Chapter 2

 

CHAPTER 2

Three steps and they stepped out into snow. It whirled around Tepin and covered everything. They where in a woods. The trees where taller than any shed ever seen and it was nighttime again. “Where are we Mage Imbri?”

“We're in the southern lands. West from where we once lived. The sun hasn't risen here yet. Our new home is this way,” he explained and started walking. “I'll be going back for the shadow army, There'll be wood for a fire at the Masari Ruins. We'll need to start one quickly. I need you to follow close and keep up,” explained the mage. Within an hour of bitter cold they came to a clearing and the snow got deeper. Tepin was knee deep in it.

“Its there on the hill,” he pointed. The structure was massive and barely visible in the clouded night. The wind was cutting and cold. Her fingers where numbing from it and she was anxious to be inside near a fire. They continued on for another half an hour. When they came to the doors of a structure that loomed over them they found them open. Mentor and apprentice moved through the darkened ruins. It looked to be an ancient castle abandoned and battered by time and an ages old war. They made there way to a rather large structure and the mage closed the door behind them. He set to making a fire in the hearth and the room soon flooded with light and warmth. Her surroundings where very sparse. A hide covered the window keeping out the nights cold. The mage knelt and summoned shadows they whirled and coalesced when they dispersed Tepin's bag and scrolls where there. She took to them happily dawning an extra layer of clothes and setting herself by the fire to read. She hoped it would take her mind off the pain of being exiled and the tingling of her frost bitten fingers. The mage began summoning Items from the tower via shadow. Beds tables and chairs soon filled the once sparse room. Two desks where set out and Tepin found hers. The mage had been kind and set hers close to the hearth.

Once he'd finished setting out items in the room he rested his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. When she looked up he said, “Study little one. I'll be back in a few hours.” The girl nodded and turned back to her work. Shed finished half the scroll on cantrips before her mentor returned. Her hands had stopped hurting but the events of the morning where still on her mind. The moon was setting and the old mage was dressed in winter clothing. He looked exhausted. She wanted to talk.

“What's going to happen sir?”

“I intend to rebuild this ruins turn it back into the castle it once was. I brought the shadow warriors here already. I thought it best to get them out of the new kings way. They're out chopping wood and foraging. They'll bring us meat, bone and wood. We certainly wont go hungry. There are farms about. And the road that passes this ruins is well traveled. This is the badlands of the southern continent. No king rules here. The people that live here could use some protection.”

“You're going to protect the people of the Masari Badlands,” she asked.

“Not just me. The both of us. You've given it an interesting name. The locals just call it the Badlands. Over the course of this new winter I'll be teaching you spells. We have no strictures now on what spells I may cast and what I can teach you.”

“Strictures?”

“The old king of Telendria put many laws in place to restrict what magic I and other mages could use. Obeying the rules kept an army off our doorsteps. Our magic is much feared and can be, seemingly, quite cruel at times. I generally don't use my powers on a living thing but there are times when there is need of such magic. Not even in self defense where we allowed to use our powers on a living thing. The penalty as you know for disobeying the king was death.” Tepin thought about all of this.

“So we can use our magic on a person?”

“Being the new liege of this new province I'd have to say that It may only may be done in self defense, and we may do what we want to with felons, murderers, rapists and the like. To my mind those that violate life have lost there living rights.” That made sense to Tepin and she nodded.

“What spells will you be teaching me?”

“Anxious to learn are you? Good! We'll start in the morning. I'll teach you the Hoarding Spell. Death mages have a similar casting. But first, write to your family and let them know what the new king has ordered. That you and I have both been banished. Let them know your safe and we are leagues away. Let them also know that we invite them to join us and that I'll help them travel here. That I'll give them twice there land holdings. I have much more work to do. I'll be back in time to see if You've finished and I'll summon Choba to deliver it.” She nodded happily that she may see her family again and set to writing. The gray mage stood and left the room. Tepin could only guess what he was doing so focused on her letter. She wrote of the last few days and the events of them she told them about magic and what she was learning. She wrote that she missed them told them the things her mentor had instructed her to and recounted there banishment for her parents. Signing the letter she rolled it and tied it with a ribbon with a knot her mother would be able to open but her father would have a right fight with. It was a mean thing to do but her mother needed to see it first. She was the source of reason in the family and she could read better than father could. She set the letter on the corner of her desk and went back to finishing the scroll of cantrips for lack of anything better to do.

