A Falcon's First Flight

 

            “Centuries before the ancient war began there were little skirmishes all throughout Ekued. Ekued was not yet the name of the land. This name would arise later when the people of Ekued realized that there was more land other than their own. Ekued was alone for some time before being discovered by the rest of the world. The people of the world were still recovering from the split of magic from its most raw and natural form.

 

            Four categories of magic emerged from the divide. Spell Casting having to do with written and spoken words is the magic of precision and careful study. Emotion magic comes from the energy within the magic-user as does Spell Casting. Worldly magic comes from the earth. Energy can be harnessed from the elements around the magic users, known as conjures, to be used as they see fit. Cosmic magic comes from the spirits found all about. A spirit can be an ally aiding the conjurer or a slave working unwillingly providing the energy they need. These four categories each have their distinct differences being useful in all their own way.

 

            Each of the four magics has shaped the skirmishes of Ekued in their own way. Conjures used Spell Casting to lay traps for their foes. Some examples include inscribing instructions on a new deadly weapon and having merchants sell them to the enemy. Not knowing the instructions were actually conditions that needed to be met to activate the deadly spell, the power hungry warriors and conjures sought out weapons of destruction, and found it in the form of their own death. When the conditions to an enchantment are met the enchanted are forced under its rules. Other examples of Spell Casting is to cast an illusion of ground when actually a horseman is riding toward a cliff. The other conjurers could use their emotion magic to transform into beasts or worldly magic to create flames, move objects at a distance to fall on the enemy, and even strengthen a blow of a sword.

 

            Cosmic was perhaps the most misunderstood magic drawing its power from things, not in the normal scope of understanding. Conjures played on people’s fears and ignorance to make cosmic power seem more than what it was. The four categories are balanced and equal. Much like the comparison between a spoon and a shovel the magics are better suited for different things. Although a shovel can displace more dirt than a spoon it becomes rather difficult to consume soup with a utensil that can not fit in the bowl or mouth of the eater. Magic is the same, simply a tool.”

            “Wow, master Pam you sure know a lot!”

 

            “Well, when you are as old as I am you begin to know a thing or two.” Every morning started with stories of older times and lessons in magic. Pam was the master of two boys, Rob was ten and his younger brother was eight. The parents being normal found a master magician for their boys to grow and train under. Pam lived in the mountains who's runoff fed the twin rivers. It was a quiet place secluded from the world. Pam was older than the boy's parents, so much so that they saw her as a grandmother. With white hair and aged eyes, they could tell there was much wisdom in her. With great authority, she commanded the boys to ready themselves to go to Niar's guild.

 

            In this land of magic and fantasy young people at the age of sixteen are free to join a magical guild. Niar's guild was one of the oldest guilds in Ekued boasting some of the most powerful conjurers of not just Ekued but all of Kaysna. “Are you ready yet?” Pam shouted out to the boys. They have been living with Pam for over a month learning magic as well as how to survive in this world. The boys were ready and they set out to Niar's guild. She had told them this is the guild they were to join and they were not going to wait until they were sixteen. The trip had taken a few days to reach the guild, introduce the boys, and make their way home.

 

            “So master are they admitting us into the guild?” Rob spoke as though he knew the answer . . . No.

 

            “This was merely an introduction.” Pam turned and came down to one knee to see eye to eye with the boys. Her hair was cut very short on the sides and short and spiked on the top. Her eyes stuck out the most to Rob. She always looked deep into his eyes. Her blue eyes were deep and vast. She always said everything with intensity. Rob did not like this at first, but soon became accustomed to it. Pam put a hand on both of their shoulders.

 

            “You two will become fine young men of that I have no doubt. I will see to it that when most boys run off to join a guild at sixteen you two will already be accomplished magicians and well on your way to becoming wizards. No students of mine will be outpaced by anyone except their master.” Pam felt a sense of pride in the two boys. They were not of her blood yet she loved them, the boys trained daily taking camping trips into the mountains. Pam started every trip with a speech, “To master magic one must master themselves. The mind, body, and spirit must all work towards the same goal. When two horses pulling a carriage head in separate directions the carriage is stagnant.”

 

            “Master when will we go back to learning magic?” Rob was not patient always cutting off Pam's instruction.

 

            “You should never have stopped learning so when you go back to learning is up to you. Life is full of knowledge. Just stop and observe.” This trip lasted longer than most of their overnight trips into the mountains. Pam spoke of the different animals, the wildlife, and how they interacted with one another. The boys learned not to ask questions.

 

            “You want to know why the birds nest in the trees, then we will sit here and observe the world to understand why.” Pam would not allow the boys to leave until they answered their own question. There came a day when the boys finished Pam's speech for her before their trip into the mountains. Rob laughed with his little brother thinking it was more amusing than the time they kept changing the color of their clothes with magic to confuse master Pam. “Oh, so you two know what I was going to say. You two must not need me.” With that, she walked away. The boys stopped laughing. Rob chased after her,

 

            “Master wait.”

 

            “You two are ready to make this trip on your own.” Two days into the trip Rob felt uneasy. His thoughts wandered, "Was he doing it right? How did Pam do it? Is she watching him mess things up right now?" Rob was fraught with insecurities and questions.

 

            “Rob we should be back by now. When we do this trip with Pam it only takes a day and a half.”

