Legends of Belariath

Ian Macross

Apprentice: Part Four

The sun rises on the feline village…the wildlife, for the most part, comes alive, even as a portion of it goes dormant…some of the felines, even, are nocturnal, and they join the creatures glorious repose. The rest, however, begin to busy themselves with various chores and activities, preparing for the day ahead. Any special occasion? No, not really…just a regular day for them.

The warriors get up to begin their drills, the bakers begin to cook, and the hunters prepare for a long day of tracking, ready for whatever the day might bring…the villagers in their entirety seem to treat this like any other day, not even considering that it might hold something unexpected. That’s something their elders would handle, after all!

But…sometimes the shaman’s apprentice doesn’t fall in the same category as most villagers. For them, it’s going to be a quiet day…for him, it’s going to be a day of learning, of knowledge. He has been up since before daybreak, preparing for his -own- journey…one he was warned about the night before, in fact.

“Ian, my lad…it’s time I showed you a few more of the more interesting tricks…abilities that might save your life, if you found you were able to use them. I doubt you can right now, but just -seeing- them at their full potential might be helpful for you at this stage.” The shaman had said, before heading to bed early, to get the full measure of his rest.

In fact, he seemed to be still asleep…Ian hadn’t seen him withdraw from their ceremonial hut yet. As he was just about to consider opening the doorway and awakening his master himself, he discovers that the reason there’s been no sign of him is simply because the shaman has -already- left. There’s a note on the wall…”Apprentice: Meet me on the ridge overlooking the next valley, straight out of the village.” Signed, of course, by his mentor.

Ian sighs…great, a trek through the outskirts of the forest, then out to find which -section- of the ridge was being occupied by the eccentric and sometimes irascible catman. He shrugs his shoulders, putting his pack on his back, and walks out of the town, waving to a few of the other villagers as he departs. It would take him some time to get through the distance separating them, actually, but no more than, oh, a half hour or so. Time passes…

The journey was relatively uneventful, the one notable point being that he -didn’t- encounter anything worthwhile or dangerous, that being far different than his expectations had indicated. He steps out of the furthest edges of the forest, blinking in the sudden, unfiltered light…odd, that when it didn’t come through a few layers of branches and leaves, it seemed…well, brighter! He stumbles for a moment, blinking his eyes…then looks around, trying to spot…-there-.

It did not take much effort to spot him, actually…the main attraction to one’s eye was the massive ripping in the air, like a giant cyclone, drawing in debris from all around the ridge-edge…power, too, flooded in, and even Ian could sense it in it’s most base form, the elemental swirling almost too much for him to bear…he begins to walk towards his master, wondering just what the fellow had in mind, to summon that much energy…

And just where was that energy -going-, anyways? It all seemed to be gathering in one spot, then suddenly getting diverted, as if thrown away by whatever cosmic giant had gathered it. How long had the old mage been doing this, anyways? Ian hurries his approach, arriving just in time, it seems…”Ah, lad! Take a look at what your studies may someday reveal to you!” He crows, arching his hands higher into the air, as if balancing a large object of -tremendous- weight and strain…

The energy, bottled up in who knows what devilish manner, suddenly springs to life. It coalesces into one -enormous- ball of energy, the power of which simply stunned Ian….his jaw drops, and he himself hit’s the ground, paralyzed and trembling with fear…”T-that would destroy the village! Put it away! Get rid of it!” He begs, shielding his eyes from the insane gathering of force.

There’s a pause, then the shaman sighs and nods, waving the blast into the air, where it rockets up…up…into the sky, finally pausing at the zenith, before -exploding- into a riot of color…far enough away that it takes the sound itself a moment to reach them, much like fireworks, if either of them had ever experienced such before. The shaman sighs…”My apologies, lad…I just wished to show you what a true master of the arcane could -really- do. Did I frighten you?” He asks sympathetically.

There’s a brief pause, then Ian shakes his head, though his whimper tells otherwise. “N-no…not at all…just don’t do it again! Ever! That could have killed all of us if you had slipped…” He says, before clapping a hand to his mouth, instantly regretting his words. To imply that his master would fail at something that monumental, that -had- to be rude!

But, oddly enough, his mentor laughs…simply laughs, before receding to a chuckle…”Oh, that’s a risk all right…but I take more and more of those every time I go into battle for this village. One of these days, I won’t be able to maintain a simple enchantment, let -alone- cast a spell like -that-. Come, though…there’s something else I must show you…nothing quite so spectacular or un-nerving, I assure you.” He says, picking the lad up off the ground, dusting him off, and motioning for him to follow, as he walks along the ridge.

Ian smiles, though it’s a bit of a stretch to do so. What else did the man have in store for him? What -could- he have left, after that brilliant display of destructive prowess? He gives a faint, almost uncaring mental shrug…as if to say, “Nothing can shock me now…” or something along those lines. As the two approach the end of the ridge, the shaman pauses, looking back along their path, towards the -other- end of the ridge, dimly visible, but actually there, to the naked eye, thanks to the sparse nature of the ridge itself. No trees or large boulders to block his sight…

“Now, Ian my boy…take a look at this.” He hunkers down on the ground, motioning for him to follow suit…gesturing as he begins to draw in the dirt. “If you are in one place, dear boy, and need to go to another, you walk. Or run, or crawl, or do something, correct? But no matter -what- you do, it will take -time- to reach your destination. Sometimes, in rare events, you do not -have- that time. Running will take a moment too long, and your goal will fail.”

