Amanda stopped mid sip and looked at her mentor.
‘I think it is time I took you to meet my Coven. The Legacy Coven.’
‘No! You best not be coddin me,’ she gasped, using the Irish slang for kidding. Her drink wobbling dangerously as she spoke.
‘Yes, I think you are ready for it. So I am just sorting out when we go, it will be very soon, but I need to confirm with others. How you feel about this?’
‘Feckin' grand! I can’t wait to go.’
‘Well, we will be going to London first to meet up with other Magi I think, and then Paris. I let you know when I know more.’
Amanda nodded and went back to sipping her drink. She couldn’t believe it, she was hoping it would be soon that she would go and meet some other Magi, and she hoped it would be something like this, meeting Gentle Waters Coven was going to be amazing. She had never been to London or Paris so she couldn’t wait to see those two cities either. She hoped she would get some time to wander around a bit and see the sights while she was there as well.
‘Well, I’ll look forward to meeting everyone.’
‘I am sure they will all want to meet you also.’
‘Is this when I will join the Legacy?’
‘Well, as my apprentice, you already are’
‘Okay so. Excellent. This is so exciting.’
Gentle Water smiled at her and her enthusiasm. ‘Well, it is late, I am going to go to bed.’
Gentle Water got up and deposited his mug in the kitchen before walking back through. ‘Good night.’
‘Night night.’
Gentle Water retreated into his bedroom and left Amanda alone with her thoughts in the lounge. She sat there sipping the last dregs from her mug and letting her mentors words sink in. She couldn’t wait to meet some of the Magi Gentle Water had told her about over the past few months, people like Mr Roth, the oldest member of the Legacy at about two thousand years old, the last surviving original member of the Coven.
Amanda found herself really unable to wait, she wanted to be off to London and then to Paris now to meet these amazing people.
She felt completely dry now after her shower and really too warm in this bath robe on a summers night. It was incredibly warm, and if that didn’t stop her from sleeping, her mind racing from the revelation of her coming trip certainly would.
She got out of the chair and rinsed her own mug up in the sink. She stood in the kitchen, her long red hair hanging over the shoulders of her white bath robe feeling entirely too warm, so she pulled the neck of her robe open further and decided she would take a wander in the garden.
Outside the still air remained very mild, almost warm in fact even though it was the middle of the night. She stood on the path, a few feet from the fence with the yellow light from the cottage windows flooding out into the night behind her.
It was quiet out here, just the sound of the air moving the plants and trees slightly, the occasional sound of insects or other wildlife going about their nightly work. The occasional bat flitted overhead on the hunt for insects, their sonar clicks barely audible.
In the darkness, the land rose up the sides of the valley, just a dark mass against a black star spangled sky shot through with the odd cloud, it was a beautiful night. Amanda wondered when she would be back here after their trip, how long it would take to go to London and Paris, and what they would be doing there.
She had no idea, but she hoped she would return, she would always want to return to Ireland from time to time, no matter where she might be, it was her homeland after all.
She’d been waiting for the chance to meet more Magi for a while. Gentle Water had spoken often about the Magi of the world and the various organisations they were part of. He’s told her fairly early on about the Main groups, the Arcadians, which they were part of, and the Nomads who the Arcadians opposed and fought with in their hidden war of ideology.
As far as she understood it, the Arcadians, as a general rule, believed they were a part of humanity and that the Riven, the Mortals, should be protected. The Nomads however served ancient and powerful creatures called Archons, who once ruled humanity millennia ago in pre-history. These Archons offered raw magical power to any Magi who wanted it, in return for their service and loyalty. These Magi were known as Nomads, wanderers of the dark path, and they believed that their Magical inheritance placed them above the Riven, and that they were humanities rightful rulers. They killed and corrupted Mortals in service to their gods, which placed them in direct opposition to the Arcadians. This war had been raging in the shadows of the earth of thousands of years, continuing even today.
The Arcadians had greater numbers, but the Nomads younger members were, rank for rank, more powerful than their Arcadian equivalents.
The other main group that were a problem for the Arcadians were the Disciples of the Cross, or the Inquisition as they were commonly known. The group was small, but very well-funded, and well entrenched in the masses humanity. They saw little distinction between the Arcadians and Nomads, and believed the Magic they used in fact came from their God as a divine gift given to the chosen few, and was not actually Magic at all.
She also knew that the Magi of the Arcadians and the Nomads were usually divided into groups known as Covens, some were small, some were large, and they all had names. Gentle Waters Coven had been named The Legacy and were based in Paris. They were also one of a small group of Coven’s called Magi Houses.
Up until around two thousand years ago the Arcadians were governed by a Rome based Magi Senate, but after infiltration by the Nomads, it fill apart and after a period of time when no central group looked after the affairs of the Arcadians, twelve well established Covens from around the globe came together to form the Magi Council, which endures to this day and even now guides the Arcadians and their affairs.
The whole thing sounded complicated to hear at first, but she soon got her head around it and the idea that there were Covens everywhere in the world, hidden from Mortal view and fighting the dark forces of the world sounded thrilling to her. She couldn’t wait to go to London and Paris and learn more about the new world she had joined a year ago.