The sun finally began to rise on this part of the world and the fire was beginning to die down. Tepin began to stand to put another log in the fire and decidedly sat again. What good was being a mage if she never used magic. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a chip of bone and pulled the life force from it. She lifted her other and concentrated on a log and called life to it. She willed the life energy to become solid and tried to move the log with it. It lifted about an inch and the energy scattered. The log thumped back down onto the pile. She tried again and again with the same result. Never did the log move more than a few inches. Frustrated but refusing to give up she tried harder. She was so focused on the task that she didn't see Romah walk in the room, and didn't know that he was watching the whole thing with interest.

“Focus on the life energy of the log,” he suggested. She jumped to her feet startled. He chuckled and apologized for startling her. “We cant lift logs with our magic. We can manipulate failing life and shadow. Use the energy like you would your hand. let it lift the log. You,” he pointed to her, “lift the energy and the log will follow it.” he gestured that she should try again. And she did. She called life to the log again, willed it to be solid and instead of moving the log commanded the energy to move. Slowly the log rose and followed her focus of site she slowly guided the the logs life energy and its package to the hearth and once inside she let go of her control of the power and it dispersed. The log fell into the dying fire with a large crackle of burning embers.

“I did it,” she shouted grinning at her accomplishment!

“Well done little one,” grinned the mage proudly. “Where you thinking of the Teska rune when you did that,” he asked?

“I.. no, I’m not sure I know how to use the runes I’m learning about actually.”

“Is that your letter?” he pointed to the desk. Choba was sitting on the rolled letter. Where had the little creature come from?

“Yes sir,” she said. Her teacher nodded to Choba and both the little spirit and the letter vanished. A moment later Choba popped out of a shadow near the desk and said Done

“Lets learn magic shall we? We'll start with the proper use of runes,” her mentor sat on the floor and she joined him. “First learn to envision runes and remember what they mean. They help us focus our will. “ They talked for hours and experimented with cantrips. She used them to move logs from near the fire place, she shattered one broke one, took one of the pieces and aged it rapidly with the burning rune. That was nothing more than aging she realized as it began to rot. Most runes she learned had an effect on both half life and shadow.. most had similar effect others had vastly different effects. Kesk, the burning rune, aged things when applied to life but when applied to shadow expanded the size of the shadow. Shadows could make no sound but life energy could. She used the Tept rune to focus her will and caused a little bone chip to make a snapping sound like a breaking twig. Runes envisioned too close together over a short time changed there meaning completely like letters on a scroll becoming words they where called lyrics. Each rune contributed something to the lyric. Like letters they had a spoken sound. Each lyric had its own purpose and intention. She would have to learn the common lyrics and could derive there meaning from the runes that made it up. Eventually she would be able to make her own lyrics. They took for breakfast and ate quietly and quickly. Food and eating utensils had been summoned the same way everything else had. Romah explained to her that the food had been stored in a shadow along with much of what was once in the old tower. In shadow it wouldn't spoil since objects passed to it where timeless. The mage had a months worth of cooked food stored magically away. He was going to teach Tepin how to do it.

Lessons resumed and the day wore on. The spell required that she capture spirit energy and set it in a place. She then learned to move objects from this world into the world of spirit and back again. Then came the hard part. Placing a piece of wood in the specific spot. This took time and she worked for hours trying and trying again. She was running out of wood pieces and her mentor gave her permission to splinter a log. She used nearly all of the pieces before she finally succeeded.

"Well done," he said. "Your to practice that spell until you can do it without thinking."

"What would happen if you put something living in a hold?" The mage looked at her worried and took a sober tone she didn't expect.

"It'll die when the sun rises on the spirit pocket you placed it in. Its forged from spirit. When you go to retrieve the creature.. it wont be alive." Tepin swallowed hard. She was quickly learning that she'd have to be wise when using magic.

