The sounds throughout the longhouse stopped as his voice rose, and doors cracked open as the wizard’s bonded peeked through, silent. Anna pursed her lips as she waited for the young mage to finish venting his anger. He fell silent, his glare both angry and sad at the same time. She cleared her throat and smoothed her clothes as she began to explain.
“Dear husband.” She started, “We were chosen at birth to be raised to serve the Spengur, no matter if there was one or not. The last generation grew old and were retired waiting to serve a person that never came. While I am certain we were expecting a somewhat older Spengur, we were instructed very specifically to treat you no different than any other man.” Her expression bore a hint of sadness as she continued. “You were told how we were not allowed to be with any other than the Spengur, so you know that I would be faced with either a life of solitude without you, or exile if I tried to make a life outside the kingdom.”
“For the sake of all three of us here, we have dreamed for the day we could meet our charge. I was at first reluctant; you looked to be too young, but Joven had insisted you were indeed a man.” She shrugged, “You will come to understand in time. Our people consider one turned a man when he has killed his first enemy, proving that he is mature enough to take part in our people’s struggle to survive. You had slain both bandit and wolfmen on your journey here, and are proven a man. That alone would have proven your adulthood.”
“And you must understand that now we are dead to the kingdom. The people will speak to us as strangers to their homes. Our families mourn our deaths this very day, for they may no longer accept us in their homes. We three have had since Joven was dispatched to retrieve you to come to accept the end of our past life and accept that our new lives are now bound to yours. Please give us time, and we will prove our worth to you.”
Endrance closed his eyes and thought about it. He did know that they were unable to marry anyone other than the Spengur, and they must feel fortunate that they have that person. Otherwise they would be stuck being unable to marry, or form any kind of romantic relationships without abandoning their old lives and peoples entirely. Though this felt to him like an arranged marriage, it was their culture and their way of life. He didn’t know how or if he should question it.
The wizard sighed, dropping his hands and sighed in surrender. “I suppose you’re right. You have many reasons to take to this situation like you have. I apologize for my outburst; I am the kind of person who takes the time to weigh the situation before making a decision and this came through as a rush to me; I didn’t even know exactly how close you were supposed to be to me.” He turned back to Anna, who had patiently waited for him to respond.
The eldest Keeper nodded, coming close to him and embracing him. “I understand, dear husband. Caution is a trait that will do you well in your position. We had all the years of our training to come to this decision, while you were thrust into it unknowingly.” She released him, and looked him in the eyes. “Now, it should only be a bit longer for us to finish our daily tasks, and we will begin teaching you the basics of our culture and where you fit into it all. Feel free to take a bath, and we shall be ready by the time you are finished.”
Endrance acquiesced, and walked down the hall to pass through the main room and back to the bedroom. He paused at the door and looked back at Anna, who was still standing passively by the vase and flowers. “About the bath, do I need to draw water or anything? I don’t remember seeing a washbasin in the bedroom.” He queried.
“Oh,” Anna replied. “I can help with that. The other door in the bedroom leads outside, where through a little path there is a personal hot spring we use.”
The young mage thanked her and slipped out the door. Selene had resumed her duties and acted as if his little outburst had not even happened. He walked past her, and since she didn’t acknowledge him he did not either. He knew that he may have made a mistake publicly displaying his anger at the situation. They had much of their life decided for them, and when they thought they had been given to someone who would be a good husband or bond he seemed to have rejected them. He passed through the bedroom and out the back door to the secret path. He decided he would have to work to make sure they knew he wasn’t rejecting them.
The path was soft earth flanked on either side by the coarse mountain rock the longhouse had been built up against. The path was incredibly secure, the rocky stone rose a dozen feet on either side; one would quite literally have to fly to get on the path any way other than going through the longhouse. He followed the path down a short distance, and it opened up into a small basin in the mountain, nearly sixty feet across. Taking up nearly forty feet of the area was a crystal clear spring, seeming only three or four feet deep at the center. Endrance could see shimmers of heat in the cold mountain air over the spring as the water gently stirred by some unseen current. Endrance saw that a wooden stand had been setup on the rock near the spring, with many perfumes and cleaning supplies had been set. Looking them over, he could tell that much of the soap was specifically for each of the Draugnoa. The rock of the spring sloped up to the edge, forming a natural ramp down into the water.
He picked out a towel from the rack and set it near the water, as well as a lump of soap. Slipping off his clothes and shoes, he let out a sigh as he settled into the relaxing waters. Leaning up against the side of the spring wall, Endrance let himself float out. It was indeed a relaxing experience, and he was able to take time to sort his thoughts out as he soaked. He realized that first of all, he would have to come to accept the barbarian’s way of doing things long before he could come to be able to provide them with the assistance he had been employed for.
His silent relaxed musings were interrupted by an itching sensation running up his back. At first it was barely noticeable, but when it began to strongly irritate his skin he stood up in the water. Something about the circle on his back was reacting to the water, and he opened up his senses as broadly as he could in order to investigate.
