Upon a Star: Karyana's Journey: Chapter 1, part 3

A few years passed, and we meet some of Karyana's comrades in their young age... as well as see the awakening of her powers.

"Karyana! Wake up, dear!" Ailyn shouted, hoping to wake the now four-year-old girl from her sleep. Had she known, she wouldn't have bothered. The quick footsteps of the young girl resonated through the upstairs floor as she quickly put on her tanned moccasins, having slept in her bulky undershirt. Placing a flowered brooch in her hair, she hastily opened and closed the door, before taking each stair one after another at a slower pace to avoid falling.

"I'm up, mommy!" she responded with a giggle as she dashed over to her mother before wrapping her arms around her legs. "Good morning!"

Eridric picked up the little girl and raised her up to his shoulder. "Come here, you." he said in a proud tone. "You don't want breakfast to be cold." Her response was a quick shake of her hair, making her mane of black hair swish around, before she wrapped her arms around his father's head, as if she was riding him like a midget on top of a giant.

Both parents had settled down at Warmcreek, a day's ride south from Ravenhall. The name of this small town of traders and farmers was due to a creek said to bring warm water all year, thanks to hot springs that gushed one every moon cycle. The city's trade was mostly knock for livestock, but also as a currency changer for those adventurous enough to come from the colder lands, or the adventurers from the south seeking to find hidden treasures in the frozen lands of the north. While Ailyn had opened her own store, selling farm products, Eridric was out in the fields, using his strength and wit to clear the fields and aid other farmers with their own harvests.

Karyana had grown to be very energetic, and was quick to learn. As agreed, Rauz came to this small hamlet every time he could to teach her. For the first few years, it was mainly teaching her different words, and even allowed other children to come and see him. It didn't take long before he became the town's traveling teacher, a title he enjoyed more than those whispered by the people of Ravenhall.

As the small family took time to enjoy eggs, wheat bread and cheese, both parents spoke of what was to be done for the day. "I heard that the Maykens have started growing a new crop, from the south-east. I'm interested to see if we can sell these." Ailyn wondered before filling a tin cup with warm milk for the ebony-haired girl. "Oh, and isn't today Reveen's Festival?"

Eridric closed his eyes shut. "I almost forgot. How about we go see the Maykens at the kiosks?" he asked back. "We do have our own stand to make."

Ailyn shrugged. "You should ease on the Frostmead." she replied, placing her hand on the bottle her husband was about to pick up. "You don't want to be a bad example... and besides, who will take care of Kary-"

"I wanna go! I wanna go!" she shouted, waving her arms.

Eridric let out a sigh. "Well, I guess I'll ask Master Rauz, then. He was here yesterday, so I'm sure he'll take you along." he replied.

"Yay!" she shouted back, her crystalline blue eyes sparkling with childish glee.

"Alright, alright." her mother replied. "Eat your breakfast, go clean up, and we'll go. I heard that Sardonyx Kinslayer and his son will be there."

The father made a wide smile. "I think I'll trade him that Frostmead. I'm sure he'll like it more than I will."

Ailyn shook her head at his husband's comment. Still, the dwarf smithy always seemed to find the strangest of things, which Karyana always seemed to find some use to. The last time, she found a glass bauble that turned out to be - with a little honey, water and some strings - a very effective way to keep flies off the food. Before that, she used broken fish hooks and a tiny bit of mythril to make the brooch she wore. The flowers had been added by Rauz, thanks to a simple cantrip.

All three left the house an hour later. Ailyn held a woven basket under her arm, filled with bottles of traded drinks and food-stock, while Eridric readied the carriage that was brimming with the rest of the stock. Karyana tried her best to jump unto the carriage, but only made it when her father grabbed her hands and lifted her aboard. Sitting down in between her parents, she looked at the sky. "Look, daddy! An angel!"

Cocking a brow, Eridric looked skyward, only to find a few clouds, with one of them looking almost like an angel looking sideways, holding a trumpet to where the head was. "Well, you're right! It is an angel." he replied, placing her heavy hand against her shoulder. "This could be our lucky day!"

Ailyn looked back at her husband. "Please don't tell me you're going to bet at the contest..." she said with a long sigh. "The last time, you had to sell that old Jaress our youngest calf!"

"Don't worry. We got our little angel with us, don't we?" he replied, to which Karyana nodded, making a smile that couldn't be bigger if it was humanly possible.

---

The contest in question was the local Mage's contest. It was a yearly event, on Reveen's Festival, a day that all wizards and beings who possessed knowledge of mana presented their latest spells and discoveries. The event never took place at the same place twice, but due to the proximity to the Council's Pillars, most events were at places where the mana focus was the greatest.