Ian nods, but doesn’t quite see where this is going…is it about futility? He had already learned that lesson, though he scarcely used it…that was an error he understood about himself, though he never bothered to correct it. The shaman nods as well, making a small gesture. “If one must travel from point A to point B -quickly-, they must resort to this trick…or rather, to cheating. Opening the front gate is much faster than climbing over the house itself, no? Well, imagine opening a door to wherever you wished to go…” He chuckles, standing upright..

He focuses, and conjures a focal point of energy before him, gathering it together…forcing it to form. The result? A simple wooden door…he turns the doorknob, opens it, and walks through…disappearing from sight, just as the door does a moment later. But Ian -can- see the shaman…he’s just all the way on the other side of the ridge! How did he…was that the same ability he had used against the dwarves?! He growls softly…if only he could learn -that- magic as well…

A few moments later, and the shaman had returned by the same ability, the door seeming to form out of nothing but air, coming into being just as it was opened…and closing, disappearing again, once he had passed through. “Is…does it always look like that?” He asks, frowning as he didn’t happen to remember a wooden door while fighting the dwarves…he hadn’t seen anything of it, of course, but a door he might have remembered.

The shaman smiles and shakes his head…”No, actually, it can look like whatever you envision it to look like, within reason. You cannot make it appear to be the mouth of a dragon, or something foolish like that…but it can be a brief puff of smoke, a flash of light, that sort of thing….quite easy to arrange, actually, for public appearances. When I must make a speech in front of the village, I sometimes arrive in that very manner…” he says, idly reminiscing.

They spend a few hours talking to each other, and Ian unpacks his knapsack, filled with snacks, foodstuffs, and similar articles. After making -quite- good use of them, they stash the remains away in the knapsack, then hurl what’s left over the cliff, laughing. As they begin to walk back to the village, Ian frowns…”Sir, I had a question…” He says.

The shaman smiles, pausing and turning towards him…”You want to know how to use that ability, am I right?” He suggests, grinning at the faint smile on Ian’s face. “Well, my boy, it takes time, sadly. Time, experience, concentration. Chances are you’ll be able to master it before too long, perhaps in a few months…if your studies progress any faster. All you must do is focus on splitting twin holes in reality with your mind…focus, make one near you, and one at your destination…then simply step through. Trust.” He says firmly.

Ian smiles again, nodding firmly as well…but then sighs, shaking his head. “Not just that, Sir…I was wondering…I’ve been practicing that bolt spell you taught me, maybe we could have a little, er, practice duel? Just as a test? I promise I’ll be careful!” He says, so eager that he actually considers himself to pose a threat to his master’s well-being…

There is a brief pause, as he considers…”Well, I suppose it’s best if you test against me, rather than off by yourself…don’t want you to hurt yourself while I’m away. All right, let’s do it here, where no one will get hurt….badly, at least. Whenever you are ready..” He says, gesturing for him to begin as he backs up carefully…giving the lad some space.

Ian also hesitates, but youthful eagerness and confidence, what can you say? He darts backwards, holding one hand before him…he spends a few moments focusing intently, gathering a few sparks from around him…hurling the small jumble of chaotic energy straight at his teacher, trying to do -something-, -anything- to put him off guard. The sparks strike him straight in the chest, but seem to do nothing more than singe his wardrobe…which is all regular sparks would do, anyways.

“My lad…you need a -bit- of practice before you…whooof!” He doubles over as Ian moves, twisting around to put an elbow in his gut, and hammering it in with his fist, knocking the old shaman backwards. In fact, it sets him to stumble onto his rear! He cheers, jumping around with joy…catcalling and whooping…his mentor shakes his head, grinning…”A splendid trick, my young disciple…magic won’t work, so you do the unexpected and lay me low with a base, physical attack. Ironic, isn’t it?” He chuckles, before sighing slightly.

Ian doesn’t even seem to be listening, too caught up in the moment…why did he take such extreme joy in victory? Well, for him, the shaman was one of the best in the world…and to defeat him on -any- level was an accomplishment. No matter that he was old and infirm, that the blow might well have knocked him unconscious if it came from a stronger man. All he cared about was his victory, and that it had been legalized by his master’s word.

“Come come, let’s return to the village…they’re probably already waiting for us there, hmm?” He suggests, picking the lad up out of his reverie by the virtue of that dinky little wand he kept in his pocket, slamming the boy’s ankle into the air, dangling him like a worm from a hook…paying no mind to the boy’s shouts of protest. He was thoroughly enjoying being back on top of things…but farther in the distance, -something- was still watching the village, and preparing to act. They had still learned nothing of what had -caused- the dwarves raid in the first place…

“We must separate the two, we -must-! Tell our friends in the deepwood to prepare a little distraction…hopefully the shaman will refuse to take his charge on such a dangerous mission.” the voice growls, still bent over the pool of ink, twin golden eyes burning out of the darkness. to be continued

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