Chapter 15: The Journey Begins_Millennial Mage

Chapter 15: The Journey Begins

 T walked out through city gates for the first time, that morning.

 Growing up, her father had always maintained: If you dont need to leave the city, why would you? Consequently, shed never even been to the farms surrounding her home city.

 She didnt feel any change, nor should she have. The outer wall was nowhere close to the outer defenses, at least not in one of this phase. Consequently, they were still well within what was considered the city. Even so, it was new.

 The farms looked the same in person as from afar, just nearer. Workers toiled in the fields, using animals and machines, both mechanical and magical, to finish the fall harvests. A few looked to be tending autumn crops, as well. Is Bandfast temperate enough to bring those to harvest? It likely wasnt assured, or every field would be nted thus. I hope it works out for them.

 As the caravan slowly worked its way down the main road, through the farnd on this side of the city, they fell into afortable order. Two guards rode ahead, beginning the job of scouting for the wagons. Three rode behind, to protect from, and warn of, any dangers that mighte up from the rear.

 An additional five guards were stationed on various wagon rooftops, each of those armed with heavy crossbows. Besides the crossbows, each had arge shield, which seemed to be affixed to the roof on a hinge, somehow. Ill be curious to see how those work, and what theyre for.

 Trent and Renix rode on one side, near the middle, and were mirrored by Atrexia on the other. Even still within city limits, their eyes were sweeping their surroundings. Good habits, I suppose.

 The wagons, themselves, were in tight formation, with just enough room between the oxens noses and the back of the next wagon to ensure the driver could stop in case of emergency. Close and tight. Better protection? Or better to go unnoticed.

 She had a fleeting thought. What if I could only have empowered the cargo wagons? Wed have an additional nine vehicles, just for goods transport. Would they have had to hire more guards, more bunk wagons, more Mages, more Mage wagons, and at that rate, another kitchen-wagon? It was a bit daunting. And with that many more people, wed likely need another wagon just for travel supplies. No wonder the Caravanners Guild prized Immaterial Guides with dimensional distortion experience. Im saving them a fortune!

 She might need to apply a little pressure to Lyn when she returned.

 T, herself, was sitting atop the foremost wagon, her charge, the cargo-slot wagon. There was a semi-padded square in the very center of the wagons roof, reasonablyfortable for one person to sit upon. A free-spinning ring surrounded the seat, and T realized that the guardsrge shields were likely affixed to that on their own wagon tops. It gives them the ability to have cover from any direction, with the weight of their wagon lending support. Clever.

 Her hat was not providing much shade in the early morning light, but thankfully, they were heading south, first. Alefast is almost due east of us, but I believe I heard that the route chosen is utilizing easier ground to the south. Good thing, too, or the rising sun would be impossible.

 She, of course, had a notebook out, and was sketching a random assortment of things which they passed. It was more something to do than because she truly enjoyed it. Or because I need it. She was finding that she had virtually perfect recall. When shedpared her sketch from memory to the cargo-slots, they had been a perfect match. That has to be useful for something. Shed find a use, eventually.

 An hourter, they reached the edge of the farnd, and T stared out at the lines of regrly spaced towers that stretched out to either side, encircling the city. The outermost, active defenses.

 Beyond this were the mines, but they had been abandoned in this city, as it had moved to the next phase, contracting inward as the truly outermost defenses wound down.

 As they neared, T took the time to focus on the closest defensive towers and sweep them with her mage-sight.

 Each was three stories, with a contingent of ten guards manning the position. She also saw a Mage in each tower, ready to repair, re-empower, or bolster the defenses at need. After all, every arcanous creature brought down temporarily disabled the tower, until the Mage in residence could empower the newly cast spell-lines.

 She frowned at that thought. No, I think some defenses have more than one casting before they are spent. Shed never studied emcements, and she decided that it wasnt something that interested her too much at the moment.

 The spell-lines in the tower to the east were useless to her, as they were for a Material Creator, made to spawn stone before and above any detected threat. She copied them nheless.

 Those in the tower closest to the west, however, those were clearly Immaterial Guide lines, and the spell was quite fascinating. It was clearly meant as a fall back, if the surrounding towers had spent their castings and had yet to be re-empowered. As such, that tower held spell-work for a simple series of kic thievery workings. If she read the lines correctly, and her mage-sight had yet to disappoint her, each of the twenty-five scripts would steal all kic energy from a target for up to half an hour, or until the maximum capacity of the spell was reached. Then, the spell would dump all the stored energy back into the target, crushing them into the ground.

