Creators Guild: A Wizard's Beginning (17 page)

             
"I read it in a book, at the time I didn't know what it meant. Even now I was surprised to see what happened, all I know is it had something to do with the earth. I am truly sorry if I have done something wrong, but it came out quicker than I really thought."

             
"That’s fine. You must always remember to guard your tongue; you never know what will happen when you use magic that you haven’t been taught.  Do you understand me?"

             
"Yes sir, that is a lesson I have heard all too much in the time that I have been here. I promise you it will not happen again."

             
"Very good, you did very well on your test. I have seen your other work, it’s time for you to move on, I will have it arranged for tomorrow, you will now return to your room for the remainder of the day. I will notify the headmaster of servants that you will not be doing your regular evening chores. I want you to think about what has happened here today."

             
He went back to his room, confused and still a little shaky over what had happened. That was the second time he had almost been killed during his testing; now he knew what Rien had meant by being careful.  He lay down exhausted, partly from the little sleep the night before, and partly from the events that had just happened. He laid there thinking about all he had learned, he only had one more discipline to learn before he could advance.

He took the rest of the day to rest and read the book he had started
. That is where he had gotten the spell he used today. Now that he knew a little more and that the book could teach him he anxiously read it, trying to remember everything in it.  He was so involved in his book that he didn’t see the door open and someone walk in.  He looked up when he caught the smell of perfume in the room.

             
"Rien, sorry I didn't hear you come in. Have you ever read this book?" he asked, holding it up for her to see.

             
"The Terion Chronicles, no I haven't had the opportunity to read that one, why?"

             
"That spell I used today, I got it out of this book, there are many more like it,"

             
"You might want to consider giving that to Wizard Brekon, he will know more about it. Besides I don't think you should be reading that, especially if you start using the spells and don't know what will happen," she said a little nervous with him having the book still.  "Look I brought some current wine freshly made; I thought we could celebrate you passing the final test."

             
They sat drinking and talking for the next few hours, a servant brought food in for him, and seeing her there offered to collect some for her if she desired.  It was well past the setting of the sun when she finally decided to return to her own room. They both would have a big day tomorrow when he would leave to go study with the wind guild, she was sad to see him go.  The only joy she had came from knowing that she would see him around the castle, but that too was limited as she herself was preparing for her advancement to journey and would be leaving soon.

             
"Rien, before you go I wanted to ask you something."

             
"Yes."

             
"How do you feel about me, I mean are we just good friends?"

             
She was surprised by the question and was not sure how to answer. Her first thought was to shout NO, she wanted to be more than just good friends with him. "What do you mean are we just good friends?" she asked, trying to hide her true emotions.

             
He walked over to her, taking her in his arms and kissing her. Her knees felt like jelly, if it had not been for him holding her she would have fallen on the floor.  She could not believe that they were kissing, something she had wanted for so long, it was sweet and everything she thought it would be.  She stood there shocked when he pulled away, still wanting their lips to be together.

             
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me, can you forgive me for that?" he asked, turning away from her. He felt ashamed that he had taken advantage of her like that.

             
He went over to the small sofa, not wanting to look at her, not wanting to see the shame he thought he had caused her.  He was surprised when he felt her hands on his back, softly rubbing it.

             
"Don't be ashamed. I took no offense to it; to be honest I enjoyed it."

             
He turned back around to face her, he could remember the first time he saw her, when she was introduced as his instructor.  Now here they stood; his last night to be here with her. He took her in his arms and pulled her close to him, kissing her again.  She stayed with him for a while longer, full of desire to be with him.

             
They stayed up most of the night talking about how they felt for each other, and what they were going to do now that they had advanced their relationship.  He knew that she would be leaving shortly on her journey, but they both knew he was leaving in a matter of hours to train with the order of the wind.

             
The next morning he was surprisingly awake for the amount of sleep he had gotten, he was excited and sad to see her again, knowing that there time together would be severely limited with his training, he was just hoping to see her a few more times before she left. 

             
She was with him and Wizard Brekon in the Hall of Joining. Across the circle facing them was Wizard Terinal lon Jek, wind master.  He remembered being tested by him. It was a little hard to understand what he was saying from his strong accent, but he was able to get used to it easily enough.

             
"I present to you Apprentice Roland der Causland," said Brekon when they were all standing on the edge of the mural.

             
"We see you apprentice and welcome you to our sides, please come."

             
Roland proceeded to walk over to their side of the mural, he felt sad leaving Riens' side, but she gave his had one last reassuring squeeze before he left.  He felt strange as he passed over the middle of the mural, as though someone; somewhere was watching him, judging him.  He felt a rush of something as it passed him. The overwhelming feeling caught him off guard and he fainted.  The last thing he remembered hearing was a scream from Rien.

             
"Wizard, the apprentice is waking up."

             
He began to stir, his vision a blur.  He was disoriented, not knowing where he was.  He sat up straight and began looking around in a panic.