Karyana's first time at the event had her experience the full spectrum of emotions. Although some mages used spells that caused for frightening results, the Order of the Manaweave - the worldly group in charge of all knowledge of magic - had very specific rules to these contests: first, no spells that call upon the dead or deal with necromancy; second, all magical events must be overviewed by the Order as to avoid spells going out of control and harming or killing spectators; third, the spells and discoveries must be used for the continued advance of magic, and not for personal use. The contest usually crowned the winner with the title of "Mage Master" for one day - a title viewed with interest, as it meant that the temporary status came with a fair amount of coin to continue the studies of the victor.

As Karyana and her family halted their carriage, two farmers walked over to them. The first was a stout man, dressed in a sweaty overcoat, leather boots and a straw hat; the other was taller, but thinner, and was dressed the same way, except for the sweat marks.

"Good day, folks." the taller said. "Here for the fest?"

"Hello!" Karyana waved. The stout man waved back, his long dark-brown hair and goatee wiggled.

"Good day, Atric. Homry." Eridric politely answered. "And yes, but you'll have to barter for the mead."

Homry - the stouter of the two - let out a sigh. Known as a hard-worker - and for being thick in more ways than one -, he looked over to the bottles that Ailyn held in her basket. "Can't I just have a lick?" he asked, trying to sound pitiful - which he was, in more ways than one.

"You know the deal, Rhum-boy." Atric replied after giving his partner a smack upside the head. "Either you pay up, or you dry up."

The burly farmer searched around in his pockets, but let out a sigh. "Guess it'll be water..." he said with regret as Eridric started to unload the cart with Atric's help.

Ailyn helped Karyana off the cart and walked over to her stand, a rather ordinary one compared to some of the others. Bottles of spiced wine, salted meat, rye bread and other foodstuffs were soon placed on the shelves. While Karyana looked at the shelves, Homry walked over to one of the bottles while no one looked.

"Hey! You have to pay, mister!" she said, trying to sound like her mother as the little girl tapped her foot, her hands holding her sides.

The burly farmer looked back at the child. "I'll pay'em back once I get the coin. Just put it on my tab." he said before biting down on the cork.

"No!" she shouted, pointing at the bottle. "You pay now!"

Karyana's reaction made Atric turn around just as Homry pulled the cork out in a hard yank. "Now, wait just a darn minute!" the tall, stickly farmer retorted, walking over to his partner. "I said you pay up, or you dry up. You can't just take whatever you want!"

"I was thirsty, and I told them to put it on my tab." the burly man replied, his small black eyes almost sunk in his thick face.

"You haven't paid your tab in a whole moon cycle!" came his fellow man's answer. "You probably owe them fifteen silver's worth!"

While the two were arguing, both parents came over. Soon, it was too loud for anyone to hear the odd whispers that Karyana was uttering, words that not even Rauz had taught her before. Words that the lady in white told her in her sleep. Words she practiced in her dreams, with that boy with the dark-brown hair and blue-green eyes.

As she ended her comment, Atric looked back at the now-fuming Eridric. "Alright, alright! I'll pay this time!" he said, handing a hefty sack to Karyana's father. "This should fill in for all those bottles, and for this one." he said before turning to slap his partner upside the head, making him almost choke on a mouthful of liquid that, on his pallet, started to taste weird.

"Damn it, Homry!" Atric scolded the burly farmer, who was looking at the bottle with confusion. "You couldn't just wait, ya big prune!"

Homry tried to reply, but his voice came out strange. Roughing up his throat, he tried again. "I was just thir-", he said. His tiny eyes bulged out, as everyone else started to laugh. Instead of a slightly inebriated voice, he sounded like he had swallowed pipeweed, as his voice came out in wisps of smoke.

Ailyn tried not to laugh at the situation, but her husband was actually laughing out quite loudly. "Serves you right!" he said with whole-hearted laughter. "I had Rauz jinx one of those bottles. That booze-bag fell for it!"

Atric gave Homry a hard slap against the back. "Ya cost me all my money for today, and now you look like you swallowed a chimney... blimey, you really are a dip!" he shouted in the other farmer's ear.

Looking from afar, Rauz looked suspiciously at the two, then at the half-empty bottle. "That's... not the one I gave them..." he thought to himself. "What... just happened?"

