FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 01

I wasn't ever much of a magician. I foolishly thought I'd start on my own, learning as I went along. That lasted about three months, when I took on a job I couldn't manage and nearly got myself killed because of my ego.

I still don't like talking about it. It wasn't very pleasant. On the bright side, all my fur did grow back, but there's a large streak of white fur on my head - a constant reminder to check my ego and not underestimate the tasks before me. I've been working on it.

After that fiasco and the long recovery period, I decided to do what a sensible tiger would have done a long time ago - find a magician to work under as an apprentice.

Trouble is, once you've made a name for yourself as a klutz and an egotistical little shit, it's hard to find decent magicians who will take you under their wing. They don't want the hassle of dealing with incompetents - I couldn't really blame them. I'm actually kind of proud of myself for acknowledging what an idiot I'd been.

It was a bit of luck that I met Sul'ava kin Ejderha. She was a nomadic mage, which was unusual - most magicians preferred to stay in a single location, develop a clientele, and have a decent place for research. But Sul'ava didn't seem interested in any of that.

Of course, dragons are incredibly long-lived, so she probably took her time to learn what she felt necessary. So pretty much everything. Dragon mages were highly prized both for effectiveness and as teachers.

When I met Sul'ava, I was traveling between towns after being rejected for an apprenticeship once again. One look at my streak of white hair amid the black stripes and orange fur and they turned me down, like they knew it was a sign of trouble.

I'd been on the road for a few days when I heard noises off the road. Weird noises. So I went to check it out - I'd been walking a long time without seeing anybody and was bored out of my skull.

I hadn't gone more than thirty or forty feet from the roadside when I saw Sul'ava battling a hostile spirit creature. I didn't know who she was at the time, but I was taken aback all the same, both at the sight of her and at the sight of the grotesque ghost-like thing she was fighting. I'd never seen one before and was glad it wasn't me fighting it.

She was tall, even for a dragon. Eschewing the traditional robes, she wore a loose-fitting, long black tunic, shorts, and backpack. I could still tell she was a mage though - not just from the magical energy she was flinging at the creature or the power words she chanted, but by the way she moved and looked around.

Her scales were very tiny and very, very blue. Her loose clothing swirled around as she dodged and twisted, avoiding the spirits lunging attacks. That thing looked like it could really do some damage if it managed to connect.

She had an intricate tattoo on the side of her neck. It went from her shoulder up to her jaw line. I had no idea what it meant or what it was for. Or from. Magicians could pick up all sorts of interesting or unusual things in the line of duty, both intentional and unintentional.

I couldn't really tell too much else about her, or how old she was. I guessed she was on the younger side - her wild, deep blue hair was not something an older, more reserved dragon would sport around, I didn't think. She also just looked young, though of course most dragons appeared young, at least - most were very vain.

She knew I was standing there, watching the battle - I could tell. But I wasn't watching more than three or four minutes before she dispelled the spirit in a blast of reddish-orange magic flame.

She sat down on a fallen tree log and pulled out a flask. She took a deep drink before acknowledging my presence in a strange way.

"Yes, you can be my apprentice. What's your name?"

"Uhhh... what?"

"You were going to ask me eventually, correct? First the small talk, then the query?"

Her voice was deep and strong. She was obviously a powerful magician. She took another drink from the flask, hardly looking at me.

"But you don't know who I am! Or where I'm from or what I want to learn or anything! And I don't even know your name!"

"My name is Sul'ava kin Ejderha. I know you've been in trouble. I know you're trying to learn more. I know you have potential," she said, finally looking at me directly. I was mesmerized by her deep opal eyes and couldn't reply. After a moment, she said, "What else do I need to know? Plus, you'll make a fine familiar. You look like you're in very good shape, you're young enough, and you seem eager enough to perform well."

