Chapter 98 Renna’s Path (POV voted chapter by Patrons, Partial Flashback)

Renna walked the halls of the Mage College.  She really could not believe she was here and, truth be known, didn’t want to be here.  She had recently arrived and was left on her own to acclimate, as High Mage Livian had said.  The school was currently out of session for the New Year holiday.  She was enrolled in the newest class of Aspirant Mages.  

An Aspirant Mage was one who had the potential to cast true spells, learning to manipulate their aether to create spell forms in the air.  They also needed to have demonstrated spell forms for at least one affinity.  Once she cast her first true spell, she could be called a Mage.  There were two higher classes of mages.  A Master Mage who had demonstrated mastery over multiple spells, and finally, a High Mage whom the Emperor raised for their unparalleled mastery of magic in a specific affinity.

She had spent the last five months working with High Mages to help inscribe her spell forms on her aether core.  Now that she had all four of her powerful spell forms, she was to attend the Mage College in hopes she would realize the ability to cast actual spells.  She had sufficient potential in her attributes, but that still did not guarantee it would happen.

Her spell forms made her powerful on her own, even if she never learned to cast true spells.  She flashed back to when she found out she had high affinities.  When she was fifteen, she had been too ill to travel to the city for the tablet testing.  She should have traveled on her sixteenth the following year, but her mother lost her sister in childbirth, and she missed again to comfort her mother.  Then, everyone seemed to have forgotten she had never been tested after that.  It was rare for someone to have enough potential to be a Mage, so she had dismissed the possibility herself.

On her eleventh summer, Renna had been apprenticed to Helena, her town’s only basket weaver.  She spent her mornings learning the different basket weavings and honing the craft.  During her afternoon, she was sent harvesting materials.  Mostly the flax and bulrush.  The harvest of two large bundles never took more than two hours if she was motivated, giving her time to relax.  Her favorite pastimes were swimming, collecting river stones, and talking to shepherd Byron as he tended to his sheep.  Byron and she would be married as soon as he could build himself a house and obtain a flock of his own.  The small, smooth river stones she gathered every day would one day line the paths of their house. 

She had been cliff-jumping at the swimming hole just outside the village when she wondered what it would be like to really fly.  Shockingly, it happened on her eighth jump of the morning.  She had closed her eyes, expecting to hit the water, but never did.  When she opened her eyes, she was thirty feet over the pond.  After that, learning to move freely in the air had been exhilarating.  

She kept it a secret, not wanting to be called to serve in the wars the Empire was constantly fighting.  She was caught by the miller’s son when she was flying low over the trees a few weeks later.  He had been jealous of Byron and her relationship and reported her ability to the Magistrate.  Soon, a tablet was rushed out to test her, and the Magistrate was shocked by the readings.  Renna was a powerful Elementalist, having powerful affiliates in the four elements and also in nature.

She was sent immediately to the nearest city to serve the Empire as all citizens with potential were.  She spent some three weeks waiting under the Count’s care for her fate.  The Count doted on her, and she lived in luxury, every need attended to by a half dozen servants.  She was finally told she would receive the highest level of training to imprint her spell forms before being sent to the Mage College in the capital.  She was also to be wed to one of the Emperor’s sons, although no decision had been made on which one.

Three days later, an old and wisened-looking mage came to collect her and train her in her first spell form.  Master Mage Dacian was not happy to train her, and he made that clear.  “A farm girl with no common sense been given power beyond comprehension.  If the Emperor did not ask me personally to train you, I wouldn’t do it.”

“Yes, Master Mage,” she said respectfully.  She knew not to correct him and tell her she was a basket weaver.

“Well, I will get you started on your path, and you can ask me questions in the evening.  You are lucky, as Earth magic is the strongest of all the common affinities.  You are going to learn a powerful spell form that will allow you to compress the earth into stone.  This can be used in hunting monsters, building fortifications, and also in building some of the most impressive structures in the Empire.”  He explained during their first meeting.

“That is going to be my job.  Building things for the Empire?”  Renna asked her first mentor.

“Ha, no.  But you might be asked to help here and there.  I hear one of the Emperors younger sons needs a new wife.  Once you complete your time at the Mage College, you will bear him children in hopes the affinities you carry will transfer to them,” the gruff old Mage said.

“I was to marry Byron, the shepherd I grew up with,” Renna responded hesitantly.  She was not naive and knew she would probably never see him again as her fate had been stolen from her.

High Mage Dacien laughed at her, “Girl, you are too good for a shepherd.  You will understand that once you attend the College and learn to cast true magic.”

The two weeks with Dacian were not that bad.  Every evening, he gave her two hours to ask questions about the magic books he had loaned her.  He also had her focus on the spell form for compressing earth and stone.  He came to her one morning, “Come, girl.  Word has come of a bulette in the south.  A little fresh air and your first lesson in hunting monsters!”

