《Magus of Stone》


 The Beginning

    A fierce warrior dashed through the underbrush, weighed down by the heavy plates protecting him from the terrors that monsters claws present. He carried in his hands a fierce stone club with metal studs, a brutally efficient weapon that was no doubt responsible for many victories in battle. The warrior swung his body abruptly to the side where a beam of glowing energy passing through where he just was. Recovering from this he maintains his pace faltering only slightly after dodging the spell.


    He pushes himself even more and starts to breathe heavily, his body weary from battle and weighed down by the claws of exhaustion. No doubt one mistake and he''d find himself on the wrong side of his enemy''s attack.


    A dart of pure fire passes narrowly by his face not prompting a reaction as it misses. The warrior nearly stumbles over a root and lets out an audible sigh at his near miss with death. He then comes to an abrupt halt as his footing gives way, and the ground starts to collapse beneath his feet around him. He wonders if the fall is a more merciful death than the harsh interrogation that would ensue with his capture. And gravity takes him into the dark chasm revealed below as ground gives way.


    Krai Taalkyr woke with a start. His bruised and broken body, protests his movements against the earth surrounding him. Abruptly he remembers the situation, and he tries to push the earth off of him. He wonders if the imperials assumed he died and hopes the chase was called off.


    When he pushes his magic sense around him and it stays quiet he knows his armor was broken beyond repair the familiar feeling of the runes was gone from his mind. Luckily he can feel the magic of his tetsubo barely hanging on a meter away from him and he suddenly misses the familiar feel of his weapons handle in his grasp.


    Krai realizes he needs to get out from under the stone surrounding him and he condenses all his strength and pushes against his earthen prison and feels the mound of stone shift slightly, before there¡¯s a muffled thud that he feels more than hears and he can tell a heavier stone shifted into place leaning on him. His muscles burn against the stones around him as he tries pushing again, knowing that if he lets up the weight of the new stone will hurt him more. After keeping up the effort and straining himself he feels his muscles failing, and his strength leaving him. With the fear of impending doom approaching he throws his everything, even his very being at the earth crushing down on him, almost poetic in the way the world has been out to brush off his efforts since he came into it. His effort though is not enough as he feels the stones tumbling back onto him, losing what minimal progress he made, his mana sense screams suddenly and something happens. For the first time he can sense the earth around him. It feels as familiar as he feels with his body. The single desire of freedom from his stone confinement moves something and it all flies away from his body. Silently exhaustion and effort overtake his grasp on reality once again.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    6 months prior


    Krai Taalkyr was an ordinary boy, then an ordinary teenager, then an ordinary man. Until the day he died. When he died, crushed by a freak accident of falling stone, his entire world changed, or more accurately, shifted. Moments after he felt the pain of his body being crushed mercilessly under the heavy stone block, the pain disappear abruptly. He reasoned to himself that this must be what death feels like. Then he opened his eyes to a stone block in front of him. Much like the one he saw in his last moments bearing down on him from above. Only to realize this must be the same stone block. And that he imagined it all. Letting out the breath he didn''t even realize he was holding. He heard a yell of sorry from who he assumed was the builder making this house. And he looked around for what crane dropped the massive stone block in his path only to find none. The man rushed down from his perch atop the building, he was wearing brown robes with a metal trim, some rust color that frankly wouldn''t be Krai¡¯s first choice. The man speaks to him


    ¡°Lost control there for a second, damn bird narrowly missed me¡± after this explanation he lifts the now noticed staff in his hand. An obviously gaudy walking stick with the way the metal covers it and the rust colored glowing gem.


    Before Krai can ask about the staff the man waves it and the stone block begins to rise, the gems glow intensifies briefly as the stone block rises higher and higher before the man gives a subtle nod and walks back up the steps. The small crowd that wasn''t too busy to stop and watch, dispersed as most realized they were in fact too busy to be there. Krai just widened his eyes as he tried to figure out what the hell has just happened. Magic he almost said out loud, that was fucking magic.


    Time seemed to freeze for Krai upon reaching this realization and he dealt with a startling rush of input into his brain as new memories started to form. His life in this world was tragically similar, with one big blaring difference. Magic, and all the fun it brought with it. Krai''s family was too poor to get him tested for magic and he never developed or displayed intelligence or skill in anything to warrant someone supporting him or helping him along in life. So he joined the family business of normal boring blacksmithing. Such was the life of the lower class, too poor to ever grow rich. Krai had a newfound determination in this life. He would be great, and what better way then to learn magic?