---

The afternoon came sooner than expected, as the main event was about to start. Already some mages had been disqualified by the Order's lawmen; one was thrown out by coming up with a spell that misfired, causing him to lose his eyebrows as his spell to turn water into alcohol ended up blowing up in his face; the second one was unable to make his cantrip work, due to lack of testing; and a third was too drunk to cast, and ended up turning the judge's skin blue, which had actually caused quite a stir, as he was unable to be taken seriously by the crowd. Instead, the town's crier had to step in and call the crowd to ease.

Rauz was amongst the participants, which had caused Karyana to cheer loudly for the young alchemist. Still, he looked uneasily at the small group of wizards that had come to show their mettle.

"Ladies and gents, may I have your attention, please!" the crier shouted. "The first contestant for this year's edition of the Mage Master's contest... Haydern Silvertooth!"

The crowd applauded as a short man, some years passed forty, dressed in a dark-blue robe, walked to the middle of the contest's grounds. Looking around, he spotted all of the given ingredients he needed on the tens of tables at his disposal. "For you today, I will create a portable feast!" he said in a confident tone, the crowd ooed and awed at the idea. "I would like a spectator to come and taste the result once I am done." he said.

Several hands raised from the crowd, while Karyana and other children shouted to get the grey-haired man's attention. Looking at the crowd, he pointed to a boy in his early tens, cropped with messy golden brown hair, his skin showing stains of dirt from the road. "You there, boy. Come here. How about a hand for the boy!"

The crowd applauded as the seven-year old walked over to Haydern. "So, what's your name, son?" the mage asked.

"Alban." the boy replied. "Alban Ma Leon."

"Alrighty, Alban. What would you like to eat?" he asked, placing a hand on an empty table.

"A big slice of ox-meat between two cuts of wheatbread... some berry juice... oh! and some apple pie!" he asked with anticipation.

Haydern concentrated on the table, speaking out an incantation. Rauz looked on curiously - almost with disdain. From what he learned of his master, none of the words the magician was speaking was any word of power. It sounded like a hogwash mix of elvish words.

As the mage slammed his hand on the table, a cloud of smoke surrounded him. As soon as it cleared, the table was covered with a fine cloth, a large pie sitting in the middle of it, surrounded by apples. A plate of sliced meat and a loaf of bread sat on next to one another.

Alban looked at all the food with some surprise that quickly faded to disapproval. "That's not what I asked." he said.

"Huh?" was all the mage said as he looked at the table. Looking back at the crowd which started to murmur, he pulled out a knife and cut himself a slice of pie. Showing it to the crowd, he noticed his mistake; he had actually spoke the words for "apple" and "pie" seperate, so the pie he now had was full of berries, as he had uttered "juice of berries" followed by pie.

"Oh! So close!" the crier shouted. "Well, how about a hand for our contestant!" The crowd still cheered, even though the result was one apple short of a pie. "The second contestant... Ipson Vinestone!"

The man who appeared wore dark-grey robes, a silver turban and a white cape. A half-mask covered his eyes, and he stepped in the circle with wide-open arms, as if expecting the crowd to admire him. While some found the mage's looks intriguing, a handful wondered who he was... including Rauz. Never had he heard of a name like this before, and he had been at the previous events.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I, as a master conjurer, have seen many things in my time." he spoke in a deep, gruff voice. "I have seen many a strange beast, and today, I will show you my mastery of summoning... by conjuring and ensnaring a fabled beast!"

The crowd awed again, while some murmured. The young alchemist's brow furrowed as he examined the man. Dressed as such, he must have been from the Shimmering Sands, the eternal desert far to the south, beyond the Sunbloom Forests. Still, he knew of men from these parts and they all wore their swords - curved blades fashioned for spectacle rather than battle - for all to see, as such was the way they showed their rank. This one did not.

"Allow me to choose a spectator from the crowd." he said, walking over to the edge of the crowd. While most children looked away or turned back, hiding from the strange man behind their parents' legs, Karyana was curiously awaiting the result, as Eridric held her hand. "You, girl. Please, a hand for the little one!" he said, briefly pointing at her.

Karyana looked up to her father. "Daddy?", she asked, a bit worried.

"It's alright. You'll be fine." he replied, giving a nod of approval. The young girl calmed her nerves and slowly walked towards the man.

"Hello, child." he said, holding a gloved hand. "What is your name?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." she replied, causing a mild laughter among the crowd.

"A very polite child. You must have great parents." he replied, before moving the table full of food away. "Would you be so kind as to tell me your name?" Karyana thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Well, you can't participate if you don't tell me-"

The crowd was growing a bit restless at the mage's insistence. "Alright, calm down." he said. "Then what would you like to see me conjure, little girl?"