They traveled through the portal gates, and Dacian bought two horses for them to ride out and meet a mage company.  When they arrived, she was surprised the mage company was led by a woman.  It was her first time meeting legionaries, too.  The legendary defenders of the Telhian Empire looked impressive in their crimson armor.  Besides being fit and muscled, they seemed like normal young men she knew from her village.  

She was bunked with three of them: Felix, Mateo, and Eryk.  They joked with each other, and Eryk showed interest in her magic.  He was a foreigner and was struggling to learn the Telhian script.  So she read to him, and they spent time together.  He was friendly and nice to her.  Not at all intimidated by her powerful potential.

They rode out to fight the bulette, and Renna was afraid the entire time.  Dacian thought battle was the best way for a spell form to be forcibly imprinted.  He would make sure she had her chance to be put in harm’s way.  At least she could fly.  A bulette couldn’t, according to the Mage, but he warned her it could jump really high.  When they found the bulette already dead, Master Mage Dacien was angry but didn’t show it.  She knew him well enough now, though, to see him simmering.  He had wanted an earth essence from the bulette.  With it dead, he cast off Renna to the care of the mage company.

“Go and learn some leadership skills from Mage Castile.  You may be expected to command legionaries one day,” and then he was off, riding back to his research and to practice his spellcraft.  

She liked being with the legion company much more than Dacian.  She even felt they liked her and were impressed with her flight ability.  They searched the mountains to find griffins and locate a lost baron’s son.  Her new friends, the weird foreigner Eryk, the young Felix, and clumsy Mateo, treated her like a sister.  She thought any of them would make a better husband than the Emperor’s son.  

They found a dungeon and the remains of the baron’s son’s party.  Their camp was in a cave and set outside a dungeon entrance.  A lost dungeon.  She had only heard of dungeons in stories before and never thought she would see one herself.  They stayed in the cave, and she set up her bedroll next to Eryk.  She felt safe near him for some reason. 

The next day, they hunted the griffin.  The beast was not far, and she watched Mage Castile down the creature with her shadow chains.  She was impressed.  Mage Castile commanded her magic and men with poise and confidence.  One day, she wanted to be just like her.  A second griffin fled with its clutch of eggs.

The griffin was harvested, and she watched the legionnaires cut the corpse into pieces fast and efficiently as they soon smoked and salted meat.  Renna watched from the side as they worked together and marveled at the comical interactions and efficiency.  A few men were sent into the dungeon, returned quickly, and met with Castile and her two leaders, Adrian and Delmar.  She liked Adrian, who had an innate charisma to him.  Delmar, not so much, as he was uptight and always on the men about supplies.

Eryk returned with the scout, and he had a griffin egg.  The entire company rejoiced as it would be a big payday outside of their normal wages, and there could be a reward for finding this dungeon.  The mood was incredibly celebratory, but Castile had decided to explore the dungeon and see if anyone was alive inside.  It was very unlikely, but they decided to look.  

Eryk, the young legionnaire, had been selected, and she was worried for his safety.  She knew from stories that dungeons were places where powerful monsters resided and dangerous traps.  He could be dead in just a few hours, and she would never see him again.  It would be like losing a friend she had not gotten to know yet.

She was panicked when Eryk did not emerge with the others.  They found Justin, the baron’s son, but at what cost?  The scout, Konstantin, she thought his name was, told her, “Don’t worry, the boy is alive.  He is just a bit slow.”  Thankfully, Eryk emerged last, and she was relieved. 

The walk out of the mountains was awful.  Justin Cicero was a terribly selfish person, and the tension he caused was felt throughout the company.  It was so bad that Mage Castile sent a few men with him to deliver him to a city while the company traveled north.  Renna was to accompany them and make her way back to High Mage Dacian.

The trip was unbearable.  Justin was constantly complaining, and the legionnaires humored him.  She learned the secret plan was to return as slowly as possible so Castile could report the dungeon before Justin.  She hoped they succeeded in the ploy.  At least she got to spend more time with Eryk on the ride, just in the evenings when they were setting up camp. 

It was an adventurous ride, to be sure.  They fled a troglodyte, avoided a treant, and saw other creatures in the distance during their ride.  She was happy to see the safety of the city walls of Varvao.  Justin immediately abandoned them in disgust, and she knew he would get some revenge on Castile in the future.  The man was too spiteful not to try something. 

Before leaving, she told Eryk, “I hope our paths cross again.  Remain safe in your travels.”  She really had meant it but doubted she would see the foreign legionnaire again.  He would either be dead, or she would be walled up in Citadel and married to one of the Emperor’s son.

Only a week later, under Dacian’s guidance, she imprinted the spell form for compressing earth and stone.  Dacian seemed more pleased with himself for getting her to learn it than her actually learning it.  “You will be visiting High Mage Zyna now.  She is a competent fire mage and has the favor of the Emperor.  Make sure and tell her how superior my training was compared to hers,” he said with an arrogant smile, trying to be funny.

“Yes, High Mage Dacian,” Renna replied dutifully.  She left, thankful her time with the condescending Mage was over. 

