by Clayton Wood
Darius nodded brusquely, then collected the sleeping bags and the mummy tree branch, placing these back in the trunk of the carriage. Then he unhitched the horses from the carriage, and loaded each with a few packs from the trunk. He grabbed a pair of reins in each hand, leading them to the edge of the forest. Kalibar walked up to the side of the carriage, his eyebrows furrowing. A translucent blue sphere appeared around the entire carriage, and suddenly it lifted off of the ground, rising into the air. Up it went, ten feet high, then twenty, then thirty, until it was floating well above the treetops. Kalibar turned to Darius and Kyle at the edge of the clearing, striding forward to meet them. The carriage followed Kalibar overhead.
"Let's go," Kalibar stated, passing Darius and Kyle and walking into the forest. Darius fell into stride alongside his boss, while Kyle trailed a few yards behind. The forest was similar to the one Kyle had woken up in only a few days ago, but with Kalibar and Darius there, it seemed far less sinister. He spotted a tree with a few rip-vines hanging off of its branches, but Kalibar steered them around it, clearly aware of the forest's dangers.
They trekked through the forest for what seemed like hours, going up and down gentle hills, dodging the occasional boulder and fallen tree trunk. Kyle's calves and knees started to ache from the hiking, and after a while he found himself desperately hoping for a break. But Kalibar and Darius were clearly in much better shape than he was, and didn't seem to mind their exertions one bit. Kyle found it striking that a man Kalibar's age could be so fit. He'd always thought of older people as being frail.
Eventually Kalibar did stop, retrieving a few cups from the pack on one of the horses and filling it with water conjured from thin air. He handed one of the cups to Kyle, and Kyle drank greedily, the ice-cold water feeling absolutely marvelous. He finished it in one go, and asked for seconds. Kalibar obliged, and Kyle drank until his thirst was quenched. But the break was short-lived, and Kalibar set off again, forcing Kyle to follow from behind. As they walked, the sun rose higher over the treetops in the east, until it hung directly overhead, casting blurred shadows of rustling leaves on the forest floor below. Kyle's stomach began to grumble so loudly that even Kalibar could hear it, and to Kyle's immense relief, Kalibar decided at last to stop for lunch.
Darius tied both horses to a nearby tree, then retrieved a few pieces of dried meat and bread from one of the horse's packs, handing them out. Kalibar filled a few bowls with powdered soup base and conjured water, and had them magically boiling hot within seconds. Kyle took his bowl, dipping the bread and meat into the soup, then chewing vigorously. He walked up to a tree so that he could sit down with his back against it, and noticed a familiar red caterpillar-like bug climbing up its trunk. It was exactly like the one he'd seen on his first night in this strange world...the one that had flashed red, then split in half. He eyed it curiously, then turned to Kalibar.
"Hey Kalibar," he called out. The former Grand Weaver turned to him. "What kind of bug is this?" Kalibar walked up to Kyle, peering at the insect. Then he lurched backward, crying out. The caterpillar immediately burst into flames, falling off of the tree and onto the forest floor. A tiny wisp of smoke rose from its blackened corpse.
"Jesus!" Kyle exclaimed, backing away from the insect. "What happened?"
"That," Kalibar answered, pointing at the smoldering corpse, “...was a killerpillar!"
"A what?"
"A killerpillar," Kalibar repeated. "If it's threatened, it flashes bright red." He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "And once it does, you're dead."
"No," Kyle countered. "I saw one in the forest before the Ulfar attacked me, and it flashed red, then split in two."
“Are you sure it was the same bug?” Kalibar asked. Kyle nodded.
"It was."
Kalibar stared at the killerpillar's tiny smoking body, then glanced at Kyle. He tapped his chin with one finger.
"Interesting," he murmured. "First the rip-vine died, then the killerpillar. Then the Ulfar, we assume." His eyebrows knitted together. "Something must have been protecting you."
"Like what?"
"Perhaps it was your ring," Kalibar proposed. He went silent then, brooding over the killerpillar. Then he turned away from the tree, taking a bite of his soup-soaked bread. "Finish your food," he ordered. "We need to get going."
