Chương 13: Fire and water

Ch 13: Fire and water Isavey took Cara and the priestesses to 'safety', thanking them again for humoring the foreigner's ways.

"He believes us in danger," she explained.

"Our presence disturbs his spirit. As soon as he's finished we can return and…"

"It's extremely unusual," said the head priestess.

"And frankly, it's…improper. Without observation, we can't be sure he hasn't cheated or modified the test. For all we know he has flint in his pocket, or another focus, or a bound spell. It won't be an official result. I can't officially confirm his power to the Prelate, or the High Mage, and especially our lord unless…"

"He has nothing to assist him, but I understand," Isavey soothed.

"It won't be official, then. Consider it a practice test. Once Felix…"

"A 'practice test' skews the official result, my lady." The priestess' tone was getting increasingly unpleasant.

"A mage's soul is a different measurement than his craft. This test seems simple, but in your training at the water temple surely you learned the wards we use to create complexity. What you are suggesting comes very close to permitting this man to gain knowledge of them and therefore…"

"Then I will go and observe alone," Isavey said, a bit harsher than she intended.

"In my training at the water temple, I learned many things. And of course as a Water Pool of the fifth rank, I have nothing at all to fear from a fire wizard." There was no other Water Pool with Isavey's power—no other living person with as much raw water mana in the depth of their soul. She could swallow fire magic like it was nothing, the flames hissing to a stop in the ocean inside her. The priestess finally bowed her head in acknowledgment.

"That… would be acceptable, if unorthodox. But please hurry. He may have started already." The priestess handed her the grey soul gem that would detect Felix's soul as he performed his 'test'. Lighting the candles and torches was a meaningless exercise. The true purpose was to force Felix to put his will against the wards, to push him to his limit while the soul gem reacted to his power. The brighter the soul, the deeper the mana channels, the harder a mage would struggle against the wards.

And therefore the more clearly the soulgem would capture the result. With a dual caster like Felix, Isavey would expect it to glow mostly red or orange from the flame, with maybe a few splashes of blue or purple to show he could channel water. She crept carefully towards his broad back on her toes, doing her best not to disturb him. The priestess seemed to be right—he seemed already locked in concentration, hand extended into a fist with his focus hanging down. A wizard is a wizard, she thought.

Despite being untrained, he seemed to know exactly what to do with the object. With growing curiosity, she held up the soul gem and grinned as the first mote of red sparkled and touched its surface. It was working. She could hardly wait to see the result. Even if Felix had been releasing far more mana than he realized, to have held the main source back for so long would make his channels incredibly rich. Even if his soul was relatively weak, or just common, that process of resistance would make him a powerful mage.

Or so she assumed. The reality was, no one had ever really seen such a thing. Some families and temples experimented, of course. Especially the air mages. Depending on the strength of a promising young savant, they might delay the process a few months and hope to give them an edge—to thicken and widen whatever channels they had for the rest of their lives. But the longest Isa had ever even heard of it being done successfully was the infamous son of Lord Myra.

The poor boy had been forced to block his channels, forced to hold back for two years before finally being tested and released. By all accounts it was a success. The young air prince had gained considerable mana from the process, so it was said. But he'd also gone mad, and had never been seen in public since. Isa remembered him as a quiet, sweet boy, a little older than her. But here was Felix, with many years of mana build up after his development.

She still had no idea how it was possible, and seriously doubted it was true. But regardless, he'd clearly been disciplined and used it sparingly as a boy. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. So there was no question he'd be powerful now. Her father would be pleased, their family would gain prestige and therefore power, and… perhaps Felix would even stay. She tried not to think about that.

Whatever his ultimate intentions, she would get to see him through all of his training, spending many hours teaching and advising him, even as they brought in caster tutors. She would have the time to ask him about the world, to see his mischievous smile and blue eyes, and maybe find more chances to slip her hands over his muscled forearm… She blinked and tried to focus on the soul gem, and on the sailor's efforts. He hadn't lit the candle yet but nevermind.

You could never know what would bring out a wizard's release. She'd known a sweet peasant boy at the water temple who seemed unable even to dilute simple vinegar. The priestesses all thought he'd be a meddling caster. That his recruitment had been a mistake and the time and attention a waste of resources. But the boy fell in love with a local girl who cleaned the temple with her mother.

