Tales of Ayre

Evaliena’s students had left a day later. Jace was a little sad to see them go, but they had duties to their families and clans that they were a part of. He was told to rest for the next two weeks, to get adjusted to his new vision and the strange energies he was around him.

However, resting only involved avoiding anything strenuous. Which annoyed Cedar. Cinnamon had finally left the hermitage along with a few others of lesser note as winter was ending. Everyone else was shedding their winter coats, so Jace’s sensitive nose was being assaulted for the time being with strands of hair.

The yellow vixen, who was now his master, continued to withhold specifics from him, but she didn’t avoid the answers when he asked about the obvious. While helping with preparing different meals of the day. Jace searched out the ‘metaphysical’ differences between each herb, mushroom, and vegetable. Each had their own ‘hue’ to them, but not in any way he could properly describe outside of a feeling. The cured and dried meats, compared to fresh meats, had subtle differences between them. The wine, mead and small beer had noticeable differences between but they all held one similar hue in the mixture between them. That was probably the alcohol content, or maybe the water.

These little things he could sense in the food were called ‘Essences’ by Evaliena. While the emanations he could see and feel around him and the room were called ‘Mana’. Those excluded by living things are called “aura.” Not all things contain usable mana or essence. The stones and the wood of the keep had no mana at all. But whenever he looked outside, a verdant ocean of oil colours covered the deep weald the mountain overlooked. It was all so mesmerising to watch the wisps of mana waft up and dissipate.

The rest period passed.

Evaliena beckoned her new apprentice over. Which Jace did. “Raise your arm, please, the one with the bracelet.”

Jace did as instructed, extending his arm out from under the poncho he was wearing. The hempen bracelet and its embedded orange gem resting on his wrist. “So… am I getting a copy of that construct everyone has?” he dared to ask.

Evaliena smirked indignantly. “You won’t be getting a Lemis anytime soon.” She flicked her finger and hand. The gem on the bracelet lit up with ghostly fire. The gem itself also shifted to different colours. Jace looked inquisitively at the flame, at how it danced. How the flame ebbed and flickered. “This gem and the flame above it are now connected to you. Only those with the ability to see mana can notice the changes.”

“How is this supposed to help me?”

Evaliena got up from where she was sitting and walked over to the bookcases. Jace followed her, keeping just behind and to her side. “I want you to watch the flame over the coming months. How it flickers along with your emotions. How it bellows and shrinks with your exertions.” The yellow vixen explained. She looked over her shoulder at Burr and Cedar, who was in his usual chair smoking his pipe. The pipe smoke seemed to mess with Jace’s perceptions. “And you two do not teach him any spellcraft yet…” She opened the bookcase and searched the volumes.

Burr let out a sigh and shrugged. Cedar snorted and let out a puff of smoke, revealing his annoyance. “He’s going to end up learning some of the wild arts intuitively as his Feina grows in. I see no harm in helping him along, Sandal.” Jace kept his quiet.

“If he learns it naturally, surely help him. But only so he does not hurt himself.” Evaliena cautioned. She retrieved a rather enormous book from the bookcase. The book being a well cared for leather bound folio with yellow inlay. She hands the heavy volume to Jace. He nearly tripped over when he took the weight.

“What’s this?” Jace turned the book to look at the cover. The title in bold yellow print read ‘Initiate’s Manual to the Arcane.’ He held the middle of the heavy tome’s wide ribbed spine and opened to the first page. The foreword read ‘By Thovius Morris. Within this compilation of arcane mechanics, models and theories are the foundations needed to teach an initiate mage the knowledge to make full usage of their abilities.’ Jace looked up and beamed slightly at Evaliena. He felt his spine shifting.

The bookcases happened to be warded, and every time he attempted to take a book before, without Evaliena’s permission, his hand would bounce off harmlessly. He could see the faint silvery waterfall that hung over every bookcase. Instead, the yellow vixen or one of the others would pull out a book for him, which was usually something harmless like an atlas, almanack or fables.

“He’s going to end up reading that back to front before you can walk him through.” Burr snickered sarcastically, her tail flicking over. “He’s far too eager to learn.”

Evaliena placed the bends of her wrists against her hips. “I’ll allow it, not that he’ll be able to make much sense of the contents without guidance.” Jace felt a pang of displeasure, but he decided against trying to prove himself without the ‘archmage’, as he knew deep down it wouldn’t impress her at all.

He yawned softly. He flipped the yellowed pages of the tome gingerly with his forepaw. Jace found he was more comfortable resting in his four-legged form more than laying on his front before. The first few texts had confirmed some of his suspicions about how the magic of this world functioned. That ‘mana’ mostly existed in areas where life was in abundance. Plants or animals.

He stretched, closing his eyes for a moment. Arching his hindquarters up like a cat, then dropping back into his bed. He felt a light breeze, no he felt the movement of mana that felt like a breeze. He cracked one curious eye open.

