Familiar's Ancient Throne(Book 2 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  “Creation and Manipulation will be better. And do not try an Alteration spell if you ever get in a fight, like turning someone to stone. It would be much easier and effective to simply blast them with combat magic. To alter physical composition is painful, consuming and slow. It is torture, plain and simple and I will have nothing to do with you if you do that to someone.”

  “Don’t worry. I’d rather kill with my own two hands. I only result to torture if there is no other option, Granny. And there are far more effective tortures than turning someone to stone. But I have a question. You warned me to not alter my body, why?” He asked.

  Her eyes remained calm and relaxed. “Magic can be addictive to the weak minded. For some who want to be beautiful, they use magic to become pretty. Some make their breasts larger, fuller and more symmetrical. I must admit, I’ve even done it to my breasts.” Megdline pulled her shoulders back to stretch the front of her robe to show her breasts were larger than suspected. “But it is all I’ve done to myself. Magic can make someone have the healthiest skin or shed excess fat. Quite a few mages keep their hair long to hide their tapered ears that allows them stronger hearing. They can hear like a dog or a cat, but loud noises won’t damage the ears. Some have slightly larger eyes that are keener and can see in lower levels of light. The drawback to that is that sudden bursts of light damage sight. Some become how they picture their beauty. Some men even enlarge their lance, though I can tell yours is natural due to your physique, long limbs and other biological factors. And then there are those who alter their body’s actual structure. Many years ago I watched as a mated quartet had had enough of living on land and manipulated their bodies to be aquatic, where they might live for the rest of their lives. They fused their legs together and their feet became a tail. They made gills for which to breathe and fixed their eyes to properly see underwater. The webbing between their fingers grew and scales covered their body. Then they went into the sea and have not been seen since.”

  “That actually sounds pretty cool?” He smiled. “I bet that is where the mermaid or siren myth originated.”

  “There is always a drawback or price to be paid when altering one’s body. To alter the body as it didn’t intend, take’s mana. Not much for some things, mind you, but the more you alter, the less mana you can use for magic. When those two men and women did that to themselves they could barely do the simplest spells. To do it to a normal person who’s mana is weak would kill them because they could not sustain that form.” Megdline touched her face. “If I wanted to I could be as beautiful as Brooke or Meeka, even look exactly like them actually, down to the hair on their head. If I did that, my strength would be cut in half until I returned to myself. I could even potentially look and sound like a man, but I love being a woman. Beyond making my breasts as perfect as I desire, I have made myself look to be in my mid forties. I keep my beauty like this, without prominent wrinkles, while looking mature enough to be respected. You would not respect me as your elder if I chose to look like I was when I was eighteen and at my most beautiful.” She watched as he nodded the truth of that. Cage would have found it weird and unnerving. “Some mages even manipulate physical strength, but posterity in one’s muscles aren’t worth it when magic strength is needed. Many mages keep their physical aspects as naturally as possible because anything that weakens magic is potentially suicide. It is better to be frail of body and powerful in magic than the other way around.” Then an idea popped in her head. “You’ve met King Skylar. Didn’t he seem too large compared to other mage’s you’ve seen?” Cage shrugged. “He might be a third class wizard, but when he was in Twilight he was very tall but thin. He made his body that muscled because his power is in the castle that protects him and his family. His son Sek though is naturally that large. So is his youngest daughter, but she is very beautiful for such a tall lady.” She touched herself for emphasis. “My natural strength is the same as any woman’s near the age I choose live in.” Megdline then held out her staff. “Nearly every mage uses a staff, as I’m sure you know, because spells take a lot out of us. We need a staff for many reasons, but the main ones are to hold our gems and to help us walk when we lose strength from doing too much. Personally, you are the only one I know that has your gems as part of your body. The only way to take them from you is to likely kill you.”

  Cage then moved further. “Why does nearly every mage wear a robe?”

  Megdline smiled. “Mostly because it is comfortable and easy to take off when you are so exhausted. Also it is because it is common for mages to dress in such a way to distinguish ourselves from others so that they will know who we are at a glance. Sometimes there are emergencies where a mage is needed and without asking they would see me and know I had power.”

  “Then why did the bandits attack you, when we first met?”

  “Ah, many times when a woman must travel alone, they make it appear they are a sorceresses. It is an old trick, but is still widely used. They might not have tried if Frill walked with me, but he was hunting mice and squirrels when they found me breaking in the field for an afternoon meal. They didn’t take my warning seriously, but then you intervened on my behalf, not realizing who I was. Also, I’ve even linked a few spells to this robe so it will never dirty. Here, watch this.” Megdline reached over and grabbed a handful of rich, moist dirt. She began rubbing it on her thigh and moved her hand away to let Cage watch as the particles puffed out of the fine fabric and left behind not even a moisture spot. “A robe keeps me cool in the summer and a spell to tighten the holes to not allow air in keeps me warm. I never need to worry about wear or tears as I have spells to mend the material. Robes are simple, effective, roomy and comfortable.”

  “So are you an all around adventurer in a guild?”