Then one by one he passed his exams and exceeded even noble sons, until he tested as a rank three wizard of the order, and changed his fate. Isavey smiled at the thought, wondering if they were married and had children now. She sighed, wishing her own story could be so simple, that her life could be built on a foundation of love instead of politics. But she loved her father and her family, and she was the eldest daughter of the Amadi. She would always do her duty.

She blinked back to the moment when she realized Felix was shaking. He'd fallen to his knees and seemed like he was in pain, no doubt battling with channels so clogged and neglected they were like dams. The urge to go to him was almost overwhelming, but Isavey stood her ground, knowing he had to do it alone. She closed her eyes, whispering words of encouragement in her mind. She repeated the Mantra of Three Waters, the words of her ancestors passed down for hundreds of years. The rain washes the mountain.

The mountain makes the river flow. The river runs to the sea. It always made her smile to picture simple rain drops becoming the ocean. It was only a matter of time, and force. Those simple rain drops could wipe away anything. She watched the soul gem, willing it to fill, to brighten, to become the symbol of Felix's freedom and not his failure. If he failed they wouldn't train him. They'd lock him away and breed him with other failed bloodlines, hoping mostly through chance to produce more useful offspring.

Isa knew a proud man like Felix wouldn't accept it. That the practice was inhuman and cruel and always had been—that her people treated the non-magical citizens of their island terribly, and foreigners even worse. Would she be able to help him? Set him free? She would try, she promised herself, no matter what, she would try. To keep one man in captivity just to breed wasn't some critical need of her family. She would help set him free. Felix finally stopped shaking.

Sweat dripped down his exposed skin, and he stood to his immense full height as the focus slipped from his hand. He took deep breaths and looked up, still not noticing Isa.

"I'm sorry, father," he mumbled.

"But I have to. I can't live like this anymore. If it fails, I'll see you in the after." Isa didn't understand, but felt her shoulders drop. He must have tried and failed. She was about to step forward, to tell him he could try again, tell him about the young water wizard who fell in love, that there might be a dozen ways to help him release his mana. She would tell him she would do anything she could for him, whatever her father said. It was very strange to find that it was true. Then the world went red.

The candles, the torches, the hay bails and wooden sticks—all of it lit in a blaze of light, so quickly and easily it was like they'd been dipped in oil. The warded waters near Felix's feet began to bubble. His clothes lit on fire. He held out his arms, and Isa felt his mana like steam in the air.

"Fuck you," he shouted, his voice hoarse.

"Burn me you son of a bitch! I'm not afraid of you." But Isa was afraid. She felt the temple's wards popping like heated corn. In panicked self-preservation she reached for her own mana—the near endless pool of water that was her birthright and namesake—the depths of power that made every lord of the island lust. Fire mana reached for her like greedy fingers. Felix's power roared and twisted, looking for air, for wood—anything it could use as fuel. But Isavey Amadi, Water Pool of the fifth rank, did not burn.

She released and smothered it, holding that hungry power at bay, blocking the tunnel like a swelling tide. And she failed. She heard herself cry out, heat touching her skin for the first time since she was a girl. It didn't hurt, though it frightened her. At the sound of her voice, Felix twisted and stared at her. His eyes glowed red like embers. Their gaze met. Isa couldn't look away.

It was like the whole world was burning all around her, like this strange foreign man had looked at her defences and flicked them away with a shrug. It made no sense. Fire magic couldn't hurt a Water Pool. Not one like her. Isa's power was the beginning and the end. Water was life and death and she was infused with more than anyone could remember. Since she was a girl she had watched her spirit feed or smother wizards as she chose, drowning them like little sparks against her flood. But not this time.

When it ended she wasn't sure if it was her or him. And a piece of her hadn't wanted it to. She shuddered as Felix's fire finally died. A cold wetness shivered down her spine, a feeling like disappointment swirling through her. She realized she was panting, staring up at him with skin that felt hot but cooling fast, skin that wanted to feel that heat again.

"I'm... still alive." Felix looked at his hands, and at the charred remnants of his clothes. Isa had no idea what to say, mostly fighting the urge to stare or touch. Felix looked up, anger flashing across his face.

"You were supposed to stay back."