Kyle did just that, eating the rest of his meager meal in silence. He finished, handing his bowl back to Darius. The bodyguard untied the horses, then followed Kalibar deeper into the forest, Kyle trailing behind. They made their way forward, small twigs and dead leaves crunching underfoot in a steady marching rhythm. After what seemed like an hour, Kyle thought he heard the sound of rushing water in the distance. Indeed, the sound grew louder as they progressed, and the air became cooler and a little damp. It felt quite refreshing on his sun-baked skin.
Ahead, the forest ended abruptly, opening up to reveal a lake whose sandy shore lay no more than a hundred feet beyond the tree line. The lake was shaped like a large crescent, the sun shining brilliantly off of its rippling blue water. At the far end of the lake stood a sheer cliff at least fifty feet high, a large waterfall flowing down to the lake below. The waterfall sparkled in the sunlight, its continuous roar drowning out the sound of Kyle's footsteps. He passed the tree line, stepping out into the bright sunlight, then stopped.
"Is this...?" he began. Kalibar turned to him, nodding once.
"It is," he answered. "We've made it...welcome to Crescent Lake!"
* * *
Kyle stretched his legs out before him, sitting on the warm sand of the shore with his bare feet dipping into the warm water at the lake's edge. He glanced back at Kalibar, who had lowered the carriage onto the grass near the lake's shore. The former Grand Weaver was already bringing out the magical wards Erasmus had let him borrow to defend their camp. They looked like short metal stakes, runes inscribed on their shiny surfaces. Darius, on the other hand, had tied the two horses to a tree, and was busy feeding them. Kyle turned back to face the huge waterfall across the lake. He wiggled his toes in the water, feeling quite content. After days of travel, and all the tension and intrigue of the Tower, it was nice to settle down and enjoy the scenery. For Crescent Lake was a small paradise, wild and colorful and free. It was wholly different than the strict order of Kalibar's mansion and the Great Tower. Kyle smiled, gazing up at the tall cliffside before him, listening to the dull roar of the waterfall crashing into the lake below. What a perfect place to learn magic, he though...in a place that had a natural sort of magic of its own.
Magic!
Kyle's heart skipped a beat, and he leapt to his feet, sprinting up to Kalibar, who was still extracting various items from the trunk of the carriage. The old man saw him coming, and straightened up, regarding Kyle quizzically.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Hey," Kyle replied, stopping before him. "I was wondering, you know, now that we're here..." He trailed off, and Kalibar smirked.
"You'd like to start learning magic?" he asked. Kyle nodded. "Soon enough," Kalibar promised. He sat at the edge of the open trunk, gesturing for Kyle to do the same. Kyle sat next to the man, using all of his will to hide his eagerness. "I wanted to talk to you about something first."
"What?"
"We never got a chance to finish talking about your last dream," Kalibar explained. "You said that the man in your dreams wore Battle-Runic armor."
"Right."
"Well, there were only a few Battle-Runics that we know of during Ancient times," Kalibar stated, rubbing his chin. "There was Kovus, who died before the Great War. Then there was Pranon, and of course Ampir." Kyle's eyes widened.
"Ampir!"
"Hmm?" Kalibar asked.
“The man from my dreams,” Kyle explained. “It was Ampir!” Kalibar stared at Kyle, his jaw hanging open. He shut it quickly.
"You're sure?" he pressed. Kyle nodded.
Kalibar stared at him for a moment longer, then turned to the waterfall in the distance. He nodd
ed to himself.
"It all makes sense," he said. "Ampir was incredibly skilled...if anyone could have figured out a way to store memories in your ring, it would've been him."
"So you think Ampir made my ring?" Kyle asked. Kalibar nodded again.
"It would explain how you managed to survive the rip-vines and the Ulfar," Kalibar reasoned. "And the killerpillar. As a Battle-Runic, Ampir would've added protective runes to just about anything he made."
"But I don't get it," Kyle protested. "How did I get his ring?"
"I have no idea," Kalibar admitted. "But everything you described in your dreams makes sense now. Ampir was the youngest man to ever be elected to the Council in Ancient times...and according to your dreams, he was in Stridon when the Behemoth struck."
"Oh."
"Ampir allowed millions of innocent people to die, just to save his wife," Kalibar muttered, shaking his head.