She practiced and the mage set off to start rebuilding the castle. She didn’t need to help he had an entire army of solid shadows to do that and plenty of magic to spare. Over and over again with bits of wood she placed them in her storing shadow. The task became routine and eventually boring. The sun was high. She set her practicing aside and took her cloak from her bag. Dawning it she stepped out of the building that made up part of the castle and took to exploring. Shadow men wandered here and there carrying rocks wood and from time to time a rabbit or deer. She realized that without the flesh a man would have the warriors could carry much more weight. She found Romah casting spells on a wall, lifting stones with magic and using shadow to restore them to there unbroken state leaving the walls a solid structure once more. Eventually he saw her there watching him.

"Sech," he said. "Its the inversion rune if you'll remember. Coupled with the breaking rune it turns to a mending charm. Tell me. Why have you stopped practicing," he insisted?

"It was," she didn't want to answer him. How could she tell her teacher his lesson had become boring? "Well I was.." he turned to her looking concerned.

"Be honest little one. Honesty will help you more than a fantasy."

"I was.. becoming bored," she finally admitted.

"Good." he laughed and turned back to mending the wall.

That startled her. How was her being bored with her lessons a good thing? It was the mark of a bad student if anything and she told him that.

"Not at all. Its a sign that you've learned what I've told you to already and that you've probably worked too much. Practice the spirit hold spell tomorrow between breakfast and lunch. Meantime do something that interests you. Being that our unset routine has been interrupted by fate I'll let you keep the scrolls until your finished transcribing them. Work on them when your mind is rested," he instructed. She nodded and continued watching him repair the walls. The repairs where a rapid process. A spell to lift a rock, the same to hold it, and the mending spell removed the cracks of what was once broken. Once in a while smaller stones where lifted up to fill in the gaps left by the large chunks being worn away by time.

"Its like a puzzle isn't it," she asked?

"Yes," he answered, "One with a million pieces and half of them missing. I wrote a letter to your family. It confirmed my invitation and instructed them how to respond."

"You wrote to my family," she asked?

"I imagined they would want to know how good a student there daughter is," he explained. She smiled at that. Only her mother had praised her on her studies in the past and Tepin thought it had only been encouragement. She noticed that the mage had stopped what he was doing to answer her questions and decided to find something else to do so the man could get something accomplished while there was still daylight. She set to exploring the keep. There where eight buildings. The one they had claimed as a shelter was the largest and stood in the middle it was surrounded by seven more. Most of which had walls knocked down and ceilings broken in. Boulders and rocks where strewn everywhere. Some looked not to belong there. They where a different form of rock from the ones that made up the outer walls and buildings. At the rate the mage was mending it would take him days to patch them all. It would take a hundred men without magic months. She found a wall tower and climbed to the top of it stepping over the broken steps. Once on the crown of the rook she looked out over the snow covered land. She could see the hills they had walked over to get to the keep. The path they had cut through the snow was completely gone now. Wind and snowfall had erased the traces of there passing. the forest lay beyond the hills the tops of trees could be seen in every direction. She didn’t see the road that her mentor had told her about. It was most likely covered in snow. No one would use it until spring. Traveling in winter was dangerous and time consuming. Most people did it only out of desperate need. She wondered where the farms where that Romah had told her of. What kind of people lived here. Where they kind? Why wasn't there a liege? What would they do when they learned of a new one? Always questions. It often drove her father to distraction that she always came up with some kind of question and occasionally ones that he called off. The sun was high in the sky and cast only the smallest shadows. She decided to make her way back to the shelter. She was getting very cold and wondered if life or shadow could produce heat. She doubted it. She was learning of they power of death and spirit. Neither was a warm thing. She arrived at the center of the keep and opened the door. Her mentor was sitting at the table he’d set out for them writing a letter. There where three rolls of parchment to the right of him and Choba sat patiently waiting. He rolled the one he was writing on and tied it setting it with the others.