She turned and headed inside, locking the door behind her and heading into her room where she quickly dumped the robe and threw off the covers of her bed and lay down upon it. In here the night was cloying and humid, and she just couldn’t get comfortable at all. After a little while she got up and opened her windows wider and got back into bed. Soon after that she decided that even clothes were working against her and she stripped off her nightshirt before lying back again.
It was a little better, but she was still hot, so she finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing else for it, and with a little bit of concentration and Magic, she lowered the temperature a little bit and made it a little less humid until she felt comfortable.
By the time she was asleep and the magic had worn off, she didn’t even realise the temperature was rising back to what is was again, she just kept on dreaming.
Two days later, Amanda stood before her open wardrobe and studied her clothes, she had no idea what she might to wear today as Gentle Water had yet to explain what it was they were doing exactly. She knew they would be heading off to London to meet a Magi and from there heading to Paris, but she didn’t know the time frame or who this Magus was or anything.
When she had been to the bathroom a little earlier Gentle Water had still been in bed, but she had thought she had heard some movement a short time ago, so she headed through to the lounge and was rewarded with the sight of Gentle Water in one of the chairs studying a map of London.
‘Do you know where we’re heading then?’ Amanda said.
‘I have idea yes, I just make sure though.’
‘So, do you know what we’re going to be doing yet as I have no idea what to wear today.’
‘Sorry?’ He said, looking up from his Map. ‘Oh, yes. We will meet a friend in London, stay one night there and then go to Paris next day.�
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‘Oh I see. Okay then, so I just need an outfit for London.’ She mused to herself. Glancing outside it looked like it was going to be a lovely day here in Ireland, so she figured it would be just as nice in London. However, she needed more information to go on.
‘So, this friend of yours, what’s he like?’
‘Raven?’
‘Raven, of course. Somehow I knew it wouldn’t be a Jeff or Bill.’
Gentle Water smiled. ‘Raven is a Native American, I think you would find his name odd whatever it was.’
‘Oh, I see. This isn’t a Magi name then that he’s just picked himself?’
‘I think it is Magi name, but I don’t know what his true name is. I just know him as Raven.’
‘So, do I need to be smart?’
‘I don’t think so, just be comfortable.’
‘Gotcha,’ she said, and padded back to her room.
Well, that narrowed things down a little, so she started pulling out outfits and testing them in front of herself in the mirror. Before long she found one she liked and placed it to one side while she packed a whole slew of other clothes in a suitcase on her bed, she was going to be a few days at least so she needed to have some choices.
Before long her case was filled with clothes and shoes that would suit any occasion, and she finally pulled on her clothes for the day. She put on a floaty skirt that came to just above her knees, a summery light green top to match her dark green skirt and a pair of white pumps. She chose to wear her hair loose today, feeling it looked best that way with her outfit.
She then went to work collecting all her make up and toiletries together and putting them in her case with a few other bits she couldn’t live without, and finally zipped it up and wheeled it from the room.
She found Gentle Water still sat in the chair and he looked up from his map as she entered. ‘That is big suitcase.’
‘I just needed to be sure I have what I need depending on the situation don't you know.’
‘I can only surmise then that you are expecting nuclear war.’
Amanda raised an eye brow at the out of character quip.
‘You’re chipper today. Anything I should know?’ she asked.
‘No, I just looking forward to seeing friends again.’
‘Aw, thats grand.’
‘Well, let us not rush shall we. Have your breakfast and when you are ready we go.’
Amanda headed into the kitchen and made herself some toast with fresh Seville orange marmalade and a steaming hot coffee and consumed them with vigour. Half an hour later she felt ready, feeling better for having had something to eat.
‘So, how do you plan on getting us there?’
‘We Port to London. I was just looking at the roads near Ravens and seeing what backstreets we could use.’
‘Well, we don’t want to appear out of nowhere in the middle of Oxford Street do we?’
‘Certainly not,’ he agreed.
‘So, you’ve found somewhere?’
‘Yes, I think so. Are you all set? Got everything you need?’
‘Oh yes, I’m ready.’
Gentle Water held out his hand to her, which she took in hers and waited. Gentle Water closed his eyes and concentrated, after a half a seconds pause, she felt a rush of energy through her body as Essentia swirled about them, then she had a brief feeling of breathlessness and the odd feeling of not knowing which way was up, as the scene about her switched to a grey back street instead of her warm cottage.
She had been teleported by Gentle Water before and found it an exhilarating feeling, she couldn’t wait until she could do it herself and travel where ever she wanted. You were apparently limited to short distances at first, but as you advanced you could go further and further and even take other people with you.
The odd feeling of dislocation you got over the second of the actual Porting was a little disconcerting, something some people couldn’t ever get used to Gentle Water had told her. She found it an odd experience, but it wouldn’t stop her doing it.
She let go of Gentle Waters hand and looked about the backstreet they were stood in. They were behind a building a few stories high that towered above them, a large loading door stood closed nearby close to a parked white van and a large dustbin up against the wall on four big casters. The scene looked grey and the air felt cold, Amanda shivered at the change in temperature from her cottage to this back street where the sun had yet to hit, goose bumps appeared on her arms in this relatively cool air.