"I don't know," Kyle countered. "It happened so fast...by the time Ampir got into his armor, the city was already destroyed. I don't think he could have stopped it."
"Really," Kalibar replied, clearly unconvinced.
Kyle shook his head, amazed by the thought that his dreams had actually happened...that Ampir had truly lived once. Kyle had always thought of the past as boring, on account of the tedious and senseless memorization of names and dates that passed for history class at school. His dreams proved that utterly wrong...history was vibrant, alive with real people and real feelings...terror, love, hope, and heart-wrenching loss. How many other stories were lost to history, having never been recorded? Would his whole life be forgotten when he died? In a hundred years, would anyone remember that he even existed?
"What happened to him?" Kyle asked. "To Ampir?"
"Nobody knows for sure," Kalibar answered. "In any case, we still don't know how Ampir's ring got to Urth...and how, or why, you got here. And we're not going to figure it out today." He gestured for Kyle to stand up from the back of the carriage. "Take off all of your clothes except your underwear,” he ordered.
Kyle froze, unsure of how to react to this rather disturbing request.
“Go on,” Kalibar prompted. “Get to it. It's about time I started teaching you some magic!”
* * *
Kyle stood in the shallow end of the lake, just opposite the waterfall, his arms folded modestly across his chest. He'd removed all of his clothes save for his underwear – which on this world were luckily just like shorts – as requested. The water was surprisingly warm, like bath water, and so clear that Kyle could easily see all the way to the bottom, even at the deeper parts of the lake. The bottom was mostly light brown sand and small, rounded pebbles that hurt his feet a little when he'd walked over them.
"Go further in," Kalibar was saying. He was standing at the shoreline, his black boots inches from the water. "Deep enough that you can float on your back." Kyle obeyed, grimacing as a pebble jabbed into the sole of his foot. He paused as the water went up to his mid-thighs, dreading what was to come. He grimaced as his groin dipped into the water, but luckily the lake was warm enough that it wasn't too uncomfortable. He continued onward until he was up to his belly-button in water.
"Stop," Kalibar ordered. "Turn around." Kyle obeyed, facing Kalibar. "Now, I will use this staff..." Kalibar pointed to the tall, metallic staff in his left hand, "...to send a large amount of magic near you."
"Okay," Kyle replied. Then he frowned. "So what do I do?"
"To use magic," Kalibar answered, "you have to first know what magic feels like." He gestured at Kyle. "You make a great deal of magic, so you're used to having your mind filled with it. Water wicks magic away from your body, depleting you. It's far easier to feel magic when you're relatively low on it...just like it's easier to hear someone whisper when a room is quiet than when it's loud."
"Ohhh," Kyle replied. "Got it."
"The part of your mind that senses and uses magic is asleep, if you will," Kalibar continued. "Learning to feel the magic inside of you is called your 'Awakening.'" He tapped the butt of his staff on the sandy shore. "Now, you're going to lay on your back and float in the water with your ears submerged." Kyle started to do this, and Kalibar held up his hand. "Not yet," he corrected. "When you're submerged, try to clear your mind of all distractions. Concentrate only on what you are feeling."
"What will it feel like?" Kyle asked.
"You'll know when you feel it," Kalibar answered. He motioned for Kyle to lay back, and Kyle did so, easing into a Dead Man's float. The water tickled his ears as his head dipped into the water, then lapped at his temples. It certainly felt refreshing after his sweaty, sticky trek through the woods. He concentrated on his breathing, holding his breath for a while, then letting it out, and then quickly taking another deep breath in to remain floating. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be concentrating on what he was feeling. He did so, focusing on the warmth of the sun on his face and chest, and the muted sound of the water in his ears. After a minute, his mind started to wander, and he found himself thinking of his dreams. He shook the thoughts from his mind, trying to focus on what he was feeling. But it was no use...his mind kept wandering. He began to wonder if Kalibar was getting annoyed with him. What if he couldn't feel magic? What if he failed? Then Kalibar would have brought him here for nothing. Darius would have a field day making fun of him, no doubt.
Kyle sighed, then kicked himself out of the Dead Man's float, standing up.
"Did you feel anything?" Kalibar asked. Kyle shook his head.
