Mage training Exile and Cheshire Pup

[Exile]

The port city of Rye Cliff or Crystal Beach as many visitors have come to call it, is a resort town. Rye Cliff featured year round warm pristine crystal clear waters that surpasses anywhere else in the world. In fact it was so pristine that one can even compare it to the best drinking water. Guarding the south end of the beach was cliff overlooking the water. Looking at the cliff one can tell how the town received its name. As not only the color of the rocks resembled rye in color, but several of the rocks seem to have formed natural depictions of the rye grass. The most prominent building on the cliff was a unique looking tower. The tower itself seem to be made of an unnatural blacken stone. The stone itself seem to absorb the light around leaving the area around the tower slightly darker. Not even the world leading mages seem to be able to explain this phenomena, perhaps the only person who knows its mysterious properties of the tower is the Black Witch herself.

About one thousand years ago, the lands of around Rye Cliff was infested by Orcs and Orges. When the Orcs or Orges weren't fighting each other they raided other lands that border their territory and made land travel impossible. Even the water ways were a risky as there were sea beast that seem to be attracted to ships. Various attempts to open trade ways were prevented by these very monsters. The monsters rein free that is until a young and previously unknown mage by the name of Kaylith appeared. When Kaylith arrived to the area the monsters suddenly disappeared without a trace and the mysterious black tower appeared on Rye Cliff. At first people avoided the tower when they first started to settle the land. They fear the tower might suck their life out, even though birds could be seen regularly feeding at the top window. As the city of Rye Cliff grew so did the desire of other kingdoms to attempt gaining control of its lands. Kaylith single handily defeated these invaders earning the nick name of the Black Witch by other countries.

Eventually to deter stories of being evil, Kaylith began doing several acts for the community, such revitalize dry up mines and unfertile farm plots. But instead of receiving a commission, the payee would help fund schools and other public works. Eventually Kaylith started to attend a few public events; such as The Choosing. The Choosing is was an event where potential mages were selected for training by a master, unfortunately if a student was not picked they would have to wait for next year. But for some unlucky few there comes a time when next year no longer becomes an option as to the mages there is such a thing as too old for training, though it varies for each master. However during this Choosing a gasp and whispers could be heard as the mysterious cloak individual who has picked a student whom most believed was wasting her time, was chosen by none other than Kaylith. Though Kaylith has opted out of meeting her new apprentice face to face that day, she arrange a meeting at her tower the next night.

Inside the Tower itself were a set marble white floor seem to both contrast and complement the black walls. Lavender curtains with real gold trim could be seen draping along the walls as the scent of lavender could be smell throughout the floor. Gold plated lamps in between the curtains provided dim lighting akin to what most people would set for a romantic outing. On the east end of the Tower was a large window on could see the rising full moon seemly out of the ocean floor as it beamed its light through the window

 

[Cheshire Pup]

The city was kind a kind city. Sure if you had money and influence then you could get just about anything that you wanted but not all people that lived there were lucky enough to have that. People like the girl walking towards the Tower were part of that unlucky bunch. The girl had a name, it was Rachael, she was only thirteen and already her life had seemed like there was nothing she could do to make it any better, like someone else had control of her life and who ever it was really hated her. At a young age Rachael had lost both of her parents to fire leaving the girl with a terrible fear of it which was not good for being on the streets, fire was the only way to keep warm and being to frightened to get close to it she often spent many nights alone.This s not to say that no one has tried to take her in, some have, usually men, single men but there was something in the way that they looked at her that sh just could not stand and she had managed to make it on her own for long enough and if things didn't start going her way then she was going to be in a lot of trouble. She was getting to old to beg and without a job there would be no food. Long enough without food would surely only make her situation worse.

Ever since the fire the girl has traveled form town to town, keeping up on news of apprenticeships. Even beggars had dreams and her dreams was to be a mage, a strong, powerful mage much like Kaylith was here. Even though the woman was fearfully powerful she was kind and she did things to help people. Yesterday Rachael had taken this same path hoping that the woman would be able to help her. There was a reason that she wanted to become a mage, when she was little, while her parents were alive, she had many dreams and many things that she might want to be, of course that had been so long ago when you are young and the world was kind, when anything seemed like it could be possible but those days were long gone, stolen away from her by a stranger with a scare.

This man had come into the inn that her family worked in, this inn was where Rachael had spent most days as a child, listening to stories of the weary travelers that stopped through. One of the many dreams she had at the time was to go on an adventure and travel from place to place like a free spirit with nothing to tie her down. The 'fairy godmother' that would make this dream come true was nothing like one would expect. The night had been cold and snowy, there was a blizzard outside when the man arrived, his cloths were bloody and torn, the moment her mother saw him she quickly hid her then six year old daughter behind the counter. The man's voice was harsh and as she clung to her mother's skirt Rachael got a good view of his face. He was human with a scar across his left eye and three slash wounds across his cheek. They looked more recent then anything else. His chin was covered in stubble and he smelled really bad, but out of all the things she remembered about him she remembered his eyes and the cold way he had looked at her, like she was a maggot beneath his boots. The girl shuttered and then she burred her face in her mother's skirt, he just huffed and looked up to the woman.