He felt the background flow of natural power in the world, but it seemed different here than it had to him anywhere else. The ambient energy seemed to be pooling around the spring. He waded deeper, feeling the power’s eddies and flows as it seemed to be collecting in the water. He scooped up some of the water, and his senses could feel the water itself wasn’t the source of the energy. It was more likely it flowed through someplace powerful, and the excess energy ‘rubbed off’ as it passed through.
He had a moment of realization. If he could tap the power flowing through the spring, he could safely activate the spell tattooed upon his back without worrying about being completely drained. He waded through the waters, standing in the center where the water was almost chest high.
He closed his eyes, feeling the flow of power in the water interacting with his aura. He focused on drawing that power in, connecting it to his own. He hesitated a moment, scared to continue. There were many ways this could go horribly wrong, and his imagination was more than happy to provide a few scenarios to him.
He shook his head. His master Kaelob wouldn’t have hesitated to experiment. After all, Endrance had studied the circle and as best he could tell while it was complicated it should be safe to activate. Archmagus Talos had not indicated that scribed spells would be harmful to the person who had them, so it should be safe enough to try out.
He held his breath, and released a trickle of power into the circle. The scribed lines glowed as power flowed through them, like water ran through channels in a river. When the full of the circle was empowered, Endrance lost control over the stream of power. More specifically, the spell started pulling harder, and he lost mental control over how much it was drawing.
The water around him started rippling, rolling away from him as the circle on his back. The water increased in temperature as the circle drained the extra power from the water instead of cooling. The temperature in the air around him also spiked. More water pushed away from him, steam rising from it as the spell quickly ran its co
urse. Though he hadn’t moved, the water was flowing away with such force he was standing only up to his ankles in a visible bowl of empty water in the middle of a violently stirring spring.
His back burned painfully, and he staggered under the sudden pressure he felt on his back. His aura became visible; a flickering gold colored fire that seemed to swell up from his back like it was a bonfire. The lines of the circle burned as it carved further detail into his back. Within the confines of the circle simultaneously etched three smaller circles, ringed in arcane script of words of power. The circles within were arranged so that there was one close to his neck, while the other two were larger and touched the sides of the smaller circle. Endrance cried out in pain as the sensation of his meridians being shifted again brought back the very disturbing sensation of his own power turning against him.
As the spell ran its course, Endrance felt a strange need coursing through his mind, riding on the torrent of power draining into the spell. He needed something, to focus on something in his mind, and give the spell shape. As the spell went unfinished so did his agony over the magic that would either end with him burning himself out or draining his well of power into nothing and dying.
It might have been the vision he had the night the circle had first been scribed, but his thoughts immediately went to the fire bird that had appeared. It had a name, but at the moment Endrance didn’t care to think of that; he only envisioned what it was and what he saw. The bird was easy to remember, its presence having burned figuratively into his memory.
As he focused on the memory of the bird, he could see it in his mind as clear as if it was right before him. He could see its powerful size, its majestic presence, the span of its wings that blended into licks of flame. The creature that watched him with ruby eyes that pierced through him.
The smallest of the three inner circles shifted as the lines swirled inwards, filling it in with a complicated icon of a bird with outstretched wings. Endrance nearly dropped to his knees in pain, and he barely noticed trickles of hot blood dripping down his back. The sigil completed, and the young wizard cried out in pain one last time as the spell completed its course.
The air crackled and wavered with heat, and the golden wind whirling around him pushed the water away from him as the circle finished its function. A disk of void filled the entire large circle on his back, the edges ringed in golden fire. The sensation was a strangely relieving vacancy of sensation across his back, and Endrance almost passed out from the sudden lack of pain.
Out of the void in his back burst a small ball of flames as large as both of the wizards fists held together. It shot out into the air over the water, arced around the natural stone walls of the mountain, and came around to stop suddenly in front of the agonized young mage. The instant the ball of fire stopped moving, the void closed in on itself, leaving an angry red glowing spell circle tattooed upon the majority of his back.
Water splashed back into the empty section of the spring, though it seemed to have dropped in volume by several inches, only going up to his abdomen. Endrance looked up and stared in wonder at the small ball of gold and orange flames that hovered before him. The flames burst away from the center like a puff of smoke, and there hovered a small scarlet bird the size of his hand, whose wing feathers brightened into lightly glowing orange tips without flames. It in some ways resembled a young chicken, in that it seemed very young and small compared to the majesty of the adult creature he had seen in his vision before.
The bird and Endrance stared at each other for a few seconds before Endrance finally half shrugged his shoulders.
“Huh.” He said through a wince as his body protested moving. “So that’s what it did.”
The bird chirped a strange staccato of sounds, like three lesser birds calling right on the end of the last. It chirped again, and flew in a circle around his head, seeming pleased with the wizard’s presence.
Indeed. Endrance heard in the back of his mind. That is one of its features.