 I dont see why thest part is necessary. After all, locking a creatures blood in ce for half an hour would be fairly lethal, as would preventing their breathing. Maybe some arcanous beasts can endure that? That was a terrifying thought.

 She copied these spell-lines as well, and as with those to the east, she noted what each part of each set seemed to do. It seems reasonable to gain some knowledge of inscribing and spell-lines, in general.

 She had begun sketching when the towers came into sight, and thus, she finished just as they came abreast with the line of towers.

 An unnecessary call went up to: Keep sharp! as they entered the Wilds.

 As if cued by the shout, arge, lizard-like creature shot out from the surrounding forest, sprinting at a pace that would put a horse to shame.

 Thankfully, it was not running at them.

 It was a massive creature, which positively zed to her mage-sight. Clearly a predator, it ran on its back legs, its forelegs stretched before it, ten-inch ws extended. All told, the beast was probably twelve feet tall.

 Thankfully, it was half a mile away, running towards the line of towers.

 As T watched, one of those towers activated, and a thick stone block materialized directly in-front of the charging creatures head.

 The impact was sickening even at this distance, likely due to her enhanced perception.

 There had been no time for the creature to stop, and the rock was clearly quite heavy.

 The creatures forward momentum broke its neck. The stone fell with the copsing body, crushing the torso as it mmed into the ground.

 Thorough. It was a bit grisly, even so.

 No one else seemed to be reacting to the sight. Not close enough to be our concern, and not notable. Shed known that arcanous creatures regrly tried to breach city defenses, but as shed never left the walls, shed never seen such up close. Though, I have seen quite a few flying ones taken from the sky.

 There were probably far morend creatures than those in the air. Huh. This might getinteresting.

 Before the caravan, a wide-open, grassy in stretched towards the horizon, broken only by rolling hills and the asional tree or mountain in the distance. There was no road.

 In fact, there were no roads in the Wilds at all. Such would make it obvious where human caravans would be traveling, and thus any arcanous or magical creature could easily wait in ambush. Instead, each caravan took a unique route between cities, and though someponents of each trip between two given cities were asionally the same, it was always random, at least to the best of the Caravanners Guilds ability.

 Dont let them know where youll be.

 There was also that fact that building and maintaining roads would be an enormous undertaking. Apparently, some would-be-emperor, about a thousand years ago, tried to build protected roadways, with towering defenses along the whole length, just as cities had.

 The migrating arcanous beasts had not appreciated the blockage.

 The road, connecting just two cities, was open for one glorious year before it was breached. Tens of thousands had died.

 Apparently, the road had drawn the attention of a higher order of creature, her teachers had called it a paragon magical being, but hadnt borated. Shed suspected they, themselves were ignorant.

 Happy thoughts, T. This is an adventure!

 It was not, in fact, adventurous. As if to bbor the point, nothing more of note happened, or was passed by them, until lunch. The oxen never stopped moving, and T guessed they covered nearly ten miles before noon.

 As they traveled away from the city, she did notice one thing. There was a growing sense of magical power from the world around her, the grass, the ground, even in the air. It was a subtle thing, and would likely have been unnoticed, except that her mage-sight highlighted any change. Thus, the constant increase was a bit of an annoyance, as it filled her vision with hundreds of flickering motes and magical signatures. Thankfully, it leveled off just before lunch.

 T had walked for a good portion of the time. Sometimes she walked beside Renix, talking about small things. Sometimes she walked or sat beside Den, and she learned about his family; his wife worked as a baker in Bandfast, and they had four children. Sometimes she sat and wrote out her thoughts.

 Sometimes? She was bored out of her mind.

 Walking, at least, upied much of her thoughts, but the caravan was progressing so slowly, she found herself easily walking up and down the length of the wagon train, even as it kept moving.

 This is maddening.

 Finally, finally! Just before high noon, a guard called out a warning from the front. Beasts ahead!

 T sprinted up from near the back of the wagons and scrambled up to the perch atop her cargo wagon.

 There, nearly a mile ahead of them across the open ins, was a herd of truly massive creatures.

 Each wasrger than any one of the wagons in their train, and covered in long, blue-ish ck fur. Short curving horns stood out prominently to either side of the creatures heads, creating an almost helmet-like look to them.

 What under the sky?

 As she watched, two of the giant, cattle-like creatures faced each other, strutting and posturing. That seemed insufficient to establish dominance, however, as the two braced themselves and charged.

 Their hooves tore up the turf as their gait ate up the distance in a breath.

 Their heads mmed into each other with a concussion that was easily audible even at this distance.

 The additional rippling of distant thunder from the group ahead let T know that those two were not, in fact, unique in their posturing, within the herd.