"Letters to old friends, " he waved at the pile as she sat across from him and he finally noticed her. She wondered what manner of people wanted to call a shadow mage friend. She imagined educated and understanding ones and worried that her life would provide her only with few. " I'm inviting them to join us here. The letter I got from Miandra told of problems in our old kingdom. Taxes on the rise and the a*s off a king preparing for a war with the northern lands. Everyone believes he means to conquer. Honestly I wouldn’t put it past him. I’ve met him and he always struck me as arrogant and far too certain of his own authority. He believes that the people are there for him, not him there for the people. There’s a letter on your desk from your parents. They wrote back quickly and sent me one as well. I think it took them time to absorb the type of mage your to become and they are very proud. There’s more news from them but better to read it for yourself."

She went to her desk and found the letter rolled and tied. Her mother had used the same ribbon her daughter did but she had made a series of crocheting knots in it. Tepin untied it quickly and opened the letter to read. They missed her, both of them and where proud of her as Romah had told her. The part about taxation was also true. The farm tax had been nearly doubled due to the coming war with the north. Her father guessed it wouldn't be long before the king ordered conscription. It had broken her mothers heart to learn of there daughter's exile and father was enraged. They would gladly join her here in the Badlands and had accepted her mentors offer. They where surprised it was winter here. How far away had she traveled? How would they get there? And when? Tepin pulled parchment from the desk and wrote back to them relieved that she hadn't lost her family due to her magic. She didn't know when but she hoped soon she would get to see them again. She wrote back to them about the season and how the change had surprised her also. How she really didn't know how far away they where but it was so far that shed arrived in a whole new day. She told them she worried over the coming war. She explained as best she could the shadow gate spell and what it was like to travel by that means. She let them know that she loved them both. She signed the letter rolled it and knotted it with the same ribbon. Her mentor smiled as she brought the letter to him.

“I'll send Choba back with that,” he said. “Lets eat.” He cast shadow on the table and it filled with food. They sat and had lunch. Tepin was tired and her mentor recommended a good nap while he repaired one of the other buildings. He would wake her when it was done. They finished there meal quietly from that point Tepin found her bed and slept dreamless.

She opened her eyes. Logs snapped burning in the fire and moonlight flooded the room. It was the middle of the night if not early morning. Why hadn't Romah woken her like he said he would? She looked around the room and realized something was missing. His bed and most of the furniture was gone. Parchment brushed her hand. She took it pulling the glowing stone from her pocket. It flooded the room with a cold glow. A note she realized and all it said was “Moved to another apartment. Sleep well little one.” She looked out of the window the moon was setting and it was very low. It looked to be just a few hours from hiding completely and the sun wouldn’t be far from rising. She felt terrible her head hurt. Her eyes ached and her stomach was a sickening knot. She stood and went to the hearth. She set the tea kettle to heat water for tea. It was too dark. The fire didn’t provide a lot of light. No candles could be found. Magic. She put on her cloak and stepped out of the building. She intended to find stones and returned shivering from cold to the room with six of them each the size of her hand. Tepin hadn't had to go far. There was a pile of them just around the corner of the building. Pulling a large pile of bone chips from her satchel began charging the stones with spirit energy and bound it to them. Each one radiated like little moons. She set them around the room wondering how long the light would last and worried about bone chips. Where would they get more? She'd used four handfuls to create her glowing rocks. They lit the large room completely but had been costly. She was by no means close to running out of the bone chips shed used as fuel for her spells but she knew she would run out eventually. The kettle whined that it was ready and she made herself a cup of tea. Sipping it had soothed her stomach and helped her wake a good deal more. She sat at her desk and started transcribing the scrolls. It was morning before she finished the scroll of runes. She rolled the completed text and brought it to a shelf that would become her library. One scroll hardly made up a library but she had to start somewhere and she was none the less proud. She dawned her cloak again, picked up the original copy and went to return it to her mentor. The morning was cold but warming. How would she find which of the buildings he'd chosen? Smoke she realized. He'd have a fire going and she started searching the rooftops for rising smoke. She found two other buildings with smoke rising from the chimneys. She imagined one was being used as a kitchen and went to it. She knocked on the door and it opened. A tall woman opened it. Her black hair reached to her shoulders and she wore a thin braid on her left cheek. Her eyes where large and blue.

“Well good morning young lady,” chimed the woman smiling.