That sent the hair bristling on the back of my neck. "Wait, familiar? C'mon, I'm trying to become a magician, not a pet!"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Do not underestimate familiars, boy," she said. "Apprentices do many of the same duties as familiars. I just prefer to kill two birds with one stone." She stood up and walked over to a patch of brush, leaned down, and pulled a long staff out of the growth. "As a familiar, you're physically helping cast the spells. You'll train more easily that way. It's a good way to quickly learn how to handle magical energy."

"Yeah, but..."

"Yes or no," she said, turning her back to me. "I don't take on apprentices - or familiars - very often. You know I'm powerful, as you could see with the poltergeist. You know I can train you well. What's your answer?"

"But... well, what do you want out of it?" I asked. Most mages wanted a few years service as a servant while training, or a portion of money earned after the training was completed.

"Nothing. Whatever you offer me is what I'll accept," she said, starting to walk away. "Make up your mind."

I was lost. Here was this complete stranger offering me what could be the chance of a lifetime. She was right, I could tell she was powerful - I wasn't a complete idiot when it came to magic. But who was she? Was she on the level? What if I never got another offer? What if... aw, screw it.

"Okay, yes, yes, sure," I said, running after her. She took larger steps than I did and I had to jog to keep up. "Do you want to make an agreement?"

"No," Sul'ava said, still walking, not looking at me. "That won't be necessary. We're heading to Angarth where we'll stay for a while. What's your name?"

"Uh, my name is Takajit," I said. What kind of magician takes on an apprentice when they don't know the applicant's name? I thought to myself.

"Angarth?" I asked. I hadn't heard of that place before.

"Yes. It's a week's journey away from here," she said. "Your training begins immediately. As an apprentice, it will be your duty to gather ingredients for complicated spells, tend to whatever tasks I assign you, and study as much as you can." She glided onward while I struggled to keep up. She didn't seem bothered by the dense vegetation while I was having a hard time fighting my way through the trees.

"Any questions?" she asked.

"Uh... no, I understand the role of an apprentice," I said, brushing away some leaves as they snagged on my tunic. I watched her walk - her hips swayed back and forth rhythmically with a natural grace common to dragons and felines. I could see the tip of her tail poking out from under her tunic - there was a large gold band about six or eight inches from the tip.

"As a familiar, your duty will be to assist me in channeling energy into spells, assisting me in situations like the one you found me in a few minutes ago," she said, "as well as in... other areas."

"Other areas?" I asked quickly.

"They are... optional," she said, choosing her words carefully. "We'll talk more about that when we reach Angarth. In the meantime," she said, changing the subject, "tell me what you know of magic."

I told her my story, leaving out the major details about screwing up so badly I nearly died. It took several hours. She asked a few questions to get more details - mostly determining how skilled I was, where I needed training, and the rest of stuff master magicians know to look for in their apprentices.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"I'm twenty," I said.

"So all of what you told me happened within the past two years?"

"Yes."

"So young," she murmured, glancing back at me for a moment. Her eyes struck me again - they were deep, huge, and full of knowledge. "I was like you when I was young."

She didn't elaborate and I didn't ask.

"Recite the Major Rules of alchemy," she said.

I nodded, took a deep breath, ducked a low-hanging branch, and started listing them off. The Major Rules were so common and ingrained into magicians - even lousy ones like me - that I had no trouble remembering them.

"Good. Now, the Major Rules of conjuration."

Again, easy. What was Sul'ava getting at?

"Major Rules of enchantment."

I listed them off again.

"Now, the third rule of conjuration."

"Uh, third rule? Okay, it's uh..." I quickly repeated the first two in my head. "Okay, the third rule is..."

"No. Stop. You've memorized the rules. But you can't recall individual rules - you have to understand them and be able to recall them instantly."

"But I was remembering it, I just had to..."

"No," Sul'ava repeated sternly. "You must be able to recall any rule immediately. They are the foundation of any magical education. We'll practice on the way to Angarth."

