Lance made his way over to the table with those wearing red robes and found a seat. There were about two dozen at his table and they all eyed him as he sat.
“Um… hi. I’m Lance.”
Some nodded, but most returned to their conversations.
“We haven’t had a new trainee in a while,” a young woman who looked to be a few years younger than Lance said to him. She was sitting across from him with an amused look on her face. She was remarkably beautiful, her long, dark red hair hung down around her hood. Her green eyes were intense and her smile made Lance feel instantly at ease.
“Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to eat your food?” The woman asked.
Lance blushed beet red and then said, “Sorry, I’m just… there’s a lot on my mind.”
“I bet,” she said with a grin. “No need to apologize. I’m just messing around with the new guy. My name’s Charlotte.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lance said and then scooped a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. It tasted better than anything he had in years even with almost burning his tongue.
“What’s with the different colored robes?” Lance asked her, trying out the pie while the oatmeal cooled.
“They signify the different levels of a mage,” Charlotte explained. “We are the novices in red. Once we pass our tests, we move up to green, then yellow, then blue, and finally and hopefully become a Master at black. It isn’t easy at all to move up. Some of us have been stuck on red for almost a half a year.”
“I didn’t even know I could do magic,” Lance said.
“None of us really did until our coming out,” Charlotte replied. “One day it just happens and then some way or another we all make it here for training.”
“What happens after training?” Lance asked.
“Hey new guy,” a man about Lace’s age said to him from two places over. “Enough with the questions. Eat your food and shut it.”
“Be nice, Quincy,” Charlotte told him. “We all have questions when we arrive.”
“Bah! They let anyone off the streets in here now. I lost my appetite,” Quincy said. He stood up and walked off, leaving his tray behind.
“Don’t mind him,” Charlotte said. “He is a noble’s son and he’s just upset he has been a red robe for five months now. Probably because he is used to always getting his way. He gets no special privilege in here though. Your first class begins tomorrow. The professors usually start with basics when someone new arrives and it's a good reminder to all of us who have been here for a while.”
Lance nodded. He really didn’t want to make an enemy in here, but Quincy had glared at him like he wanted to throw him out the tower window. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. He had no intention of dying or getting hurt worse that his body already was. Quincy’s slicked back black hair and the way he jutted his chin out with a false sense of bravado made him seem nothing but arrogant.
“What happened to your eye and leg?” Charlotte asked suddenly. “Were you born like that?”
Her questions brought up painful memories of torture. She didn’t seem to be teasing as her tone suggested a purely curious natured. He shook his head. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Well, you’re in a good spot now. Even if you don’t make Master level, plenty of mages make a good living at blue level. Blue levels have more responsibilities and earn wages, more than enough to live comfortably. The king even calls on us to help in times of war or upheaval, so it’s never boring. It’s the getting to blue robe that’s the hard part.”
Lance ate while he processed all of this information. It seemed like he was on a promising track, but he had no idea what to expect in the morning.
Chapter 3
“You said you have information on the crippled?” Greyson asked. He put his knife down on the table and leaned forward. It was his favorite blade, elven steel with an ivory handle carved into the shape of a skull. The man before him wore dusty rags with holes in it and sandals worn down to barely a thin sliver. The miserable sack of nothing looked pathetic in Greyson’s eyes. Greyson left the dagger in front of him as a reminder to the man that he better not be wasting his time.
With eyes downcast, the man answered, “Yes, sir. Seen him with my own two eyes.”
“If you want to keep both eyes, you better start talking,” Greyson demanded. “I want specifics.”
“He was spotted trying out for the palace guard in the city of Delvin,” the man said.
“The crippled?” Greyson tapped his dagger with a finger and narrowed his eyes. “That man escaped with a busted leg and one eye and he is first found trying to become a guard? He is either a fool or pathetically desperate for money. You know this how?”
“I was begging for food at a market stall near the courtyard,” the man said in a whimper, eyeing the dagger in fear. “The man hobbled by me and ignored me like everyone else does, only there was something about him that made me want to watch.”
“Get to the point,” Greyson rumbled. “Where is he now?”
“That’s the thing… please don’t get mad…”
Greyson grabbed his dagger and slammed it into the wood. “I don’t get mad!”
“No! No… of course not. I… the crippled failed to enlist in the guard, which was not unexpected, but then he was taken into the mage quarter and never left. He must be still in there.”
Greyson ground his teeth together and glared at the quivering man. “That is unexpected. You did good coming to us.”
“Yesss… yes, of course,” the man whimpered and held out his hand expectantly.
“Here,” Greyson said, placing a loaf of bread in his hand.
The man looked up in surprise.
“But, I thought the reward was gold…”
Greyson took his dagger and threw it, the blade wobbling back and forth as it pierced the wall next to the beggar by a half an inch.
