MagiStream

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Here's the newest chapter!

Chapter 5

Dear Kelly,

Your parents have been very kind. Your father has even lent me new boots, as he took one look at mine and said they would not stand up to the snow and cold here in the north.

Aran dipped his quill in the inkpot, the ink slightly more viscous than it had been in the warm libraries of the Keep. After just three days here, Aran was convinced he’d never be fully warm again. As far as he was concerned, winter was already here.

But he had to put his discomfort aside. Today was the first day Johann would take him outside the city walls, guiding him around the frigid nature of Arkene. One night camping outside the walls, in just the tent he had brought with him, would certainly teach him what real cold was.

Oh well. He had his heat spell, if he needed it, and he was going to be a mage. A little cold was nothing, right? With a sigh, he stood up, whistling for Leath. The letter could wait.

***

“Ready?” Johann said with a grin, two pairs of what Aran had recently learned were skis slung over his shoulders. “We’ll just go to the edge of the forest, a half day’s walk outside the walls. I’ve been there plenty of times.”

“Right.” Leath barked, and Aran sensed for his companion’s magic, wondering how he could make things easier for the direcore. Perhaps he could fly? The sky was overcast, but the wind was still, and it wasn’t so cold Leath’s wings wouldn’t work.

“Is he alright?” Johann asked. Leath’s tail wagged at the other man’s voice. “Is he coming with us?”

“Aurora too,” Aran answered, and Johann grinned.

“Wonderful. I can learn about magical creatures while you learn about Arkene.” Aran’s heart lifted a little at Johann’s enthusiasm. If his guide wasn’t anxious, there was no need for him to be. Besides, the forest where they would set up cap was only half a day’s walk from the village, and the snow had not yet started. Aran called on his earth and air magic, enjoying the sensation of the world around him. Once the cold began, he would have to focus on water and fire to keep himself anchored, and he wasn’t as good at that.

Kelly’s words came back to him, about the oddity of his exam, and he frowned. Why Arkene? He still had not been able to figure it out.

“Something wrong?” Aran startled, meeting Johann’s eyes.

“No, nothing. Nothing important.”

Johann tilted his head and gave a small smirk. “Sure. Let me know if you have any problems. I may not be a mage, but I know a lot about Arkene, and I can help if you need it.”

“Thanks.” Aran nodded. Johann smiled back.

The two young men headed outside the city gates, the guard nodding. “Out for a trip?”

“Yes. Back tomorrow afternoon,” Johann said with a wave. Leath wagged his tail as the guard patted his head when he walked past, and Aran gave a lazy wave also. At least there had been no more talk of demons.

They walked in silence for a time, the village receding behind them, Leath trotting at Aran’s side. Aran’s magic flared, and he turned in time to see Aurora circling overhead, landing heavily on the brittle grass. It crackled under her feet as she cantered closer.

“Wow,” Johann breathed as the pegasus folded her wings and nuzzled Aran’s hand. “Do all of your creatures fly?”

Aran thought over his menagerie back at the Keep, the creatures he had not chosen to bring. “Not all,” he said, thinking of his panther and alpaca, “but most.”

“Which was your first?” Johann asked, petting Aurora’s ears as they walked. She flicked them up and down under his hand with each stroke.

“Aurora, actually,” Aran answered. “I got her as an egg on my first trip to the stream.” He hoped Johann wasn’t offended by his talking about his success as a mage when Johann himself had failed, but since the first day he hadn’t mentioned it at all. He just seemed interested in the magical creatures.

A cold wind blew past them then, Aran shivering. Johann laughed, and Aran felt his face grow hot.

“It’s only been three days,” he said. “I’m not used to it yet.”

“You’d better start,” Johann said with a grin. “This weather is nothing.” Leath barked as if agreeing, and Aran sighed.

“So…” He sighed again. This was just going to sound stupid. What would Johann know about magi? “So when I got assigned out here, it was kind of a surprise.”

“Oh?” Johann raised an eyebrow. Aran wished he could do that. Everyone but him seemed to be able to. “What kind of surprise? A good one?”

“No,” Aran said with a gust of breath. “Not really. No offense,” he added quickly when Johann’s expression fell, “it’s not because I don’t like it or anything. It’s beautiful here.” Great, now he really did sound stupid. “I just meant…this weather, this climate…it’s not what my magic is meant for.”

