Questions Left Unanswered

This is the second chapter in my book. Please leave a review, i desperately need feedback!

                Jordan was confined to the infirmary while he recovered. The healers worked on his injuries with magic hourly, but he was told that there was little they could do to reduce the scarring.

            The healers were given strict orders to keep their lips sealed on matters relating with what happened at the Selection. He was becoming increasingly frustrated until one day his stress came to a boiling point, and he accidentally caught one of the healers’ uniforms on fire. He sincerely apologized, but none of them acted the same around him since.

            One of his friends Alexander took pity on him, and approached him one night while he slept.     

            “What are you doing here?” Jordan yawned, wiping the sleepiness from his eyes.

            “I’m here to warn you,” he whispered, nervously glancing around his shoulder.

            “Is this about what happened at my selection?” Jordan perked up, hoping to receive news on what had happened.

            Alexander’s voice was shaky, “Yes,” he paused and seemed to be examining Jordan’s face. After enduring the peculiar look for a few seconds he said, “What’s so interesting about my face?” That seemed to bring him back to reality.

“You look different. I’m not sure why. Anyways, there are rumors spreading, and people are saying that you are something called a…,” he paused, hot sure if he should continue. He swallowed hard and went on,” something called an Archmage.”

            When he saw that his words carried no meaning he said, “We’re not sure what it means either, but there is something else you should know.”

            He looked uneasy, but he forced himself to continue. “A guy named Samuel was doing some research in the library, maybe even looking in places he shouldn’t have, and he found something.” He kept his eyes down as the next words came out of his mouth. “All he’ll tell us is that you’re going to have to leave, and soon.”

            He let his words sink in. Students seldom left the tower, especially after selection. It was the most crucial time for development, and the time when magical potential seemed to spike.

            “But why?” Jordan sat up quickly, and his head swam.

            “Sam won’t say; all he’s saying is that you have to do some sort of task. He says that Archmages are extremely rare, mainly because of the fatalities that come with this mission.”

            “Well when do I leave? I can’t stand being locked up in this damned tower, and I’ll take any opportunity I can to leave.”

            “I just don’t think you understand. There have been dozens of Archmages but only six have returned from this gods forsaken journey, and to make matters worse Samuel says you could be the youngest Archmage ever.”

            A long silence followed; the seriousness of the matter finally started to sink in.

            “Now do you understand?”

            Jordan simply nodded absent mindedly, too engrossed in his thoughts to really acknowledge the statement.

 

            The next few days were strange for Jordan. He seemed to be healing extraordinarily quickly, and was constantly pestered with great bursts of raw energy. He felt as if he could rip the entire tower to shreds if he wanted. These spasms would only last for a minute or two, but he would feel exponentially better at the end of them.

            After ten days in the infirmary he was released to his room, where he had about five minutes of peace before he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it he found a note that simply stated, “Be in the head sorceress’ office in precisely ten minutes.”

                        Jordan made the painfully long journey up the dozens of flights of stairs to the top of the tower where the head sorceress’ office lay. He made the trek in just over five minutes, and took the left over time to catch his breath. This would be the first time he had ever entered her chamber.

            The head sorceress was much more potent in her ability with magic than she appeared to be, which seemed to be the secret to her success, for it was said that she was the most formidable battle mage in her time. She was a short stocky woman who dressed in furs, and wore the most acrid perfume. Her nose seemed to be smashed into her face, and her hair was always tucked away in some sort of extravagant hat. Jordan had few encounters with her, and praised the gods for it.

            When he felt that he had waited long enough, he gently knocked at the door, and at his touch it glided open. He was immediately hit with the horrid scent of her perfume, and decided it was best if he breathed through his mouth. He stepped into the room, and was not overly impressed as he thought he would be. There were many furs and rugs strewn across the floors, and there were portraits of what appeared to be kings and queens, along with other royal paintings. Her desk contained an assortment of strange jars and odd pieces of equipment, along with what appeared to be an extremely old cat, though he wasn’t completely sure.

            She was sitting behind her desk, and flashed Jordan a shockingly white smile.

            “Hello, boy,” her voice sounded about as old as she looked. “I have heard many interesting things about you.” This puzzled Jordan because only one interesting thing had actually happened to him at the tower.  Jordan was then required to give her a full account of what he experienced while at his selection, which she sat through politely, only occasionally asking for him to be more specific. When he finished, it took her a few minutes to think carefully about what she was about to say.

            “It seems to me,” she paused, and let out a deep sigh, “that you are in fact an Archmage.”

            “But Miss, I still don’t understand what that means.”

            “I’ll be honest Jordan, I don’t understand either. There are many mysteries in this world, and this is just one of them. Tradition dictates that another Archmage be your mentor, but none of the Archmages of old remain.”

            “Okay, so where does that leave me?

            “I was just getting to that. Last night I contacted some of my colleagues, and came upon some interesting information. It’s not much, but it’s a start. The first destination of a newly named Archmage is always a tribe called the Imuru-Kueda. I’m not sure what they do there, but it must be important. The only thing for you to do then would be to travel there, find out what you can, and move on from there.”

            “And if I find nothing? What happens then? And what about getting help, you can’t really expect me to do all this on my own?” A dozen other questions rushed into Jordan’s head, but he restrained his tongue.

            The sorceress took a moment to consider which question to address, and seemed to come upon a moment of enlightenment.

            “Help,” she thought aloud, “the thought hadn’t occurred to me before. Return to your quarters and I’ll have a decision on the matter by morning.”

            Jordan felt rather put out by his sudden dismissal, but he saw that she was already deep in thought and there wasn’t much more to discuss, so he obeyed without question.

Author's Note

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