‘Are we here? Is this it?’ Amanda asked. She looked up at the sky above the building, a clear blue that heralded a nice warm day. She might be dressed a little lightly, but it would pay her back later.
‘This is it. We just a few streets away. It was closest I could get.’
‘Could you not Port directly into this Ravens house?’
‘Yes, but that would just be rude, I rather Port outside and knock, and also the Aegis protecting house as well.’
‘Oh yeah,’ she still needed time to get used to all the nuances of Magic.
Gentle Water smiled, ‘Come, we go now.’
Gentle Water shouldered his bag and led Amanda round the corner onto another small street that led back to the main road. As they walked, the volume of people on the streets increased, most of them on their morning commute to work. Amanda followed Gentle Water as he weaved his way through the crowds and towards some town houses further down the road which he pointed to when Amanda was looking.
They were five storey affairs including the attic and basement levels, with steps up to the front door and railings out front. They looked fairly thin from the outside, but the height and probably the depth too would make up for that.
The sun was just at the right angle now and shone down on Amanda’s back, it felt lovely and warm. It was still only half past nine, she hoped once they had dumped their stuff at this Ravens place they would be able to go exploring the city, she would go alone of need be, she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
The area seemed quite wealthy really, Amanda realised, these were quite exclusive properties and they were right in the heart of London, she had no idea which borough they were in though.
They soon approached one house in particular and Gentle Water came to a stop and turned to Amanda.
‘Here we are. How you feel?’
‘Nervous, but I’m grand.’
‘Good, well, I had better not keep Raven waiting.’ Gentle Water started to turn, but stopped half way and looked back at Amanda, giving her an appraising glance. She felt suddenly self-conscious as he looked at her and pulled her head back and made a face at him.
‘Is there a problem?’ she asked.
‘Did you notice Aegis around house? You need to drop your Aegis and any other Magic.’
‘Oh, that’s no bother. I thought there was a problem with my appearance.’ Amanda let her own Aegis drop away from her with but a single thought. It felt odd, she hadn’t been using it for long, but she felt oddly vulnerable without it.
Amanda stayed at the foot of the stoop with the cases and watched Gentle Water ascend the stairs to the front door. As her mentor approached the door she was quite surprised at just how nervous she felt, she didn’t quite know what to do with herself and really didn’t know what to expect from this meeting. Real life Magi were anything but the old stereotype of Gandalf or Dumbledore, but she couldn’t help but think this Raven would come to the door in some kind of Tribal headdress and loin cloth shaking his death stick at them or something.
It was a ridiculous image, but her mind was racing and she hoped he would be nice. She briefly opened herself up to the local Essentia and saw the Aegis around the house, the Magic hugged the building, right up against the wall, unlike the wide dome that Gentle Water had said some places had. It was a subtle Aegis as well, you really had to look for it. No doubt it was this way to stop it being unduly noticed.
Gentle Water knocked at the door and waited, while Amanda got herself ready
to smile.
‘Relax, he’s a nice guy,’ Gentle Water whispered to her.
Amanda nodded, and a few seconds later the handle turned and the door opened revealing Raven stood just inside.
Amanda relaxed a little on seeing him, there was no Feather Headdress in sight, instead, Raven looked to be about in his early thirties, he looked tall and well built, his trained physique showing under his Tee Shirt and tan combat trousers. His hair was long, black and loose, and Amanda noticed a few coloured threads tied around a few braids that hung amongst his arrow straight hair.
He smiled and greeted Gentle Water warmly.
‘Gentle Water, it’s good to see you. You look well. I’m glad you made it.’
They shook hands like old friends and their faces were full of smiles.
‘It good to see you too Raven, and, my apprentice, Amanda-Jane Page.’ He gestured to her, introducing her to Raven.
‘Of course, I’ve heard so much about you. Howah, you're a beauty.’ He said, and he descended the steps towards her, a big smile upon his face. Amanda blushed and was quite struck by his good looks as he came down to the pavement, his face was well defined and weathered, looking perhaps a little older than he should, but his eyes were warm and empathic and there was a friendliness about him that immediately appealed to her. He was tanned and his looks were distinctively Native American with a strong nose and the look of a leader about him. ‘I hope this Chebon hasn't been working you too hard?’ he said indicating Gentle Water.
She had no idea what Chebon meant, but went with it anyway.
‘No, not at all, its been grand so far, I’m really enjoying it.’
Raven leant forward and kissed Amanda on both cheeks, and his scent filled her nose, she liked a man who smelt good. He picked up Gentle Waters bag in one hand and pulled Amanda’s up the stairs with his other. ‘What? With serious old Grasshopper here?’
Gentle Water frowned, but she could see a smile on his face as well, and he headed inside muttering, ‘Here we go,’ as he went. Raven followed him in and Amanda came last. As she ascended the stairs, she felt the slight magical resistance as she passed through the Aegis protecting the house from Magic. It sent a tingle up her back that felt really quite pleasant as she stepped into the hallway.
Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling Page 32