“What do you mean? Your pegasus and…winged wolf are no good?” Leath whuffed.

“No, not at all! My creatures are fine. But magi do more than just tame magical creatures. Their magic helps us focus our own magic, linking with ours and letting us cast spells more easily. Creatures have magic of their own, too.” Leath wagged his tail. “It’s just…my magic lies in earth and air, not snow and cold. I’m not great with fire magic, either. As a final exam…Arkene is a challenge.”

Johann grinned. “Aren’t exams supposed to be challenges?”

“Yes, but…” Aran threw up his hands. “I don’t know. It doesn’t match what other magi have done. Their exam helped them refine the skills they already had. Finding an ice dragon…I’ve never shown any sort of inclination toward ice. Or dragons, for that matter,” he added bitterly.

“You should stop worrying about why you were assigned the task and just do the task,” Johann said matter of factly. He patted Aurora on the nose. “We didn’t have magical schooling here, but you sound like the student who asks the teacher what use math figures are for.”

“I’m a good student!” Aran retorted, stung.

“But you’re going to be a mage, not a student. Don’t magi explore, regardless of…um, their magic or somesuch? A real mage wouldn’t just avoid learning something new based on the fact that your magic doesn’t match.”

Aran frowned, the words twisting in his mind. He had just been chastised by someone who barely knew how magic worked, and it didn't sit well.

There had to be a reason for this exam, for finding the dragon and exploring Arkene. There had to be.

***

Aran walked in silence, the atmosphere heavy. The cold grew worse, but embarrassment wormed in his gut, distracting him from the discomfort.

Complaining to Johann about his exam had just made him look stupid. He figured it would, but he hadn’t anticipated just how…whiny he had sounded, when Johann had put it like that.

He had always been a good student. But a good student didn’t necessarily make a good magi. That thought brought the anxiety back full force. What if he wasn’t cut out for this?

“It’s snowing,” Johann remarked, his voice making Aran jump. The mage blinked as a snowflake drifted past his eye, followed by several more. The fat flakes clung to the ground immediately, the trail steadily growing dusty white.

“Wait an hour or two and I can show you how to use these,” Johann said, hefting the skis. “It’s an important skill in Arkene.” He stared at Leath, who wriggled his body happily under Johann’s stare. “I wonder if he and Aurora could pull a dogsled…”

“They’re not really meant for pulling sleds…” Aran turned to Aurora, who regarded him levelly. Her magic flared, a rush of air and strength. “But maybe.” An idea half formed in his mind. He wondered if he was strong enough.

A cold drop of snow hit him in the face, and he shook his head. They didn’t have a sled now anyway. “Let’s keep going,” he said. “I want to see the forest.”

“You’ll love it. It’s even prettier in the snow,” Johann said. At least he didn’t seem judgmental about Aran’s questioning the motives behind his exam. Not for the first time in his life, Aran wondered if he worried too much.

The snow grew heavier as they approached the treeline, and it clumped on the bushes and around the trees. “The village loggers keep it trimmed during the summer, but past here its all wild. This is the edge of civilization for us-although if you stay on the path, you can make it to Trilvanth in about a day. That’s the next village over.”

“Is all of Arkene like this?” Aran asked, peering up as he walked. “A forest?” Aurora snorted as she knocked against a tree, snow falling to the ground. It stuck fast here, in such a cold climate. There was an unusual amount on the ground for how much it had snowed.

“Only the southern parts. Past the forest you get the tundra. That’s where your ice dragon will be, I’d guess. Don’t go too far east, though, or the ice can melt under your feet and you’ll be swallowed up.”

For a moment, Aran though Johan was joking, until he looked into his eyes. “Noted,” he said shakily.

“Don’t worry about that here, though. This forest is very safe. I’ve never seen worse than an ice gryphon, and they just ignore us.” Johann grinned, his expression easing some of Aran’s fears. “C’mon.

He took a step forward, his feet crunching on snow, and his smile faded. Leath started to growl.

In front of Aran, the snow shimmered, the flakes pulling together. A barrel chest and two huge icy wings formed first, followed by a serpentine head with icicle sharp fangs.

Aran’s heart thudded, his body rigid with shock. A dragon.

____

TBC. Comments always appreciated!