 Talking with someone that should be close to you

    Krai had a sudden panic moment upon realizing he didn''t know how to navigate this city or world since it''s not the one he grew up in, only for memories to appear in his head of the life this other version of him led here. He learned a few things, one the original him had never been tested for mana aptitude, due to the fact that his family was too poor and too set in their ways. They own a small floundering textiles shop that the Krai here was happy to go into, never once concerning himself with magic. It enraged him that the other him didn''t realize how amazing or mystical magic is. Krai rushed home to talk to his father.


    Talmage Taalkyr, the owner of Taalkyr textiles, and father to Krai and Vanessa Taalkyr, was a no nonsense serious man in business. But in his family life he was all but serious. Often hiding around corners and scaring his family, and pulling harmless silly pranks, or at least thats how Krai remembers his father. In this world things are different. With his mother in this world dying 4 years earlier than she had in his life his father lost much of that humor, and kept up his business face even in family settings. Much to the dismay of his children, who mourned the death of their mother and the loss of their silly happy family first father. Upon reaching home Krai took a deep breath to steel himself, knowing it would be jarring to see the shell of a man that replaced his father in this life. krai knocked on the door to his fathers office and soon a deep stone cold voice calls out


    "Enter." One word had never seemed so chilling. Krai walks in and his father barely shows any sign of surprise. "I''m glad you came, spared me the chance of tracking you down myself..." Talmage utters out the words his tone bitter and he continues looking almost angry, "What the fuck is going on with your grades Krai? Do I waste money on your schooling? Your sister maintains 3rd place in her classes and your barely scrape by passing, and its hard for me to call it passing!" The words coming out of his fathers mouth were hardly less than a yell by the time he paused to hear Krai''s response.


    "Yes father I have been struggling with grades, but have maintained a passing grade in every subject. But that is part of the reason I have sought you out." Krai manages to say this without stuttering in surprise at his fathers personality change, although it''s hard. His father''s gaze narrows but he doesn''t interrupt and Krai continues, "I think my current classes do not suit the environment and career I have realized I want, and if you want your money for my education to not be wasted I would like to request changing my classes for a different focus of study." Krai has barely kept it in, and his father is examining him closely.


    "And, what subject is it that caught your eye?" Talmage asks and is worried about the answer he''ll receive, not knowing that its worse than he expects.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon."I would like to have my mana aptitude tested and try my hand at courses for magic theory and practical applications" immediately Krai sees rage burst through Talmage''s cold demeanor like a hot coal on ice.


    "YOU WANT TO WHAT?!" Talmage feels fury overcome him in a way not seen or felt in years and his words are accompanied by a snarl.


    "Father please, I know your thoughts on magic and its practitioners but could your own son not be the exception to those you deem insufferable and arrogant?" His words are logical but his tone is weak as the situation causes him more fear and unsettles his previously calm demeanor.


    "The exception? Krai you fool the very desire to study magic is what I find insufferable and arrogant! To attempt to bend the rules and laws of the world to your will is the height of pride and greed. Your mother died to that greed, how could you want to contribute to it??" His fathers tone starts at anger but quickly bleeds into unhidden betrayal.


    "Mother died to one mages greed, to condemn the trade due to the acts of some seems wrong father. Please, this is my dream, I''ve never had something I''ve wanted to do more in my life, I feel it calling to me like I was made to do this I just needed to know it was an option for me to pursue!" Krai''s words rang true and Talmage knows his son truly believes them, however he also knows his son is naive and this choice is something he can never condone.


    "Son you ask the one thing I can never give, I can never permit you to study magic. I must put my foot down. You will not EVER study magic. I wont let you be consumed by greed and pride, you cannot ever become a mage." Talmage looks almost sad and it hurts Krai to see but he knows this man is infinitely different from the man who raised him.


    "Father it has been 15 years, when wil you accept that what happened? When will you stop hiding from the truth of the accident and stop applying blame on those undeserving?" Krai hoped he could get through to his father with this, but his fathers hardened gaze after these words shut down that hope.


    "if You seek my approval you do not have it. Bu if you are so determined... I will pay for the aptitude test and your first 4 years. But if you take this path pass or fail the aptitude test you will no longer be welcome in this home." Talmage thought it unfortunate to have to be so forceful but if it meant his son wouldn''t be a mage and would stay home he was all for it.


    "Yes father. When can I take the test?" Krais heart hurt for the lost relationship but the bitter, broken man standing before him is too different from his own father. Talmage''s eyes widen the emotions from the conversation having long destroyed the mask of cool emotions his puts up at all times and his eyes widen. He had miscalculated, Krai was determined to do this unlike he had ever been for anything before. It was too late to take back his words so he had to honor them.


    "I''ll have someone tell you when the appointment is made. Please get out of my office." Talmage sounded even more sad than he had when you spoke of Krai''s mother. S Krai acquiesced without another word, only wishing things were different for the man that he realized his father could have become.