“The gold was for bringing him to us,” Greyson clarified. “Why would we pay you when we now have to do all the work? Information is worth a loaf of bread. Is there a problem with that?”
The beggar had a fleeting look of anger and then he came to his senses and sighed. “No. I would never question the Dark Ones.”
“Then what are you still standing there for?”
Greyson grinned as he watched the beggar stumble backward and run through the door. He always enjoyed watching men squirm uncomfortably before him.
The crystal would be his soon. His entire life would change. Life rewards those who fight for what they want and gives stale bread to those who don’t. He chuckled at his own joke.
* * *
The morning came quickly and with it the light from the lone window shined directly into Lance’s good eye. He grunted as he rolled to a sitting position. His body was extraordinarily sore from climbing the tower steps several times and twisting his leg sparring with the knight yesterday.
Before he went back up to his room for sleep, Lance had made a point to ask Charlotte how to get to his first day of training so he wouldn’t be late. It didn’t take long to dress with only one robe to choose from.
The training room looked very much like a classroom from his memories of when he was just a young boy. Only, this room was much larger. There was enough room for all twenty-five students to sit comfortably at desks, while a black-robed instructor paced the front of the classroom.
If Lance thought Master Sellius was stern, Master Lenora made him look like a newborn pup. She wore heels and made it a point to click them on the ground to silence the students or because she just liked to watch them squirm. Even Quincy seemed to avert his eyes at Master Lenora’s hard stare.
“We will be going over basics as usual when a new student arrives,” Lenora stated. “If I hear one complaint about it, I’ll have you swimming laps in the moat.”
Lance believed her.
“Most of you would do well to listen closely,” Lenora continued. “It seems that you have forgotten a lo
t of the basics. I intend to burn it into your memory so rigorously that you can recite the basic principles and rules in your sleep. Now, what is the most basic rule of magic?”
“All magic requires metals,” the class recited as one. “The more metal, the stronger the potential spell.”
“Good,” Master Lenora said. “Maybe you were listening to some things after all. What is the most basic metal we have inside of us at all times?”
“Iron. In our blood,” Quincy answered. Lance thought about his escape at the hands of his torturer and wondered if that was how he found the strength to escape. That explained his sudden burst of strength.
“Good, and how can a mage use magic aside from iron?” Lenora asked.
“Ingesting it in small amounts,” Charlotte answered. “But not too much or it can turn poisonous or fatal.”
“Yes,” Lenora said. “And let me remind you that most spells only require a few flakes of a metal at most. If you do ingest a larger amount, you must be sure to use the spell quickly before it has an adverse effect on the body.”
Master Lenora walked over to Lance and clicked her heels on the floor. She leaned over so that her face was directly in front of him.
“Is this all making sense?”
If he were being honest, nothing in the last few days made any sort of sense, but Lance knew better than to upset this woman. Instead, he chose to nod.
“You’re a terrible liar,” Lenora said. “You won’t understand it at all until we actually use magic. Even then, it takes years to fully understand the system and the realm of possibilities it holds. I am still learning.”
Master Lenora pointed to a student in the front row. “Crayton, if you would be so kind as to fetch a sample of silver flakes from the shelf. We need to show Lance what this magic stuff is all about.”
* * *
Master Lenora took the vial of silver flakes and tipped it sideways, tapping on the bottom to dump a few of the small pieces into her palm. She then looked around the room and made sure each student was paying attention.
“Silver, iron, and bronze are the most common metals in the world and their potential powers are meant for basic spells,” Lenora explained. “As you get into rarer metals, you access an entirely new set of potential spells. The common metals are easy to come by and digest into your bloodstream rapidly where they can then be used. Rarer metals such as gold, eternium, and platinum are harder to come by and stay in your system for a while.”
Master Lenora took the silver flakes sitting on her palm and tipped them into her mouth.
“Silver is immediately ready for use once ingested. There is no waiting period,” she explained. “It can be used for simple defensive or offensive spells, like such.”
Lenora held her hand out and a shimmering blue shield appeared in front of her, covering most of her body. “With the few flakes I ingested and my skill level, I could probably hold this shield for almost five minutes straight, unless of course it was destroyed. If a mage knows they are going into battle, they will have a variety of metals with them at all times. Gold, platinum and eternium take just over a minute or two to digest in order to use properly, so ingesting some prior to a fight is ideal.”
She held up her hand again and the shield disappeared. “To cast or remove a spell, you must focus your thoughts and will it into being. It is not easy to clear one’s mind of nothing else but the targeted spell. It takes practice. That is why distractions in a fight can be almost as deadly to a mage as a spell,” Lenora warned.
“How do you know what spells you can cast?” Lance asked. What she was saying made sense, but left him with more questions than answers.