And practice we did. She could pull any rule out at any time and if I didn't answer quickly enough, she'd reprimand me. It wasn't to be mean - I got the impression very quickly that she was genuinely interested in my education. Of course, as her familiar - which still felt very strange thing to call myself - she had a personal stake in the issue.

I still wasn't sure what being a familiar would entail. I hadn't ever heard of this kind of agreement before. But I hadn't ever met a dragon-mage before. She was so strange, always saying what I was thinking. She seemed to relish skipping the common small-talk that filled most conversations and getting right to the point.

It took me aback most of the time, but it was refreshing too. Even though dragons lived longer than anyone else, this one still seemed to want to take advantage of every moment. In between questioning me on the rules, she would point out plants, animals, or other interesting things about the forest.

Some plants would make better balms, or better sealants, or are completely useless for certain applications and most of it I'd never heard of before. It was almost too much information - I had a hard time trying to remember everything she told me.

I was exhausted when we finally made camp that night. The moon was well above us when Sul'ava finally stopped.

"We'll rest here for the night," she said, setting her backpack on the ground. "If you're hungry, eat while I set up a protective enchantment."

I nodded and sat heavily on the ground. I was almost too exhausted to eat. Almost. I had a few sticks of jerky in my bag, along with some fruit I scrounged up before meeting Sul'ava. I gnawed on some jerky as I watched Sul'ava cast the protective spell. She didn't need a circle or any symbols - she just muttered some power words and like that, I could feel the gentle caress of the magical energy composing the protective ring around us.

"That's really impressive," I said, swallowing a chunk of jerky. "Will I learn to do that?"

"Eventually," Sul'ava said, unrolling her bedroll. "Would you like a fire?"

"No, I'm fine," I said. "I can see in the dark pretty good, and I'm so tired I don't want to stay awake much longer anyways."

She nodded and lay back on her bedroll. I rolled my out as well, quickly finishing a stick of jerky off. There was no telling how early she liked to wake up and I didn't want to be groggy in the morning, not if she kept a pace like this up all the way to Angarth.

I fell asleep quickly. I don't really remember what I dreamed, but they were vivid, I know. I woke up at one point and vaguely remember looking over at Sul'ava, who was sleeping only a few feet from me due to the size of the protective circle. I remember her eyes, staring at me, burning into me, as if she was reading my dreams. Her eyes didn't look opal anymore. Instead, they looked a burning blue.

I fell back asleep without even thinking about it, but the next day I couldn't put those eyes out of my head.

When I woke up, Sul'ava was waiting for me. I scrambled to pack up my kit and quickly got ready. She didn't say anything as we continued off.

She was very strange - but maybe she was just feeling me out, I thought. She didn't seem the shy sort, but her bouts of silence were disconcerting.

"Major Rules," she said suddenly.

"Which ones?" I asked.

"All of them. In reverse."

I groaned in my head, but forced my groggy brain to comply with her directive. Time passed fairly quickly as I worked my way through them all. It was working - I was really starting to get good at calling up the individual rules immediately.

We traveled quickly. Sul'ava led the way and I followed behind, trying to figure out how she made walking through the dense forest look so easy. After a brief stop for lunch, we were on the move again, all the way until nightfall. I was really starting to get tired and fell asleep again immediately.

The next two days were very similar - we'd walk, she'd ask questions or show me different plants, we'd eat, and sleep. Fairly boring, after a bit. Sul'ava was reticent - we didn't talk much if it wasn't information I was supposed to learn in one way or another. I did, however, excel at the Major Rules and could snap them off quick as she called them.

It was turning out to be a normal apprenticeship after all, I thought. Rigorous, but Sul'ava was nice enough. A bit stand-offish, but we still didn't know each other at all. I was hoping that would change - I was dying to know more about this mysterious dragon - what the tattoo was on her neck, where she was from, how old she was...

It was frustrating, not knowing anything at all about your tutor, but I was hoping to be able to find out more when we reached Angarth.