The trip to join Master Mage Zyna was quick.  One portal and a three-hour horse ride.  Master Mage Zyna was tall for a Telhian, standing over six feet.  She was also a Baron of a small region in the north of the Empire on the coast.  Her estate was humble, located in a modest fishing town.  Renna was confused as it was not what she expected from one of the Empire’s most powerful mages.  Zyna appeared middle-aged, but that did not mean much for the favored ones of the Emperor.  There were rumors of a powerful mage in the Emperor’s service that could halt a person’s aging.

“Welcome, Renna.  My servants will see you settled, and then we can talk,” Zyna waved to a servant who directed Renna to follow.

The room was in a small wood and stone tower on the estate and had a view of the ocean.  The bed and furniture were exquisite, and everything about the room told her a young woman used to live there.  Maybe Zyna’s daughter in the past?  She made herself at home before she was summoned to dinner with Zyna.  She quickly changed into her only set of clothes, which were clean but not up to the standard of the nobility.

They were the only two at the table, and much of the food was harvested from the sea.  Zyna explained each dish.  Giant crab and clam stew, rainbow salmon, and kelp salad.  Everything was good except the salad, which Renna found slightly salty.  She preferred when the kelp was used to wrap rice and meat into rolls and then dipped in a variety of sauces.  With dinner finished, Zyna gave her first lesson.

“Fire is the ultimate elemental affinity, Renna.  Fire can destroy, create, or protect.  Fire gives heat in the winter to keep the people alive, and the sun’s inferno spreads light to grow the food we eat.  Fire, unchecked, can erase cities and melt flesh.  You need to decide how you will use this most powerful gift,” Zyna advised her with a motherly seriousness.

“Yes, Master Mage,” Renna said obediently.

Zyna frowned, “Fire is power.  You need to decide how it is to be used.  For your spell form, I have decided to let you choose.   I was ordered to have you imprint the spell form for wave of fire so you can assist on the battlefield.  But the fire is subservient to no one.  You must choose your own path.  You have four weeks to choose and imprint your spell form.  Then I will send you on to High Mage Livian to learn your water spell form.”

Renna studied and thought long and hard about her path in her fire affinity.  Zyna was definitely not what she expected.  Zyna was firm but let Renna make her own mistakes and never talked down to her like Dacian had done daily. 

She enjoyed her time on the coast, and the salt air was refreshing.  Even the salty kelp salad grew on her after enough meals.  It only took her three weeks of study and effort to imprint her spell form.  She thought it was powerful and useful. 

It was called consume flame.  It was only a mid-tier spell, but her high affinity gave it a range of almost fifty feet around her.  The spell drew in all fire and most of the heat in the area, allowing her to direct it to a corridor.  She could put out fires in a city by directing the heat upward or canceling other fire mages on the battlefield.  If no fires were present, the spell would greatly cool an area around her and cause frost to form as it stole the heat away. 

Zyna seemed to approve of her choice, which made Renna feel good.  Zyna told her as she was leaving, “There will be some backlash to you learning the wrong spell form from fire.”  She smiled reassuringly, “Just tell them I directed you to learn consume flame.  I will take all the heat for the decision.”  Her play on words made Renna smile.  She liked Zyna and wished she had grown up with her as a mother and mentor.  She never found out what happened to the girl whose room she used during her three weeks at the estate.  The servants told her not to brooch the subject with Zyna.

She was then sent off to learn her final elemental spell for water.  They had not told her she would be learning any spell form for nature, so she hoped that would again be her decision.

High Mage Livian lived in the capital and even taught classes at the Mage College.  When Renna showed her flight, hardened earth, and consume flame spell forms, she just nodded as each was demonstrated. 

“They should have never sent you to Zyna for instruction.  She is too lenient.  I am not.  You will imprint the spell form summon rain.   Your affinity is strong enough to give you a vast area of effect.  You can slow an army with mud or save the fields from drought.  You will be useful to the Empire.”

Although Livian was firm, she was fair.  She explained things in much more detail than Dacian and was always patient but did not like stupid questions.  She had a month to learn summon rain as the New Year was approaching, and with it, she would be enrolled in the Mage College. 

She succeeded during that time, having become well-practiced in learning a spell form.  She was moved from Livian’s villa in the city to a small room at the Mage College.  The corridors were empty as the students were off celebrating the New Year, and many of the Mages were sent to the Eastern Border war with the Bartiradians.   She wondered if Eryk and the others were there, fighting for their lives. 

She had a few days to herself before she would face her biggest challenge yet.  She would have to fit in with the nobles of the Empire as most students at the Mage College were from the nobility.  Master Mage Zyna advised her to keep to herself and not show off her power.  High Mage Dacian had advised her she needed to assert herself early and demonstrate her strength.  High Mage Livian said she needed to learn as much as possible in her seven short years at the College. 

She nervously wandered the halls, familiarizing herself with the College.  Soon, she would find out if she would become a true mage.