“A fair question,” Lenora answered. “One that has no exact answer. It is dependent on multiple factors. Some mages have such innate ability that they can almost cast rare metal magic with silver. It depends on the mage’s natural ability and capacity, their skill level and level of focus, and the quality of the metal itself. The only way to truly know is to test it out for yourself. Iron, which we all carry around in our blood can be cast for only the most basic of spells. But be careful. Even our own supply can run out and the more we use before allowing our bodies to replenish, the more tired we become and eventually can do significant damage. More than one mage has passed out from lack of iron in their blood.”
Lance made a mental note to make sure he didn’t over exert himself while practicing. The last thing he needed was to pass out in front of everyone.
Lance listened intently. It was like learning an entire world existed he never knew about. Prior to coming in here, the mages were a secretive bunch, never showing or telling others how their magic was used. He wanted very much to begin learning. Being here in this moment felt right.
Chapter 4
Lance had trouble sleeping that night. He tossed and turned until he had to stand up. Moving to the window, he looked outside. The moon lit up the courtyard below and the night was nothing but quiet and peaceful. His tower window gave him a good view. It wasn’t that something bothered him, but rather he was too excited to head down this new path. He would be able to protect himself from ever getting into a torture situation like he had before. He could make blue or black robe and live comfortably. This was his one shot to make something of himself in life and he was not going to ruin it by slacking off.
Lance knew he needed rest, but his mind was moving at a thousand miles an hour with everything he had learned. His eyes were open to an entirely new and fascinating world.
Lance suddenly heard a scraping sound outside the window. He stuck his head out and looked down. Below, a man wearing tight black clothes slowly climbed upward.
Lance stumbled backward and fell to the ground next to the chest. Panicking, Lance fumbled with the keys and opened it, snatching the crystal and stuffing it into his pocket. He then scurried out of his room and closed the door. Just when he did, Lance heard the man enter through his window.
He ran down the hallway and banged on a door he knew to be a Master.
“Help!” Lance yelled. “Hurry!”
The door opened after a few moments and a sleepy-looking man rubbed at his eyes.
“This better be good, novice!” The Master told him.
“There’s someone in my room! They climbed through my window!”
Lance led him and another yellow mage who awoke from the noise next door to his room. When Lance opened it, there was no man standing there, but the chest was upside down and his bed sheets were torn apart with what looked like a knife.
“Someone was definitely in here,” the Master said. He ran to the window and peered down. “Alert the guards!” He told the yellow robe. “And you!” He said, pointing at Lance. “You are to see Master Sellius right away!”
* * *
Lance stood awkwardly in front of Master Sellius’ desk. The black robed Master tapped his fingers on his desk, a disapproving scowl on his face.
“You have been here two days and already are causing more trouble than we have had in a while,” Master Sellius said. He sipped at a cup of tea he had poured for himself earlier. “Is there a reason someone scaled the palace walls and ransacked your room in the middle of the night?”
Lance shrugged. “Maybe it was a thief going into a random room,” he suggested.
Master Sellius gave him a doubtful look. “I suppose that is possible, but extremely unlikely. Do you know how many thefts we have had in the royal palace itself in the last five years? Zero. The coincidence of you joining us and that five year streak broken would be very odd if it wasn’t related. In addition, any thief able to scale these walls and avoid all the guards is well trained and well connected.”
“Sir, all I know is I want to do well here and am thankful for the chance you have given me to succeed,” Lance said. “You have all been nothing but kind to me and I wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. I’m sorry.”
Master Sellius waved his hands dismissively. “Yes, yes of course you are. I do not
doubt it is better than being a cripple in the streets. But there is something you are not telling us. If it means the safety of our students, I must know why there are people after you or something that you have that someone would go to these lengths to get.”
The crystal felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket. These people, although stern, had given him a chance at a new life. He owed them the truth.
Lance removed the crystal from his pocket and held it up. “It’s possible they were after this. It could be the same people who ruined my leg and eye.”
Master Sellius’ eyes widened. He stood up. “Do you know what that is?” He asked in a harsh whisper. He swung his hand through the air and his office door slammed shut through magic, the lock mechanism clicking shut.
“I found it,” Lance said. “I know it’s worth something to certain people, but other than that, no.”
“That crystal is worth more than half our treasury combined,” Master Sellius told him. “No wonder there are people after it. It’s called a Heart Crystal. Inside of it are pieces of metal and those pieces are by far the rarest metal in the entire world. When ground up, even the smallest flake of the crystal can cast the most potent spells ever imagined.”
“I… didn’t know,” Lance stammered.
“Of course you didn’t know. You didn’t even know about magic until a few days ago. You have two options as I see it. You can stay here and continue your training, but in doing so you will need to give us the crystal for safekeeping. We will reimburse you with twenty gold coins which is about one percent of its worth, but I am sure more money than you have ever seen. In that way, we can ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands. Your other choice is to leave here without the crystal and sever ties with us, never using magic again. Either choice means you give us the crystal.”
Underdog Mage Chronicles Page 2