  “Only for Twilight. I’m not associated with Emroc or Vlaran adventure guilds, but I’m allowed to go wherever I please. It is why I do not wear either a crow or dragon crest. Besides, yellow and gold are my favorite colors and an all around mage, like myself, blends wonderfully.” Then she blinked. “How did we get off the lesson’s topic so easily?”

  Cage laughed. “This isn’t some book we’re following. We are having a conversation and subjects bounce around. It is natural. It keeps us from getting bored from focusing all on one subject.”

  “True enough.” She returned the mirth with a light laugh. “I know you are filled with questions, which I’ve come to enjoy. Since you can understand the fundamentals so easily and effortlessly figure out complicated matters, we can proceed and focus on practical applications. Speak on them.”

  Cage began thinking all on questions he’s been accumulating ever since coming to this world, discarding those that can be used for ill intent or further research on things he had back on his home world. A list began to appear in the back of his mind and the first one came out. “Granny, I find it odd that anyone knows so much about science and all it expands to, on a world without technology. Most things I’ve observed since coming is how much more primitive Raliea is. Where I’m from, we’ve gone into space, while here the best mode of transportation is a horse-drawn carriage or sailboat. How can you understand astrology and other worlds without sending probes or even designing vehicles?”

  Megdline nodded. “That was why Frill wanted to know so badly about technology. You see, it sounds like you’ve somehow harnessed the power of electricity.”

  Since she knew the word, he felt it alright to expand. “We have.”

  Megdline’s eyes widened. “How can you say it so easily? Cage,” She relaxed her expression. “in our universe, we cannot contain electricity. A mage can create it or manipulate the atmosphere into calling down lightning, but the mana of the universe somehow keeps it from being controlled outside magic. It gathers and releases, nothing more. We’ve had theories of how to make electricity for thousands of years, but when applied, it either doesn’t work or the electricity becomes unstable and has killed many. Cage, the only electricity we can know to work within a vessel is the li
ving body, the bioelectricity you know about. Furthermore, we know how different fuels can be burned for things like steam power and can make a large object move autonomously with little guidance on wheels, but the dragons warned that the byproduct of such methods are hazardous to life. To see if it was true, a very long time before I was born, there was an isolated experiment where in the Laqura Empire they tested the viability of machines. They took a ten thousand acre area and ran experiments, testing fuels whether solid, liquid or gas. Fusion seemed to be the safest and non-life choking, but the magic barriers were too weak to do even a fist size containment. Over the course of ten years, the testing area known now as the Void Hills is still lifeless. The dragons were right so the Magical Council and even Empress Vika unanimously agreed to ban all commoners from learning how fuels, like oil and coal, can be used for such purposes because it is too deadly to work in a large scale.”

  “Then I’m glad it is withheld because that is the crisis on Earth. It is dying because nearly every person, every day, is transported by vehicles that burn fossil fuels and the electricity in homes are supplied by power plants who do so much damage because the government and large businesses won’t search for alternatives. One of the first things I noticed in this world is how clean the air and water is. I can live without the abundant conveniences just to have untainted water to drink. Earth is slowly being poisoned by assholes who do not think beyond how fat their wallets… well coin purse I would say for your understanding.” He saw her take that information and would likely send that information in the report. “At least that likely won’t happen here, especially since you said mana disrupts electricity. It would be impossible for power plants to produce electricity by using those fuels… Granny, I know there are infinite ways to use magic… Is there a way to make a home, with amenities, that wouldn’t require cutting down dozens and hundreds of trees? Or tearing into the ground or mountains with which to harvest blocks of stone? Like doing what I did with my ocarina and literally grow a house out of a tree by manipulating it?”

  Megdline grinned before chuckling. “I forget from time to time you are exceedingly smart yet so new to the applications of our craft. Apparently you’ve never seen a true mage’s home.” Megdline found a pinecone that was open and guided it into her hand. She gently plucked a pine seed from within and held it out. “Cage, if you are ever allowed to visit my home in Twilight, you will find it vastly different than any dwelling you’ve come across. The possibilities contained in this tiny seed is inconceivable. Nearly all mages in Twilight, or have been taken to be trained, all live in homes grown from a seed just like this. Mine is made from a giant cedar and even ten other families below us call it home. My husband made it himself and we live at the top dwelling, which stands over a mile from the ground. We have flowing hot and cold water, an indoor privy and other comforts thanks to spells and imagination. We even have a central hearth that we can have a fire, right on the wood floor. Most would expect it to burn, but that section of floor has been magically reinforced to be denser and fire resistant. It always smells so wonderful and fresh.” She put the seed down. “Because a mage has the ability to destroy by magic, so too can we create. Twilight lives in harmony with nature and when we must learn the more dangerous aspects of our art, the dragons let us use their caves to practice without hurting anyone. Though they do not actively teach us, dragons are very protective and do not like to see a dangerous situation occur if it can be avoided. They see us as hatchlings and want to guide without interfering. So they let us use caves where there is no life with which to harm. It has had a deep impact on us and we too have come to understand the importance of coexistence without causing undue harm. Instead of cutting down trees for our homes, we actually grow one and shape it how we please. Much of Twilight is made this way, even the library I spoke of is actually a single living oak tree that will grow as we need it in order to contain our knowledge. It is a natural city over eight thousand years old.”