Tepin hadn't expected to meet anyone else here aside from the old mage. And stumbled over words. “I, um.. good morning. Um..have you seen Mage Imbri?”

“He's two buildings over, “ said the woman. “Come in its cold out and your mentor is probably still sleeping.” Tepin timidly entered the room and the woman closed the door behind her.

“How long have you been outside? Tepin isn't it? I'm Miandra. Are you hungry?”

“Yes, I am. A little hungry and I've only been outside a few minutes. I was looking for Mage Imbri to return his scroll to him,”said Tepin trying to answer all of the woman’s questions.

“Books, scrolls. The man lives for them I think. He believes knowledge is more valuable than gold. I believe it to a degree but I tend to see that there’s more to life then words on a page and there have been times I'd rather have had the gold. Come. Sit. Eat, “ she offered Tepin a place at the table and was filling plates for the both of them. When Tepin was slow to take the place set out for her. The woman smiled and said. “Sit girl. Eat. No need to be shy.” She did as she was told. She hadn't realized she was quite that hungry. She started eating rapidly as if she hadn't eaten in days.

“Good Gods child doesn't he feed you? Here have more,” she stacked more bacon on Tepins plate. “Whats this scroll your returning to him?”

“Its a scroll of runes,” Tepin answered between mouthfuls of potatoes.

“He's teaching you spells already is he? At least he's not putting you through the monotony he had to endure as an apprentice. I remember he would be trying and failing miserably to cast spells he'd found in a text. Without Antrin's lessons he often found himself lost and the lessons where few and far between. He swore should he ever have an apprentice that he'd make the child a better mage than he was. Your a lucky girl, and have a lot of work ahead of you.” Tepin smiled. Miandra was delightful.

“Why is Mage Imbri still sleeping,” she asked?

“That would be because he was helping me move till wee hours of the morning. Well, he moved things and I slept till he was done. What spells has he been teaching you young apprentice?” Tepin explained that she was just now learning about runes and cantrips, that shed only really learned one spell and had managed to create glowing rock just this morning. There was a knock at the door behind them. Both girls turned to it and Miandra told whoever it was to “come in”

The door opened and her mentor stepped in. “Morning Romah, I was just talking with your little apprentice here. You gotta feed her better. And your not skipping breakfast this morning either. Come. Eat.”

“Good morning both of you.” He sat down next to Tepin and she handed him his scroll of runes. “finished with it already? Good good.”

“This child, I've learned, eats more than a hungry soldier. Where she puts it all remains a mystery, “ Tepin blushed and the mage grinned at her, “Fortunately she has better manners. Thank you again for joining us here”

Miandra grinned, “Its better than being conscripted into the kings army again. Shadows don’t complain when you tell them to do something. They just do it. When am I to meet the commander,” she asked?

“Shortly, You'll find he speaks the way Choba does. Only to the person he's addressing but far better with words. The whole battalion will be assembled outside the castle. He told me it would take until noon for all of them to return. You'll find they can be put to most any task with competence. Scouts have reported the locations of about 20 homesteads in the region. They’ve also stumbled across about four goblin villages, “ he said sounding concerned.

“I suppose you'll be sending them 'letters of invitation' to join your province,” asked Miandra.

“Yes and 'taxing' the roads that pass through the land. There are three that I've taken note off. A guard of warriors along them at our boarders should do the trick.

“Your inviting the local people to join your province,” asked Tepin.

“In a manner of speaking little one. They'll be invited to pay a tax and obey local laws in exchange for protection and they'll be able to pass freely on the roads. The ones who refuse protection and taxation will be left to fend for themselves in a wilderness that over time will become very unfriendly. They'll also either have to pay the tax that I put on the protected roads or travel around,” explained the mage.

“Why will the wilderness become unfriendly,” she asked?

“As I start protecting farms the goblins, orcs and whatever else is in these forests will descend upon the unprotected more and more frequently for lack of safer places to plunder. I'll also be making the lives of orcs and goblins a bit painful as I'll be conducting raids on them. Causing them to conduct more raids of there own. Eventually the local people will either join willingly, be forced to for safety, or they'll forfeit there lands and flee” her mentor explained.