He craned his neck trying to keep track of the miniature bird of fire. “Did you just-” He was mid sentence when while tracking the bird he saw the three Draugnoa standing at the edge of the pool in shock. Selene covered her mouth with a hand to stifle a gasp. The bird flew around their heads, chirping happily its strange triple chirp.
Endrance thought quickly, they seemed more shocked than anything else. Even Bridget seemed amazed. He smirked, looked Anna in the eye and said “You see? You were going to find out sooner or later!”
Endrance sat in his low backed chair in the main room of the longhouse. He had dried off and dressed in a pair of pants and shoes that had been provided to him by his Draugnoa, but his back was still far too tender to put anything on it. As it was, he sat leaning one elbow on the low arm of the seat, the other arm holding out so the bird that he had somehow summoned could perch on his hand.
“So, let me get this straight.” Endrance began. “You’re a… what again?”
A familiar. The words appeared in his mind. You summoned this one to be your companion, did you not?
Endrance half grimaced. “I was trying to ascertain the exact nature of the spell scribed on my back. It so happened to somehow summon you, after I envisioned one of your kind while the spell ran its course.”
And no finer creature could you have called. The familiar told him. This one is now sure you have fantastic taste.
Endrance blinked at the bird, which was looking at him with its head half cocked. “What is that you are doing?” He asked.
What is this one ‘doing?’ The familiar asked.
“The thing where you’re speaking in my mind?” Endrance asked.
Since this one has become your familiar, the bird instructed him. We have formed a mystical bond. It allows this one to communicate with you even though you somehow haven’t learned to speak the language.
“Bird language?” the bewildered mage asked.
Yes.
“How come your ‘voice’ in my head sounds so… basic?” the young mage asked. The entire time the bird had been communicating with him, the tone he was hearing was simple. The voice could have been male or female, young or old, but it had no variance.
That is because you have yet to form any kind of bond with this one beyond the basic one you formed when you completed the summoning. The more you know about this one, the more distinct and individual this one will become.
“Ah I see.” Endrance muttered.
This one also advises using the link to communicate with this one, as your females are beginning to question your state of mind. The bird advised, bobbing its head.
Endrance blinked several times and looked beyond the bird perched on his hand. Anna, Bridget, and Selene were milling around the chair, watching him like he himself had started talking to a rock.
“You’ve never seen a familiar before, have you?” Endrance asked.
“No.” Bridget replied.
“Neither have I. Isn’t it fascinating?” he asked.
“No.” Bridget retorted. “Can I kill it yet?”
“Of course not.” He replied.
“Damn.” She muttered, narrowing her eyes at the bird, who only tilted its head at her and chirped.
Endrance hadn’t tried mentally communicating with the thing, but he figured he would have to give it a try.
Can you hear me? The young wizard thought, imagining the thoughts reaching the familiar. The bird turned and regarded him with a ruby eye.
Indeed. The bird replied. You have figured it out.
Okay. Endrance replied. I need to know a few things about you and how you got here.
Ask.
What is your name?
You may call this one Gullin.
Thank you, Gullin. Are you male or female?
I, the bird used the first person for the first time, am male. The same time, the bird’s voice in his head started to have variance in his tone. It sounded more masculine, but also more musical, much like the voice of singer or poet.
It still seemed off, but it was much more personal than before.
Thank you, Gullin. Now, how does the circle on my back work? Endrance asked. He needed to know if this was something he would be going through regularly.
It is a very complicated spell, for which I am surprised you remained conscious during the scribing. The bird observed, hopping back and forth along his hand. It has three functions.
Those are?
The first you are aware of, the smallest of the sub-circles is a familiar circle. It is what summoned and bound me to you. That spell function is going to remain active for as long as I am in this realm.
Do I need to ‘send you back’ or anything?
Not necessarily. However, in order to use either of the other two spell forms you would have to return me. Gullin replied.
Will that break our bond?
No. Now that it has been formed, I will return to you without fail every time you call. Also, if I should be injured beyond simple remedy I can recover in a few hours in my home realm.
What if someone tries to kill you? Endrance asked, glancing at Bridget. The three had decided to leave him alone now that he was just silently communing with the little bird he had summoned.
That is one malady that cannot be remedied. Gullin told him, his voice disturbingly the same tone as before. Endrance realized that while the bird had a voice, he was not hearing any emotion conveyed.
What are the other two spell forms? Endrance asked.
They haven’t been formed yet. Gullin replied. However I will be able to help you with that as we both increase your power and skill.
So they do nothing for the moment. The wizard confirmed. Good. We will have to look into that later. Now, how can you help me get more powerful?
The bird took flight, bobbing through the air around him and eventually landing on his head with a chirp.
I am a fjallar. Gullin stated. I am a being of power, and though I am young, I have much understanding in your practice of magic.
Young, huh? Endrance prodded, looking up at the bird as he looked down at him. How old are you then?
Spellscribed: Provenance Page 29