  “I’ve always liked the sturdiness of oak myself. I can probably figure out how to manipulate a seed to make my own house on the island… Yep, I like that idea. I’ll grow my own home.” He grinned at the inconceivable idea it would have been back on Earth. A thought abruptly appeared out of nowhere that turned the previous train into confusion. “Granny, I’d like to go back to the topic of dragons if you do not mind.” She smiled in amusement. Who isn’t curious about dragons at one time or another? She thought absently. “I was told they like to spend as much time flying as they do in caves or mountains. How can something so big fly like that? Furthermore, from what you said about my Familiar’s eye being so huge and a dragon can also be so gigantic, I’ve estimated that any creature of such size would have to be at least five hundred feet long with a similarly, if not longer, wingspan. And the weight would be no less than eight hundred tons. How could such a creature exist? Even one of such size would need to eat a ton of food or more each day just to live. Creatures that fly usually need to eat about their weight in food on a daily basis. Furthermore, as a species of such size, why aren’t there more and how…”

  “Slow down, Dimwit! Your excitement is making you talk too fast. Relax and let me explain what the general population doesn’t know about dragons, because they do not want such things commonly known.” She paused to see if he would be patient. Megdline wasn’t surprised that he stayed quiet. “What you mentioned of their size is quite accurate for someone who has never seen one. In fact it was the dragons who initially told us about the universe to mages of forgotten past. Originally, they made this world habitable and our primitive ancestors evolved under their ancient eyes. There are other planets and moons out there that the dragons have colonized. My husband once had the rare opportunity to visit one of these planets and told me of the wonders he saw on the dragon home world, Valagax. Because of their size, they limit their population according to the size of the world they occupy. Since this world is so large, similar to their original one, there are about a billion dragons here.” Cage’s jaw dropped. “Their colonies are also proportional to the mountains they hollow out and design. What we also know is that we are the only sentient species that can survive and coexist in the same atmosphere. There were others, but it is believed that other species went extinct. Dragons hate extinction because life is so rare in the cosmos. It was with their help and knowledge of transforming worlds that we created the one in which to send warlocks.

  “Next, we get to their growth. A dragon hatches from an egg no less than five feet in length and looks like a chicken egg, but the shells are vibrant colors, telling what the hatching’s color will be. It hatches and will spend six months with their parents before having strength to fly. The next five years are spent away from everyone to teach them how to not set everything afire every time they breathe. From snout to the tip of their tail, they are about eight to ten feet in length. Even the young have strong magic and are equipped to survive, even if they didn’t have armor-like scales, deadly teeth and clawed hands. The dragon learns just like we teach our children, but the young go and learn to live on their own and discover about life through their parental teachings and experiences. Dragon’s grow fast for the first twenty years, until they reach about a hundred feet in length, at which time they grow more slowly over the next nine hundred or so years. And the gigantic size you guessed is accurate, for mature elder dragons who stop growing. But unlike a human who has to eat more if they are larger, the older a dragon is, the less he needs to eat. A full grown dragon only needs to eat the equivalent of a large cow, once a month.” Cage stared openly and it made Megdline laugh. “Yes, it is true. The largest dragons do not need as much as a human of similar size would. You’d think they would die of starvation, but they somehow don’t need it and they remain strong, the strongest being of our world. Frill and I, when we were apprentice mages, got to meet the largest and most powerful Rex of this world when he flew in to the Blind Mountains for a short visit. He is Rex Nattan, nearly six hundred feet long. And he is b
y far the most golden dragon I had ever seen. Cage, I’m not joking, he was that monstrous and beautiful.

  “And as to something that big flying, their wings can no longer physically lift them as it would have when they were young, but they have immense magic to command. They use a spell, like what we used, to glide. Then their wings work properly and they can fly as fast as they want. Furthermore, dragons are everywhere, but to cause less problems for wildlife or scaring farmers and the like, they cloak themselves to be invisible. It is the same principal you used against the wyvern. One could fly right above you and you’d never know, unless they flew close to the ground in which case you would feel their magic. Does that clarify your concerns?”

  “Until I come up with more, it does.” He answered jokingly. “I’m wondering about Jumping now. Is it possible that you can Jump all of us to Bepop or somewhere near?”

  She shook her head. “Unfortunately that isn’t possible. There are requirements when Jumping. First you need the mana and the strength with which to step from one location to another. No one less than a first class wizard can do it. You must know exactly where it is you are Jumping, you cannot guess. You must understand the distance and location with where you are going to appear, on some deep level. Since I’ve never personally been to Bepop, I could not estimate that I want to go there without ever standing in the vicinity. When you followed Meeka by sight mirror, even that would not be enough. Simply looking will do no good. Then there are the dangers.”