 It was with great wisdom that the caravan turned almost due east, aiming to skirt the notice of the numerous,rge, arcanous bovine.

 Well, that isnt boring, at least.

 It was a mixed blessing that the remainder of the day was anything but dull.

 * * *

 T had many questions answered, which she hadnt thought to ask.

 First, shortly after they diverted to avoid the magic cows -I am not giving them a silly name just to feel more secure- the workers from the kitchen wagon began distributing food, with the help of the servants from the various wagons.

 Second, it was called a chuckwagon, not a kitchen wagon. Thats what Master Himmal meant. His metaphor made so much more sense, in retrospect.

 Third, while Master Sergeant Divner seemed to direct the movements of the caravan, Trent and Atrexia had great sway over specifics, and the three of them closely consulted.

 Fourth, by their many nces her way, where she sat on the lead wagon, she clearly had a right to weigh in, should she decide to join them.

 She did not.

 The food was a simple meat and vegetable pasty, and T found herself curious as to how they safely maintained an oven on the moving wagon, for the food was deliciously hot. Their travels were smooth, after a fashion, but she knew that she wouldnt want to wield a knife while on a wagon, let alone manage an active fire.

 The chuckwagon might have better stabilization. Maybe some magics to aid it? Shed have to investigate.

 The caravan kept moving even while most people ate and while the three debated the path ahead.

 Renix guided his horse up beside her wagon, where she was licking her fingers clean of her third pasty, and she wavedzily. Not much happening.

 He shrugged. The thunder cattle are interesting. I dont know that Ive seen a full herd this close to a city before. Small families, yes, but those are usually only two to ten beasts. That? He nodded his head towards the south, and the source of frequently sounding, concussive impacts. That is something new. Im surprised it hasnt drawn downrger predators. He grinned. I wish we could get closer.

 Maybe, I shouldnt be ttered by his interest in myoddities. He seemed far too fascinated by things that could get him killed.

 The mageling finished a pasty of his own and sighed. I do wish wed be attacked, or something.

 T snorted augh. Oh? Whats so bad about what youre doing?

 Renix held up a book. We only really get paid, if we actively defend the caravan, and Master Trent has me studying. He said thest with a scowl. I got enough of that at the Academy. At least if we fight, I can leave the books in my bag.

 T sat up straighter at the sight of the book. Does that say: Inscribing?

 Renix nced at it. It does. Master Trent thinks a Mage should have a good understanding of inscribing for all four quadrants. I have a matching set of four volumes.

 Fascinating. So, Im not alone in that thought? It was a bit reassuring that her own studies were aligning with what at least one master was teaching his mageling. T leaned forward. I dont suppose I could borrow the Immaterial Guide one? When he cocked his head to one side, she quickly added: Id like to review some of the basics.

 He nodded. That makes some sense, I suppose, though I dont know why youd choose to. He made a disgruntled face. Ill have to check with Master Trent, but it shouldnt be an issue. He smiled. Hey! You can join us this evening for discussions on theory. It would make it much less boring if you were there? He left thest as a question.

 Couldnt hurt. Sure. Id like that. Thank you.

 Her mind returning to the books, she smiled. This is perfect! T had always avoided inscribing sses or much deep understanding of spell-lines. As she understood it, she didnt need to know the intricacies of spell-line craft to use her own spell-lines. She just needed to know what the whole did, together. After all, an alchemist doesnt need to know the chemistry of oxidation to burn a crucible to refine an elixir. He just needs to know it will help him in his work.

 That was close to how it worked for Mages. A Mage simply needed to know what effect a given set of spell-lines would create when she powered them. That way, her power would mold into that. She couldnt make the lines do something else, if she had a misunderstanding, and the specifics were handled by the spell-lines themselves. The worst-case scenario would ur if a Mage didnt know what spell he was casting, when he empowered his inscribings. In that case, raw, unshaped power would pour through the lines, and likely obliterate them, as well as the surrounding flesh.

 Though, as T thought about it, the inscribed spell would probably still be enacted.

 That was why a Mage had to trust their inscriber absolutely. If there was a mimunication, or faulty inscribing, the best case would be the spell failing to work. Death was a very real possibility in any misapplication of magic.

 Even though her new mage-sight let her know the function of most inscribed spell-lines, it didnt let her know if certainbinations were possible, or if un-empowered spell-forms were valid. Ive got time. I should put it to good use.

 While T had been pondering, Renix had returned to his wagon, snagging the desired book. Hed made a move towards Trent but noticed that the Mage was still debating with Divner and Atrexia. With that observation, hed simply returned to T, offering her the book. Im sure its fine. He smiled up at her.