“That sounds rather unkind Mage Imbri,” said Tepin hoping she didn’t sound too opinionated.

“It is unkind little one. But its how kingdoms are forged,” he said and she nodded. “its my hope that people of this region will be more sensible than simple farmers. While were driving out the menaces from the regions we'll be trying to prevent the increasing raids from them. Hopefully the tales of a new local lord will be enough to bring people to join us.” Tepin nodded again.

“Will I be learning a new spell today, “ she asked.

“No little one, for the rest of the week you'll practice the hoarding spell. I'll teach you a new spell when I can. Each week will also bring new books to read and copy, Im relieving you of chores and will be repairing one of the chambers for you to move into. The main hall will be used for government. Understood,” he inquired?

“Yes sir,” she was happy she'd have her own room again.

“Within the next couple of days your family will be joining us. They'll have there own chambers here until the spring when your father can plant. Then he'll be given a good chunk of cleared land and enough seed for the season.” He nibbled on some bacon while Tepin found another question.

“What will my family do until spring?”

“Your mother offered to cook for us and your father offered his services as a butcher until then and your education and there protection will be paid for with that for the year.”

“Father always wanted to be a butcher,” commented Tepin

“Well why didn't he do it,” asked Miandra?

“The king wouldn't allow it,” answered Tepin.

“Sounds like he may not want to go back to farming at all after a chance at his dream,” said Romah “Well enough with me, people should be free to be what they want to be in life.”

“Except mages,” Tepin added. That caused her mentor to pause for a moment.

“Our fate does seem to be decided for us doesn’t it,” he asked?

Tepin nodded again with a small pout.

“Sometimes life just isn’t fair,” Miandra stood and started clearing the table seeing that everyone had finished eating.

“May I go finish studying the scroll on cantrips,” she asked and the mage nodded quietly. Tepin found her cloak and made her goodbye's Miandra told her to study hard . Romah would let her know when her chambers where finished and he would help her move to them. She stepped outside into wet cold air. Clouds had covered the sky and threatened more snow. The stones shed set to glowing still radiated when she arrived at the main hall. She used life energy to move two logs to the fire and used them again to stir the embers. She opened the scroll that contained cantrips and set herself to reading. Hours passed and there was a knock on her door shed nearly finished her reading. Her mentor opened it when she answered.

“Your chambers are ready little one,” he said. Tepin had questions as usual as they walked.

“Why do I take the magic from dead things? Why cant I draw some from a living thing, say something we plan to kill anyway, like a pig or goat,” she asked as they walked?

“It can be done, In our former land it was forbidden. Religions played a good part in politics and the creation of laws. In fact, what your describing is ideal. You can gain far more magical energy from a living thing compared to one that’s already dead. And, you needn't necessarily kill a living thing as life energy tends to restore itself. Taking as much as you would from a bone chip from a living creature or plant wont hurt it at all,” explained the mage.

“Are you to be a king here,” she asked?

“A king. No, little one, I plan to turn the region into a republic. Instead of one man being in charge of all of the government, A group of men and women will be in place. Each will represent a certain portion of the population. Mages will be represented, along with the farmer, and three of them as they’re the life blood of any province. Merchants will be represented as well as the laborer. Soldiers will too. Together they'll make and uphold the laws for us,” he explained

“Women too?” The concept, to Tepin, was unheard of but not unwelcome.

“Women will have equal rights and be allowed in any profession just as the men are and they will be allowed to own land. In our old home that was allowed only with special permission of the king,” he continued. They made there way to the north side of the keep and found her new chambers. “Here we are,” exclaimed Romah. He opened the door for Tepin. There was furniture already here. Shelves lined two of the walls and a bed not a cot was set out, A new desk and the hearth was already burning brightly. A stack of firewood sat drying near it. A small table and two chairs sat in the middle of the room.

“Thank you Mage Imbri,” she said

“Much welcome, little one,” said the mage and made his goodbyes.