             
"Where am I, where'd it go?" he asked, now frantic of what he remembered.

             
"Tis' all right lad, yu's safe now," he heard someone say behind him.

             
He turned around to find Wizard Terinal sitting at the small table in his room; his head still hurt but was glad to see he was in bed.  He sat up, finding someone had brought him some food, he was starving. It felt like days since he had eaten anything.

             
"What happened?" he asked, eating some of the fresh sweet breads.

             
"Well, yu ad da oppertunty of esperiencin what we's call a tyme wrinkle," he said, "dem's don't happin much, but when de do, well not evrbody lives, yu's was lucky."

             
"How long have I been out?"

             
"Oi'd ave ta say, two monts now."

             
He tried to stand up, but his legs were stiff and sore from lying down so long. His arms were too weak to hold him up for long.  He laid back down and rested, enjoying the breads and cider.  Before he knew it they were all gone and he still felt as though he had not eaten.  The maidservant brought in another plate, this one with spiced meats and more fresh rolls.  He stayed in bed for the better part of another week before he felt strong enough to stand up on his own.

             
"Ow ya feelin today?" asked Terinal

             
"Much better thank you."

             
"Very well den, today we will start your tranin, dis here is Patlin Wolnen, he'll be da one givin ya da lessons, he is de best dat we ave,"

             
"Hello, apprentice," he said, extending his hand out to help him up.

             
He was a pleasant young man. With his big smile he was able to gain the confidence of people very quickly. He acted and portrayed himself as though he were a man of wealth, possibly the son of a wealthy merchant.  However his attitude showed different as though he had been raised on a farm. He portrayed the kindness of a good neighbor and friend.  They quickly became friends as he taught him the rules and lore behind the element of wind.

             
"Wind is useful for many things, but mostly as a means of information, and protection. We are able to keep in constant communication with other wizards by using the wind to carry our messages. You will learn how to do this; we do it more out of security and speed.

             
The conventional way of communication with carrier pigeons can be interrupted and important messages never reach where they are supposed to, especially if someone shoots one of our pigeons.  It is also harder for someone to decipher what is being said on the wind if you are not the intended recipient. Most people don’t even know it is possible.

             
As for your own security, you can detain people by using the wind. Although it seems as if there is no substance to it, it can become something physical. This element is hard to detect and nearly impossible to destroy.  When you were tested you used a small portion of this skill when you were required to carry an object.  For that to happen you have to be able to wrap the element, thus creating a physical force.

             
As far as things that you need to be careful with, wind will carry fire quicker and make it burn hotter and longer, with earth you can create massive sandstorms or wind funnels.  You must be very careful with water as well; wind is one of the primary elements that help sailors and fishermen but it can also cause massive tidal waves that can destroy ships and even coastal towns.

             
You must take extreme care when using any of these elements together.  Now it’s time to work on some basic skills.  Lifting something extremely heavy is always a good thing to start with."

             
They spent the next few weeks, practicing with his skills using the wind. He found it useful, especially with his chores. He was now able to use it to move the big pot's that were used for cooking with little effort. 

             
Wind seemed to be the easiest for him to control. With the limited knowledge that he had he felt he could accomplish many things that in the past seemed to be too difficult for him.  He and Wolnen had become good friends. He found it easy to do so, especially when he afforded him the respect they felt they deserved as they were higher in skill than he was.

             
He was caught by surprise one day walking late into the training room. His chores had taken longer than anticipated. He was suddenly picked up, turned upside down, and carried numerous times around the room.  He looked around to see who was doing this to him.

             
He remained calm though until he was hung over the open fire pit in the middle of the room.  He tried to connect with the wind or fire element to extinguish it before he was dropped in. But every time he called the element, he found that he had been blocked by something, that’s when the panic started to set in.

             
He heard someone laughing over in one of the obscured corners. He recognized that laugh because it belonged to Rien.  She walked out into the middle of the room, standing next to the fire laughing at him.

             
"Well now. This is how I like my men, hanging on my every move, hot and ready for whatever I ask of them," she said with a chuckle.

             
"Very, funny, now will you please put me down, preferably somewhere safe?"

             
She set him down. After standing up and dusting himself off he went over to her where they embraced and kissed for a few moments.

             
"I've sure missed you, how come you haven't come before now?" he asked her.

             
"I have only come to tell you that I'm to leave in two days. I have finished my training and am being advanced tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know, and I wanted to see you one more time before I left."

             
They spent a few more minutes together until Wolnen showed up.  He was disappointed that he had been delayed by Roland being late for their earlier appointment.  He dismissed Rien, so they could continue with the lessons.

             
As a punishment for his tardiness he was given extra chores to do as well as the toughest of programs.  By the end of the day he was too tired to think let alone do anything but sleep.  He knew that he would need to get up early the next day to get his chores done before lessons. He didn't want to go through another day like today.