 T strained, reaching down, and took the leather-bound volume with a smile. Thank you, Renix. I appreciate this.

 Renix smiled back, then seemed to hesitate. Thank you, Mistress T.

 Hmm?

 You dont treat me like a hanger-on. He nced away. The best Mages talk to me, and dont treat me badly, but Ive not met a full Mage who treated melike me. He shrugged. Like an equal, I guess. Thank you for not looking down on me.

 T grinned down at him, straightening her back to stretch just a bit higher, and cocked an eyebrow.

 Renixughed. I meant metaphorically.

 Well, youre wee, I guess. She settled back in. You are you, after all. It would be silly to treat you as anyone else.

 She was about to open the book and dig in, but she noticed that Renix was still riding beside the wagon. HuhHes still here. Most people didnt stay around

 So She closed the book. How many of these have you gone on?

 Renix started, seeming toe out of his own thoughts. Me? OhWe dont do these very often. Lets see. He frowned in concentration, scratching above his right eyebrow. Well, Ive been with Master Trent close to two years, and we guard a caravan every couple of months, sotwelve? Twelve, give or take. He shrugged. They start running together after a time.

 Twelve. This mageling has gone on TWELVE caravans. She was out of her depth. Wow. Thats impressive.

 He shrugged again. The pays not bad, even for a mageling. He nced towards her. Nothing like what youre making, if rumors hold true.

 She stiffened. Rumors? What rumors?

 Renix didnt seem to notice her tension. Oh, you know: Baggage Mages get all the money. They barely have to do anything, while we spend our metal fighting and killing for scraps. That sort of thing.

 Oh! Generally speaking, not me in specific. I see. Id never thought to ask what Mage guards would make.

 He drew himself up with a fake hautiness. Its Mage Protectors, and Ill thank you to remember that. He grinned.

 T snorted augh. Very well.

 Renix shrugged. We dont make much, though half of our inscribing costs are covered in the contract. No, the real money is in building and fabrication.

 T cocked her head. Building and fabrication?

 Yeah! Demolishing buildings and helping to erect new ones. Helping artisans, making factories more efficient. There are loads of jobs for Material Mages. He nced to her. Im sure there are for Immaterials as well, but

 Youve never really looked.

 He shrugged, again. Yeah, why scope out jobs you cant do. He smiled. Ive tried to convince Master Trent to let me get some Material Guide inscriptions, to help augment my own, but hes convinced I dont have the right thinking to make them work, yet. He sighed. Hes probably right. Not worth paying for inscriptions you can''t empower, right?

 T nodded. Many mages did cross quadrant lines here and there to lend their magics more power and versatility, but it was risky. To use magic, you had to understand what it did. Her own restraining spell, for example: She didnt have to know exactly what values were being plugged into the gravimetric equations, nor exactly what values each targets interactions with gravity was being set to, but she did have to understand what gravity was and how changing the gravitational constant for an object would affect every aspect of it. If she just understood the spell as: It stops your target, makes the target float, and keeps them there. the spell would fail, likely catastrophically.

 I can understand that. Ive never been able to wrap my head around the creation of matter.

 Renix grinned. Oh, thats easy. Mainly, its just imagining that there is more where once there was less.

 Huh?

 More. You know. Rocks are heavier than air, and all that.

 You specialize in ice and lightning.

 Exactly! Lightning is the easier of the two, for me. My father was a builder, and I helped him install hundreds of lightning rods. Fascinating things, those.

 I dont follow.

 It''s like petting a sheep with a cloth glove. When youre done, theres more. Theres lightningWell, just a bit, anyways.

 T shook her head. I suppose I just dont quite understand. She smiled. But, we are diametrically opposing quadrants, so

 He barked a shortugh. Fair enough. He nced at her, then down at the book. Well, um I suppose Ill leave you to-

 A deep bellow rattled the wagons, emanating from ahead and off to the left, the opposite direction from the herd.

 Oh, good! Renix smiled, tension seeming to bleed from him. We have unwanted guests.

 T stood, looking towards the sound and saw a group of four thunder cattle-Stupid name-</eme over a nearby rise, walking slowly towards them. The sound hade when the lead animal, a bull, had seen the caravan, and their oxen, and had issued a challenge. Isnt that the sound they make just before charging?

 She turned to ask Renix, but he was already spurring his horse forward.

 Trent called to him. Stay there. Were to guard the nk, while Mistress Atrexia handles these.

 Renix slumped but reigned in his horse. Yes, sir.

 As his horse slowed to a walk, the lead arcanous bull bellowed again, lowering its head to charge.

MillionNovel

Chapter 15: The Journey Begins