For the next couple of days Tepin busied herself with cantrips and organizing her new apartment. Her studies where interrupted when the mage came with a knock on her door informing her that he'd be be back and forth from her parents lands helping them move. Her parents arrived first, along with livestock, the chickens pigs and horses where lead through on ropes or loaded on to a wagon for a single trip. The mage had set up an apartment for them the pigs and chickens where brought to a penned in area and the horses where brought to the stables. The next day she went with her father to help pack everything in the house and load her families belongings onto the wagon. While they worked daughter and parents caught up on the events of the past week and to Tepin seemed like she'd never left to learn magic. Her father had made her blush furiously when he asked if she'd met any handsome young men and when she planned to find one. Her mother giggled and they packed linens into the wagon. During one evening at Masari they finally did ask her how her studies where progressing and she demonstrated a few cantrips for them while they ate supper together. Her parents marveled and told her how very proud they where of her. By afternoon of the third day her family move had completed.

The days settled into a routine, she'd have breakfast with Miandra. Sometimes the mage would join them and other days he would be too busy or sleeping. She eventually finished transcribing the scroll of cantrips and had been given a half dozen other books and scrolls to learn from. Not many contained spells. The mage said she wasn't quite ready yet to forge her own spells and charms. And, as he had promised once a week he'd teach her a new spell. They generally weren't in the books and Tepin found each to be very useful She would study until mid afternoon and spend time with her family, who had taken up a routine of there own, at night. Mother set herself in the kitchens working all day preparing meals and her father spent the time butchering whatever game the warriors brought him. They eventually got use to seeing the mage's ghostly creations walking around. Bones where when possible broken and given to Tepin. After a month of this she'd taken to storing them in a spirit hold or absorbing there energy and keeping it within her. She learned that the best place to store magical energy was within oneself, it made spell casting possible at any time and took up no space. The mage made frequent trips to foreign lands and set up a permanent shadow gate. He needed only to choose his destination. Tepin was learning to create permanent spells in crystals. This was a trick she'd discovered on her own one day while trying to turn a bit of quarts into a glow stone. Crystals held life energy quite well she learned and they radiated none. Realizing she had a gift for it the mage set her to creating lamps to replace the keeps torches as they used no wood and weren’t likely to cause a fire. They flooded the castle with an haunting light. Time brought spring to Masari. It began to thaw and the invitations to join the Masari Republic where being issued. It surprised Tepin how many of the local people readily accepted the offer. Only a few declined and they where left to there own devices. They weren’t protected and generally ignored. Some of those quickly changed there minds when the threat of kobold and orc raids increased. Miandra was sending troops out daily to drive the unwelcome raiders from the Republic. Merchants began traveling the roads. A few took up residence outside the castle building new shops with the aid of magic and creating a marketplace. Interestingly her father took the mage's original offer of land and seed and set back to farming again. Neighboring farmers where pleased to meet the new arrivals and helped them raise a house and barn. Her mother joined him. By summer they would have a hundred acres of cotton planted and a new home. The main hall was becoming the meeting place of the council. Spring had brought growth and change in every way.

With merchants tales came also. Rumors of far away wars, a new son was born to the king of a western land. Sightings of nearby kobold encampments where answered by dispatches of soldiers by Miandra. Choba through all of this kept himself busy by delivering mail. Tepin thought one day to bring her discovery about crystals to her mentor while on there way to breakfast with the captain of the guard.

“Quarts, you say?”

“It refused to glow. Everything else I've passed life to radiated. Sometimes more sometimes less but there was always some kind of magic decay,” she explained.

“Crystals are an interesting creation. They have a unique structure and they grow over time if left in the environment in which they where created. They're not alive however. You can certainly imbue them with magic and store it for prolonged periods of time. You could even create a storehouse of sorts using a large one to mass large amounts of magical energy. Speaking of imbuing, most mage's find it a troublesome task. It seems to come quite natural to you. Your talent. Imbuing something with life energy with the appropriate intention can create things like my warriors,” this interested tepin and seeing her expression brighten the mage continued, “learn to make a golem in your free time as a project. Find materials to blend together to create it with. Use the mending charm I taught you to shape it to what you will it to be. Imbue it with shadow and life and your intention for it to live. Succeed and you'll be given five more crowns in your allowance per month.”

That had been a lot to take in. She knew the shadow warriors had a mean streak and a nasty temper. “Are you sure its safe,” she asked.

