Jennifer Jones
Stories
4
Chapters
1,292
Words
687.3 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 d, 9 h
-
Tala walked out through city gates for the first time, that morning. Growing up, her father had always maintained: “If you don’t need to leave the city, why would you?” Consequently, she’d never even been to the farms surrounding her home city. She didn’t feel any change, nor should she have. The outer wall was nowhere close to the outer defenses, at least not in one of this phase. Consequently, they were still well within what was considered the city. Even so, it was new. The farms looked the…-
211 •
-
-
Tala, once again, woke early. She had not gotten enough sleep, partially because she had taken the time to rig up a small case for the magic detector. Even so, she didn’t let that stop her. She rose quickly, stretched, exercised, cleansed, and verified the integrity of her iron skin. The magic detector was invaluable for this. If she was uncertain about any location, she simply pointed the device at her skin, and if it glowed at all, she applied more salve to that location. She finished packing up…
-
211 •
-
-
As the light of the setting sun was still fading, painting the sky in vivid hues, Tala descended from the wall, and set her path towards home. She didn’t bother to be efficient about it, though. Instead, she took her time and enjoyed the walk. Even after sunlight faded completely, she continued alternating writing and sketching by the light of night’s sky and the occasional streetlight. In truth, the latter was more a hinderance than a help. That in mind, she chose less illuminated paths. That, in…
-
211 •
-
-
Tala turned to see that two Mages had just entered the lounge. Both were Materialists, one Creator and one Guide, and both seemed to specialize in ice and lightning. The two turned at Cran’s voice and smiled when they saw him. The younger’s smile morphed into a wide grin, as he called back. “Oi, yourself!” They walked over, and Cran stood to greet them. Tala followed his lead, and he introduced her. “Renix, Master Trent, this is Mistress Tala.” He turned to her. “Mistress Tala: Renix and…
-
211 •
-
-
As it turned out, Lyn had to go in to do some paperwork and thought it would be instructive for Tala to accompany her to the guild’s main office. Lyn promised coffee, so Tala agreed. In retrospect, that was an early sign that Tala had failed: Coffee was becoming integral. As they walked back through the city, Lyn seemed to be mulling over an idea. Finally, she turned to Tala, as they continued. “Would you consider wearing gloves, when around other Mages? We might want to find a way to reduce…
-
211 •
-
-
Hand now free of glue, Tala grinned. She placed her hand on the activation panel and channeled power into it once more. Based on her previous activation, she channeled less power, so as not to overwhelm this next wagon. The three lights flicked on at almost the same time, and she jerked her hand back as if she’d seen a snake. After a long pause, when nothing further happened, the two Mages came forward, verified her work, and deactivated the working, once again. “Well, I think we can skip the…
-
211 •
-
-
Tala bid Lyn a good night and checked on her gear, which had been stored in Lyn’s guest room. It rested in a small pile in one corner, on the poured stone floor. Before she began sorting her items, she went to Lyn’s washroom, filled the tub, and lit the prebuilt fire with her fire striker. The fire striker was a simple stone rod, as long as her finger, with copper scripting lines on the outside and a spark lizard tongue powering it. It was cunningly constructed, so that she could expect close to three…
-
211 •
-
-
Tala looked from Lyn to Holly. “Speaking of mage-sight…” “Ahh, yes. I left off the four connection points that will activate that portion of your inscribing. I thought it better to not add that on top of everything else. Additionally, we still need to discuss the changes, adding to the wisdom of the delay.” “But I should just be able to activate…” She hesitated, then sighed. “You made that a passive enhancement as well, didn’t you.” Holly grinned. “Of course! Once connected and…
-
211 •
-
-
Tala had lost all sense of time. She was sure that they were done inscribing, for now, but she couldn’t say how long that had taken, or how long it had been since that was complete. She was surrounded by heat, however, so she did know that horror was coming. That lessened the relaxing effects of the bath. Sure enough, an indeterminate time later, she felt the bath fully drain, and she braced for the glacial baptism. As it washed over her, she found that she didn’t hate it quite as much as the…
-
211 •
-
-
“Now then, dear.” Holly seemed to be ignoring Lyn. “We need to test you.” Tala frowned. “I was tested for magic compatibility, before I went to the academy.” Holly sighed. “Your previous inscribers were either lazy or uninterested. You should have had whoever designed the work on your hand do the inscription. He would have taken the time to test you.” Tala cleared her throat. “I’m clearly missing something. Can you explain what you mean, then?” “In order to ensure your…
-
211 •
-
- Previous 1 … 107 108 109 … 130 Next