 

            “I know little bro, I must have taken the wrong path back.” Rob looked at his little brother, he was not nearly as strong as he was and had trouble keeping up. “I'm sorry little bro that I put us in this mess, we are going to have to make camp for the night.” Rob pitched the tent, put out the fire and waited for his brother to lay his enchantments around the tent for protection. Around the tent, there was writing in the ground made with a stick. It read, “All that can harm us can look over us and forget us. Increase our chances of that happening. Let all of the creatures pass us by in the night not knowing what they have lost.” The script circled the tent repeating itself when the words ran out. Once the words surrounded the tent Rob read over it checking for errors in spelling.

 

            “You know little brother your enchantments are improving.”

 

            “Well, I cannot use the same one as master. She fuels her enchantments herself. I just use the senses of the animals. You are not going to attack something you do not see.”

 

            Rob thought about it, “I guess you are right. You can not force them away so use a different enchantment. Well, let's sleep we have to figure out our way home.” They woke up to start the journey home. Rob tore down the tent while his brother spread the dirt around so that his enchantment was gone. The day was taken up mostly with climbing to Birds Eye Peak to chart out a course. Once atop the peak, they set up camp. It was a bit past noon when they were finished setting up. Rob did not need to tell his little brother why they were setting up so early. He watched as his brother prepared food. Rob went over all of the steps in his head.

 

            He was about to make a partial transformation turning his arms to wings. They both knew what could happen. They had been training with Pam for over a year now and Rob had not tried a partial transformation by himself yet. Doing this wrong could mangle his bones or permanently alter his body. Rob focused his energy into his core. Then slowly the energy dispersed into his arms. There was a dull light emitting from Rob’s arms. Rob could feel his arms twisting and turning. He dared not open his eyes In case he became distracted. One slip of the mind and the intent can change behind any spell causing the end result to change. The sweat now pooled at Rob’s feet.

 

            He opened his eyes to see his arms now feathered in the shape of wings. Rob was filled with glee and off he went. Running to the edge of the peak Rob jumped letting the wind fill his wings giving him flight. The feeling was incredible but, he could not focus on it. He had to find a way home for his brother. Rob let the wind take him higher and the higher gliding to conserve energy. He flapped his wings periodically to remind himself he still had them. The air was colder up there which made it more difficult to focus on maintaining his transformation as well as charting a route home. After enough reconnaissance, Rob flew into Birds Eye Peak where his little brother was waiting for him. This was the part that he was dreading most, the landing.

 

            Pam had told Rob that magic enables conjurers to mimic life around them, it does not grant them knowledge about how it works. Rob was now thankful for master Pam forcing them to watch the birds for a day. He remembered their landing and he mimicked the broad strokes toward the ground to slow his momentum. His arms could feel the strain. Each muscle feeling the force of the air underneath him. Rob used his legs as shock absorbers. "The landing was sloppy," Rob thought to himself, "at least I didn’t twist an ankle or worse."

 

            “Wow Rob that was incredible!” His little brother had run up to help him inside the tent. “Here is dinner I know it is only a bit after noon but you must be exhausted.” Rob felt very tired. He was so tired he forgot to turn his wings back into arms. The magic sustaining his partial transformation was draining him of energy. Rob lay on the ground where his little brother put him. He sunk deep into thought remembering how his arms looked. The feeling pulsed through him. The energy building from his core surged out into the tips of his wings which slowly morphed into fingers. Rob lay about absent of strength. His little brother fed him, put out the fire, and laid the enchantment in the ground.

 

            The course home the following day was difficult and slow. Rob remembered the trail he saw from above perfectly. Rob, however, was not looking at the path from above. At every tree or rock, he questioned himself. Every time he had doubled back to make sure the path he chose was the right path he could hear his little brother struggling to keep up. Each time he went back and forth he felt worse and worse, "my brother is only nine and he has always been weak. I need to stop making wrong turns." Rob’s thoughts could be read clearly on his face. In deep gasps, “Don’t worry about me Rob let’s just make it home.”

 

            It was dusk. Rob knew home was near, just three hours or so. He looked back at his brother haggard and barely standing.

 

            “I can keep going Rob I,” his speech was interrupted by a big huff, “I can make it to the house.” More huffs.

 

            “No, rest. we have been out here for four days a fifth won't hurt.” Rob sat thinking to himself, "should I just carry him? It's only three hours away and I know the path. No, it will be twice that long in the dark and with the extra weight. I need the rest as well, I'm still not recovered from that transformation. Besides, we have used up all of our rations and with all of that backtracking, we didn't collect any food. Maybe we should just march on."

 

            “Hey, Rob are you going to throw up the tent I need to lay my enchantment around it?”

 

            “Not tonight. One little slip-up and we don’t make it home.”

 

            "We will just have to risk it tonight," Rob thought as he built the tent. They went to bed hungry and thirsty. Rob woke up at sunrise thankful no animals came by for a visit during the night. The three-hour trip home took till noon with parched throats and empty bellies. Pam was sitting on the porch with a lunch made and water at the ready.

 

            “Clean your hands before you touch your food. Who knows what you touched.” The boys ignored the order and risked it yet again. After lunch, Pam asked the two boys what they had learned. Rob spoke first, “I kept wondering ‘had I made the right decision?’ The question had nagged at me. I just decided to ignore it. I made my decision, right or not I’m sticking with it!”

 

            “Good. Most men spend their entire lives riddled with insecurities. Cut them down now while they are developing. This way they never have time to take root. I hope you learned also to keep moving forward because no one knows all ends. Don't question the choices you have already made nothing can be done about it, time magic has long been destroyed.” Now looking at Rob’s little brother, “and what did you learn?”

 

            “Just because you can't do something exactly like someone else doesn't mean you can't accomplish the same thing.” Pam smiled coming down to one knee. She pulled both of them in for a warm embrace and said with the same intensity as always, “Now don't ever scare me like that again.”