turned her attention. “Megdline, I have a question.”
“What might it be?” Megdline inquired with interest.
Brooke held out the green emerald. “I want some protection, like what you and Cage have. I do not want to be killed by an arrow that I cannot avoid, like the Empire does for their warriors. Can it be done?”
“May I?” Megdline stretched out her hand. Brooke nodded and placed the stone in her hand. “Uncut… minor flaws… decent quality…” Megdline mumbled and sent her magic to do a thorough test. “I do not see why not.” She said, meeting Brooke’s gaze. “You must understand that the wards will be far weaker than what Cage and I have at our disposal and you will not be able to pull it in once it is taken from you. What you must also be aware is that the government strictly regulates gem usage with magical properties. Enchantments are kept for times of war. I do not see a problem with you doing this because you are mated to Cage and will be observed by simple proximity to him. And we might need you to have something at the very least if there is to be an unavoidable fight.
“Since it isn’t a specific gem, made solely for you, someone of mage class will be able to steal it, if you are not careful. Also it will take far longer to make the spell work properly because most of your mana is being consumed from your mark. What would take Cage and I five minutes to charge for a simple shielding spell, would take no less than a day from you.” She returned the gem to the owner. “Cage, since you need to be more accustomed with working wards and tying spells together, you shall do it. First, give it a sample of your mana so a spell can be tied to her, just like you did for yourself.”
Brooke also took out the other emerald and turned to her mate. He put some power into each and spoke the safeguards to protect Brooke from danger and also added a distance limitation so that if the weapons were more than fifty feet from her that the draw would end. On one, he applied a projectile barrier and the other would resist dangerous magic and he explained as much. He linked the gems together and felt how they evened their levels. Cage then leashed one to pull from Brooke, but Megdline reacted quickly as she sensed what he did. “Cage that is far too much for her to sustain. Lower the draw immediately… More… More… Just a little more… There, that should do it.”
“It is so little?” He said.
“Yes, but it is all she can endure without tiring by doing even the simplest tasks in life. Every non-mage can sustain only what you did to her, with minor varying because no two people are exactly the same. She is not us. Since she cannot tap into her inner strength, it is the most we can have her safely handle. Brooke will not notice a difference as they slowly and constantly take her excess… Brooke, do you feel any different?”
“I got tired a minute ago, but not now. I feel nothing.” She replied and tightly tied the emeralds back to the handle of her tomahawks. “And I will keep them a secret. If it blocks just one arrow from hitting me, I will be pleased.”
“Good.” Megdline decided. “Alright Cage, increase the draw from yourself to passively store as much as you can tolerate, since we will likely stay here beneath the shelter for the whole time. I’m doing it as well. While we sit, I will begin teaching fundamental magic.”
Cage increased the flow to take all of his excess energy and found it had quadrupled the pull. After a few moments to meticulously get the rate just right, he commented an observation “I feel it has increased, but the tingle I’m constantly feeling remains the same.”
“That is because it is siphoning magic. It isn’t working a spell, it is taking. You will never feel someone giving their inner strength, but when they implement a spell you will. The constant sensation you are feeling is still coming from the forest, since it is near. If we had pushed on, the sensation would vanish after traveling two or three more hours. Passive spells cannot be sensed. Only you can feel the draw, unless a mage is actively sensing the flow of magic. You would
feel him or her doing it though.
“We will start the lesson with the three broad magic categories. They are Manipulation, Alteration and Creation…”
“I’m going to get some sleep.” Brooke yawned with a full stomach. She laid back and was surprised as Frill padded over and curled up with her. She didn’t realize just how tired she was as she fell almost immediately asleep.
Megdline smiled as she saw the two fall into a deep slumber and used a simple spell that required almost no effort so they got some sleep and wouldn’t be disturbed by their conversation. Her grey eyes turned back to Cage as he sat patiently. “Back to the three fundamentals of magic. You already understand that mana is the fuel by which we use magic and that the greater the distance the harder it is to do spells. By far, the easiest spells on average is Manipulation. Most require minimal strength to move, gather or shape as we want. Manipulation can change the weather when needed or even plug a crack in a wall that no tool can reach. When you completed the ocarina and manipulated the wood, that was Manipulation. Creation requires more energy, like conjuring flames or a shield. Then there is Alteration, most students and scholars refer to it as alchemy.”
“Like turning lead into gold?” He asked.
“Quite so. What do you know of it?”
Cage crossed his arms and leaned against the warming stone wall to think. “On Earth, there were many myths. Some thought it to be the predecessor to chemistry and others thought it was a mystical art. There were many stories of turning one object like common sand into drinking water. There is even the legend of the Philosophers’ Stone. It was said to be an object capable of turning anything it touched into solid gold…” He looked at his diamonds. “I guess it was where gems holding magic had been changed into over the years. Lost to a gem’s actual meaning, but not truly forgotten.”
“Well you are right. Alteration is transforming something into something completely different. When I made my topaz, it was a blend of the three fundamentals. You must be very careful if you chose to do a spell that relies solely on Alteration. If your strength doesn’t fully complete a spell, the intention you were striving for might backfire. There is little use of Alteration because nature supplies all we truly need. As for gold, I must warn to not make gold for it is illegal because it would destabilize an economy.
Familiar's Ancient Throne (Book 2 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 29