A four legged, yellow diminutive figure sat on its haunches before him. Through, the figure looked like a moving oil painting. They were licking casually across their forearm. The presence he was observing felt familiar.

“It’s nice to see you again.” The ethereal feminine voice sounded.

“Oh, it’s just you.” Upon hearing, Jace immediately recognised the voice of the spirit that haunted this castle. A bit more clearly than before. She often, over the winter, tormented Jace and tried to goad him into playing. It became almost prosaic. The advice was to just ignore her until she exhausted her energy.

“Oh, you see me properly now?” She titled their head queerly. The figure was a canid in appearance, with short legs and a belly white like snow. They have a drooping tail that split in a long tri-fork. And from its rounded head extended long pointed ears that also drooped. “And not afraid anymore?”

Jace yawned softly and lazily rested his head over one of his arms, looking at the peculiar canid. “Aw, you’re no fun.” The spirit whined. “And that boy who slept in the lower chambers is now gone.” Cinnamon probably couldn’t resist the little temptress, Jace thought.

“What you consider fun isn’t exactly to my taste.” Jace simpered at the spirit. From Evaliena’s telling, the spirit had been in the keep for centuries. Maybe he could probe the spirit for information.

“Pah.” The spirit spat. “I can play normally. The red fur was easy to tease and to watch him…”

Jace folded his ears and abashedly closed his eyes in a pained expression. “No! No! I don’t want it described to me.” The spirit giggled. “Anyway, how are you able to do that? You’re not corporal,” he pointed out.

“Oh, the little grey fur, whose aura suggests they should know better, desires answers?” The spirit looked at Jace with her pitch black eyes then searched down through the floor searching for something. “You won’t sneak past those four down there.” She sighed with resignation.

“Considering who’s down there, I would get a smack.” Jace quietly speculated. He didn’t know how everyone would react if they found out he was just having a casual conversation with the castle’s haunter.

“Doubt it, dog.” The spirit dismissed Jace’s concern. “That evil witch wouldn’t hurt a child. Any child.” The spirit leered mischievously at Jace with those onyx eyes. “That neatly leads into my predicament.”

Evil Witch? Dog? Jace figured he should start ignoring the spirit now for the insults. He put that aside as the oily yellow canid probably had a lot of built up frustration in its heart. “And what might that be?”

The spirit gave a dry heave and kneaded the wooden floor, making it creak. “That witch is my gaoler. She wrapped my body in amber and fixed my armature to a draining spike. She calls me an abomination, which is true in a sense, not that I care much for the opinions of others.”

Intrigued, Jace pressed as much as he dared. “An abomination of what?”

“You can just ask that witch if you dare.” The spirit raised a paw, pointing it accusingly at the tome in front of Jace. Then he heard a yawn. “Ugh, I strained myself talking to you. Tah tah little grey fur.” The spirit vanished in a blink as suddenly as it arrived.

He was all alone in the bedroom again. Jace looked at the book and closed it. He pondered on the conversation, then realised he needed to get his sleep or he was going to feel hell from Cedar tomorrow.

The courtyard, filled with melting snow and the barest hint of the sun’s cresting light. Echoed with the clacks and bindings of wooden training weapons. Jace could fill the mana flowing around Cedar’s movement. How it pinned the old warrior to the floor. How it reinforced his limbs for resistance and precision.

Jace growled from being pushed. He at least expected the old fox to be fair. But maybe he should have never made the assumption that the crude old coot was honourable. “You can’t be this old and frail that you have to use the arts to keep the pressure on me.” He anchored his foot and blocked a strike with his training staff. The two weapons grinding together.

“I have many more decades ahead of me, Jace.” Cedar spoke smoothly as he continued to apply pressure with ease. “I can easily kick your disrespectful tail without it.” The flows around Cedar’s aura slowed. And Jace yelped as he forced onto one knee by the increase of pressure. Cedar’s training sword started bending.

“Waah!” Jace’s hand slipped, and he got bonked lightly on the head. He clasped his hands over his sore crown and fell backwards onto the floor.

“I may be growing old, but I can still easily overpower children and untrained ‘braves’.” He gave Jace a mild smirk, resting the training sword’s blade over his shoulder. Fingers rolling and flexing against the hilt.

Jace then started rubbing his wrists as well. Cedar’s strength strained his hands from holding the bind back. “You’re meant to be teaching me how to defend myself properly. Not forcing me into submission!”

Cedar walked back to his starting position and pointed the tip of the blade at Jace. “Then stay focused, Pup.” Jace growled and picked up the staff. Using the pole of wood to get back onto his feet. “Don’t growl at me, Pup.”