“Of course it is. Objects animated with magic cant directly harm the creator. It would be similar to trying to cut off your own hand,”

Tepin nodded, “what about other people?”

“Is there anyone here who you'd call an enemy? And how would you treat them if there was?”

“Nobody here,” she admitted happily,”I tend to avoid my enemies.”

“Then your golem will do the same as they adhere to your will.”

She nodded again and accepted her mentors challenge. She could use an extra five crowns. She had to buy new clothes since she was getting taller. Hardly anything she owned fit her properly anymore. After breakfast tepin left the keep to find materials for a golem. During breakfast the mage taught her that she could use practically anything to make them from. She knew how steel was made and knew it to be made of two metals. One was brittle and the other easily bent but put them together and they became extremely strong. Maybe a blend of other things would have a similar effect. She wanted it to be sturdy and started picking up rocks, They weren't easily broken. Wood for flexibility and structure. She made her way to the blacksmith outside the keep and bought an iron ingot from him. Metal was strong and didn't burn readily. All of the items in her bag weighed some and she hoped it would be enough. Tepin made her way back to the keep it was nearly lunchtime. People where milling about doing one thing or another and talking about anything and everything as she walked through to her apartment. Some gave her nods and waves of recognition others seemed too busy or didn't notice her. She opened the door to her room and dropped the bag as she went in. A note was sitting on her desk. It was from her parents they where inviting her to visit and spend a day. There farm was hours from the castle by horseback. She checked with her mentor and struck out with her horse. It was noon before she arrived.

The new farmhouse was beautiful, similar to there old. There parents had insisted on having two bedrooms. Her mother answered the door as she knocked. Mother hugged her daughter close and invited her in. The kitchen was well lit. Pots hung from hooks and nails there was plenty of firewood stacked along one wall. The smell of pies being baked filled the room and two of them where on the window cooling. That was why her mother had invited her.

“Tea,” offered her mother sitting at the table. When her mother offered something it was most often insistence rather than a choice.

“What has the mage got you doing child?”

“Books mostly mama. He teaches me spells when he can but not much is written about my magic. Hes been teaching me to.. Forge my own spells. I thought it would be easy. Im learning its harder than it seems,” Tepin sounded sad describing her days

“If it was easy everyone would do it,” replied Kalana

“He wants me to make a golem. An animated construct. I was getting the materials for it this morning before I found your note. I was planning to make a little man from wood, iron and stone. Have him able to walk around and talk and maybe help with chores, “ explained Tepin

“The mage called your magic, Death magic. Wouldn't it make more sense to make a construct from things that where once living. Its what your father and I half expected when we learned what your magic was based on,” her mother inquired? “We imagined all manner of vile dead things walking around at your beck and call. Its what the legends say about those that master spirit magic.”

“It.,” Tepin stumbled, “.. makes sense. But to be honest I really don't know how to do that. Im not even sure where Mage Imbri gets his spells to teach me. I've found little in his library save books of shadow magic,” tepin sounded puzzled and sipped her tea.

“If spirit magic is as rare as he says it is then there probably aren't any books on the subject. There are plenty of legends, however. Perhaps those tales come from a time when no one knew how to read,” suggested her mother offering a bit of pie. Tepin accepted it gratefully and started nibbling on the slice.

“I wish I could go to the great library at Talendria,” she'd been there before and was certain there would be something on the matter of spirit magic.

“Last I heard the books of magic from that place where put in a huge pile outside the building and burned. Damned ignorant if you ask me. The kings weakened his kingdom by casting out the mages and forbidding there knowledge, “ her mother intoned angrily. So much for the idea of one day sneaking into that library via shadows. She finished her treat quietly and waited for her father to return for lunchtime. He eventually did and conversation turned to the farm. Crops where growing nicely and he'd found several places to sell it already. There was a kingdom not far to the west and no one grew cotton in Masari. Most people would welcome cotton. It was much more comfortable then the flax everyone was wearing. She spent the day helping her father. She took time to visit the stable and a turn at feeding the chickens. In the morning she would go back to the castle and resume her studies. She needed to have a long talk with her mentor.