"No," he admitted. "I can't stop thinking," he added morosely. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Kalibar replied good-naturedly. "If this were easy, everyone would be doing it. Don't mind me, just relax. Sometimes it takes days – or even weeks – to have your Awakening."
Kyle nodded, feeling relieved. He laid back down in the water, closing his eyes. This time, he tried to relax, as Kalibar had instructed. It wasn't hard to do; the sun felt warm on his skin, a pleasant contrast to the relative coolness of the water. It reminded him of last summer, when he'd gone to the beach with his dad. Of buying ice cream on a cone, then trying – and failing – to eat it before the ice cream melted and dribbled down over his hand. Of running into the ocean next to his dad, both yelling as the ice-cold water lapped at their legs. He smiled, remembering the delicious lobster dinner they'd had afterward. The night in the hotel overlooking the ocean, the stars twinkling in the sky. He imagined that sky, pictured one of the stars exploding into a shower of rainbow-colored candy. One of the candies sprouted legs and galloped away. He threw a lasso out at the candy-beast, but missed it. The thing grew wings and flapped them, flying away. And then...
...and then he felt water rushing into his mouth and down his throat!
Kyle burst up from the water, spewing water out of his mouth. He took a deep gulp of air, then coughed violently, his lungs and throat burning. He heard laughter, and looked up, spotting Kalibar at the shoreline laughing at him. Kyle lowered his gaze, his cheeks flushing. Kalibar's laughter died down...eventually.
"When I told you to relax," the former Grand Weaver called out at last, "I didn't mean fall asleep!" He chuckled, shaking his head. Then he gestured at Kyle. "Lay back again," he ordered.
Kyle obeyed, laying back in the water again. He closed his eyes, spreading his arms out wide, feeling the water resist the movement. He took a deep breath in, feeling himself rising a little in the water as he did so, then let it out a bit, sinking back downward. He fell into a steady rhythm of breathing.
In, two three four...out, two three four...
His mind started to wander, but this time he resisted the urge to fall asleep. Thoughts came to him, but he didn't pay them any mind, and they slipped away quickly. He let them come and go, enjoying the warm sun beating on his exposed skin and the water lapping at his ears. He heard...or rather, felt...a slight humming to his right, as if there was a motorboat idling in the water far away. He opened his eyes and turned his head, but only saw the ripplin
g surface of the lake against the bright blue sky. He closed his eyes again, resting his head back into the water.
In, two three four...
He felt the humming vibration again, this time to his left. He paused, then raised his head, turning toward it. But again, there was nothing there.
Weird, he thought.
“Kyle!” he heard Kalibar shout. He frowned, swinging forward out of the Dead Man's float. Kalibar was standing by the shore as before, but this time he was grinning.
“What?” Kyle shouted back.
“You felt it, didn't you?”
“Felt what?” Kyle asked.
“What you were turning your head toward,” Kalibar clarified. “That, my boy, was magic!”
“It was?” Kyle gasped. He felt his heart leap in his chest, a giddy thrill invigorating him. “That was magic?”
“That's right,” Kalibar confirmed. “That's how it feels. I sent a stream of magic to your right, and then to your left, and you turned toward it each time.”
“Awesome!” Kyle exclaimed. He could hardly believe it...he'd actually felt magic!
“I agree,” Kalibar said. He shook his head. “I've never seen a student sensitize to magic so quickly...well done, Kyle.”
Kyle felt a flush of pride, and couldn't help but grin. Kalibar smiled back.
“Try it again,” Kalibar instructed. “I'll send magic to you, and you do as you did before. Turn your head to wherever you feel it.”
Kyle complied, sinking down into the water and kicking his legs up again to float on the surface. He closed his eyes, waiting for the humming sensation to come again. And come it did; within seconds, he sensed it to his left. He turned his head, keeping his eyes closed. The vibration ended as soon as it had begun, then reappeared to his right. He turned his head dutifully, causing the sensation to disappear once more. Then he felt it behind him, and he tilted his head backward.
“Excellent,” he heard Kalibar exclaim. Kyle stood up in the water. “You're a natural,” Kalibar added. Kyle grinned again, and Kalibar smirked. “Having talent is a lucky way to start,” he cautioned, “...but real accomplishment is only achieved through hard work.”