Jace was getting annoyed with Cedar. How was he meant to get any better if the old warrior was just going to use him as a punching bag? He gripped his training staff with two hands. He was going to wipe that smile off of the old warrior’s face one of these days.

Cedar walked around the edge of the cooling stone platform. “So, the night of your awakening. Did you feel exhausted when running with us all?”

“What are you getting at, Cedar?” Jace nipped testily. Keeping his front and guard towards the stalking old warrior.

Cedar’s eyes shifted to look toward Jace’s arm. “We’ve been sparring for a few hours and you’re not even exhausted.” Jace raised his arm to look at the enchanted bracelet. The flame was wild with Jace’s frustration and rapidly shrinking. Jace’s eyes bulged slightly. “Calm yourself, Pup.” Cedar responded steadily to Jace’s panic. The old fox put his training sword away and beckoned. “Come here. I’ll teach you how to control that wild mana of yours.”

Jace wandered over. “Did I do something wrong?” His eye was on the flame as he approached the edge of the platform.

Cedar had sat down as Jace approached. “No, you’ve done nothing wrong, boy. You’re just using up your Feina’s well without knowing it. And you said I was cheating.” Cedar gave a sneering look.

“You were. Also, is it bad? How fast does it fill back up again?”

“That’s for Sandal to tell you about, as she can explain it better.” The old fox shrugged. “But I can tell you this, similar to how you can adjust your perception to see through the veil.” Jace sat with the old fox. “You can’t completely restrict the flow. A tickle of mana is always pumping across your body. But you can stop yourself from wasting your mana on reinforcing your strength.”

Jace thought about it. It somewhat made sense to him. “Then how do I go about doing that?”

“It’s like flexing a muscle. Relax that muscle.” Cedar instructed, putting a hand on Jace’s shoulder. “That’s if you can imagine flexing everything in your body.”

“Yeah, that does sound like a stretch.” Jace gave cedar a look of sarcasm, closing his eyes. He became surprised at the ease with which he managed to staunch the flow of mana to the rest of his body. Then the exhaustion hit him like a truck. Filling his mind and body like a tidal wave.

Cedar gave the panting Jace a push into the cold snow with a chuckle. “I have to carry you inside now, don’t I?” the old warrior kicked some cold snow over Jace’s back. The young grizzle furred Reynard just groaned. “I have about eleven winters to whip you into shape.”

“You knew.” Jace accused his master. “You knew and didn’t tell me that I was using up my mana.” Jace tried to lift one of his arms. He was too weak to do so.

“You were fine.” She stared daggers at Cedar, who looked as if he was giddy from a well-executed prank. “All you had to do was come inside and eat some food, then you would have been filled back up. Open up now.” She raised up some freshly seared meat with a pair of tongs. Jace leaned his neck up and bit down, chewing away at the slice of salted meat.

“The speed at which he managed to manipulate his Feina is pleasantly surprising.” Burr commented as she shifted under some blankets. “It’ll make teaching him how to express his own mana much easier.”

Jace kept chewing away. “Don’t take that privilege away from me.” Evaliena waited for Jace to finish eating. “Anyway, Jace… Now that Cedar knows you can fortify yourself, he’s just going to press you harder. I hope he doesn’t strain you.” She looked out the corner of her eye, leering at Cedar.

Jace gulped the wonderfully cooked meat down with surprise. “He wasn’t aware earlier?!” Cedar chuckled even more. “I just feel like I’m not improving at all anymore.” Jace closed his eyes.

“Not at all.” Cedar stopped his laugh of mild glee. “You’ve improved a lot since we’ve started.”

“All that ‘muscle memory’, huh, old man?” Burr said with a sassy tone.

“His reflexes could do with more honing.” Cedar explained. “But it’s not going to be of much help to him until he matures.” Jace rolled his eyes under his lids and accepted another bite of meat. He didn’t like being this helpless. So he shifted the conversation after he gulped down his meal.

“What’s a Feina, anyway?” Jace flicked an ear as he opened his eyes. He knew it was the source of his power, but he didn’t know what it was exactly.

Burr spoke up instead of Evaliena. “Feina is the gate to your source, your soul.” “Your Feina takes up mana and allows your source to purify it for your body to use.” That made some sense, but there was a piece missing to Jace.

“What happens if you can’t take up mana?” Jace inquired earnestly.

“You’ll just be unable to spellcraft or use any skills.” Burr stretched her shoulders impassively. “Rations, fresh food, potions will all restore your well of mana, too. You could possibly use your source too, but that will shorten your life.” Jace had a mental oh.

Evaliena interrupted. “Yeah, let’s not go there.” She turned and sat on her behind.

“Seen too many young mages burning themselves out, pushing too hard.” Cedar solemnly added. Jace didn’t inquire any further and kept his quiet. Enjoying the warmth of being wrapped in blankets and being next to the keep’s roaring hearth.