Karyana thought long and hard. "How about... a kitty with two horns and little wings?" she replied.

Ipson laughed for a moment. "Such imagination. Let me remember..." he said, before turning away from her. "Ah... here we are."

As Rauz and the other mages looked on, the Order examined the certification. One of the judges whispered something to another, which soon was followed to the next. The young alchemist looked on, but recognized some of the words. Dark magic.

"Karyana, get away from him!" he shouted, but before she could start running, a large portal opened. Soon, a large creature, taller than a human and walking on its hind legs, stepped out. The being had large bat-like wings, the body and head of a lion, two dagger-sized horns and a long tail, shaped like a scorpion's.

"A manticore!" one of the participants shouted. Most of the crowd were now backing away, some had even started running from the scene.

"Calm down!" Ipson shouted, trying to ease the crowd, even as the beast roared wildly. "I said I would tame this beast, and I will." However, before he even started his incantation, the summoned creature struck the gruff-voiced mage with a strong lash of his barbed tail.

The judge raised his hand and a dozen guards rushed from their position to that of the beast, trying to encircle it. The creature roared madly before thrashing around, snapping spears and knocking soldiers off their feet.

Rauz rushed over to Ipson's form. "Come on! Get up, for All's sake!" he shouted, but as he neared the body, he only found the robes and turban the man had - if a man it was, for the ground where he laid was charred, as if the wizard had stepped on the ashes of a long-gone bonfire.

It didn't take long for Karyana to run back to her parents, but as she looked on, she noticed the beast rush at Rauz, all fangs and claws out. The alchemist grabbed one of his alembics and tossed it at the manticore, which smashed open, the liquid's contact to air causing an explosion.

Rauz followed by another bottle, which spread the fire that had caught on the beast's mane to its entire body. Turning to look at Karyana, the alchemist was in no position to avoid the burning slash of the beast's right forepaw, knocking him into a nearby table.

"Master Rauz!" one of the guards shouted, but the stinger from the beast punched through his armor, locking on like a hook as it swung the poor man around like a rag-doll.

Karyana looked on, terrorized. "Mister Rauz!" she shouted, but the young alchemist was not moving, the table on which he landed lying broken around him.

In panic, the crowd ran off, causing Eridric and Ailyn to lose sight of their daughter. "Karyana!" Aylin shouted in panic, trying to move against the fleeing crowd.

"Kary, where are you?" Eridric shouted before spotting the guard the manticore had grown tired of swinging and had thrown aside. The man had landed hard against the ground, but was still alive, as the barb had not scratched past the chain mail underneath. Grabbing the unconscious man's sword, he rushed through the crowd. "Kary, I'm coming!"

---

Karyana felt as if everything was slowing down around her as her heartbeat rang in her ears. "Mister Rauz... Daddy..." she uttered, too scared to move.

"You'll be fine." came a boy's voice from somewhere in the crowd. "Please, be alright." The young girl to notice, as if a shadow in the panicked crowd, the shape of the boy she saw in her dreams.

"You..." she spoke, her heartbeat a distant echo as the beast turned towards her.

"Remember what we learned." he said, before vanishing, as if he was never there.

Karyana closed her eyes for a moment, even as she felt her father's arm grab onto her, the beast still charging frantically.

Three words came to her mind, followed by three more.

---

"Vol... Nah Driem!" she spoke aloud.

In that instant, the manticore stopped, dropping to all fours as the flames started to die out, a heavy rain starting to pour.

Eridric looked on shocked, the sword he grabbed slipping from his hands.

Karyana examined the beast, her terror washed away with the rain, even as it paced before her, its stringer out.

"Kary... come on, we have to go..." his father spoke, trying to show authority, but unable to grasp what he was seeing, his legs like lead as fear still strangled him.

"Zi Ran... Driem!" she spoke aloud. As those words resonated, the beast's form started to convulse, shrinking on itself.

As the guards picked up the wounded, Rauz turned on himself to see the manticore's tail shrivel and vanish, its size quickly dropping from larger than any man all the way down to the size of a housecat. A bushy tail grew where the deadly appendage was as the changing beast stopped roaring and started mewling, its maw and horns shrinking.

As the young alchemist rallied his strength and walked over to the young girl, he noticed her playing with a tiny creature. Almost kitten-like, its ears and eyes seemed quite large, while its body looked tiny. Little wings fluttered on its back as it mewed, the little girl patting the once frightening beast like a house pet.

"Can I keep him?" she asked, turning to her stunned parents. "Please?"

Author's Note

As said before, every bit of help will be appreciated: critiques, comments, edits, etc...