"Do you have a room?" he asked in his grumbling voice. Then he tossed five gold coins on the table.

Rachael's mother's eyes widened and she quickly snatched up the coins before anyone else there could see. "Right this way sir. Stay here Rachael." her mother told her and then she escorted the man back to his new room. There was no way that either of them could have known that this man had been a mage or that he knew how to manipulate fire, neither one would have guessed in their wildest nightmares that this man would be the one to kill Rachael's mother and father, burn down the inn and finally grant that dream to travel with nothing to hold her back. Of course it had been nothing like she thought it would be. People were cruel and fending for herself was hard. One dream achieved and a new dream wished for, a dream of sitting back at the inn with her mother and her father, this dream that would never come true. But there was one dream that he created that Kaylith might help her achieve, a dream of finding the man and finally bringing him to justice for what he had done. With that thought in mind to give her courage Rachael walked up to the tower and she knocked on the door, waiting to see Kaylith and start her apprenticeship.

The thought of it filled her with happiness, despite the sad memories. Kaylith was not the first mage she had tried to get an apprenticeship with. She had been trying for years, traveling form town to town, many people thought that she was now un-teachable because she was so old but she was finally picked. The girl had no clue why she was picked but she couldn't be happier for the fact. For the age of thirteen she did not have much going on. Her long, milk chocolate colored hair rained down her back, silky smooth. Her budding breasts did not give her many curves but they were coming. The girl had been lucky, today she had managed to find someone to donate a dress for her first day, though she had no shoes. The dress was beautiful in her own opinion, it was a faded blue that went down to her knees. The material hugged her body until it reached her hips were it bloomed out. On the front of the dress there was an apron, it had a few faded stains but it was otherwise good. Rachael had thought it was a good idea.

Standing there now with her cocoa brown eyes shining behind a pair of round glasses. Maybe with a bit of magic I might not need them anymore she thought to herself hopefully. With her hair down and her bangs brushed from her face, the new dress and polished glasses she was hoping to make a good impression on her first day there, slightly afraid that the woman would turn her away after all.

 

[Exile]

Almost immediately after Rachael had knocked on the tower's door it started to open. The door opening was reminiscent of old horror stories, as the door produced an eerie creaking sound that would send shivers down most people's back. And just like most horror stories the tower door had seemly opened on its own. Also as the door opened the air chilled to the point one could see their own breath. The air also seemed to leave a sensation that stimulate the desire to turn and flee. Though many people could rationalized this event as a simple display of magic, it still leaves a sense of wonder what was the intent of the magical display as Rachel was supposedly expected. Perhaps the invitation was false, or was it simply just a test?

Appearing directly behind Rachel and seemly out of thin air and without so much as sound was an individual dressed in a black hooded cloak. The individual seemed to tower over young Rachel by nearly a foot as the individual stood within a few inches behind Rachel. Mysteriously if one tried to view the individual's face the hood seem to produce an impenetrable shadow. The cloak also seem hide other distinct body detail, giving the impression perhaps this person does not want to be identified. The individual seem to patiently watched Rachel action as if judging her reactions as it starred down at the young girl without so much as a flinch.

"So you must be Rachel, I have been expecting you" the individual spoke with a callous tone as she removed her hood to reveal a young woman appearing no older than twenty two.

Kaylith stared at Rachel with her sky blue eyes that gave the same impression of a stone cold demeanor as her callous tone. Although tucked into her cloak one could tell Kaylith's hair was straight and matched the color of her eyes, but because it was tucked into her cloak one could only tell that Kaylith's hair was at least past her shoulders. In what appeared to be dramatic timing the wind start to pick up, and vividly played with Kaylith's cloak. When the wind played with Kaylith's cloak it revealed glimpses of her legs, though only up to her shins, but they left an impression of they were long smooth and slender pair of legs. Kaylith then started to circle around Rachel as her eyes moved up and down on Rachel body. The intensity of Kaylith's examination seem to be able to pierce right through the skin as if she tried to capture every detail about Rachel's body.

"So what makes you want to be a Mage" Kaylith asked as she continued the examination with the same intensity.

 

[Cheshire Pup]

Rachael was surprised when the door started to open so soon after she knocked but she was even more surprised to find that the door had apparently opened on it's own. The creak it made as it did so send chills running down her spin but she did not turn and run. The temperature of the air around her plummeted until she could see her own breath, it looked at though the girl was smoking and it fogged up her glasses. Chills swam though her, the cold chilled her to her core and every inch of her was begging to flee, to turn and run from this tower and to never come back. That was something she could not do. The girl willed herself to stay in the same stop, to keep her eyes open and her head held high. She focused her gaze on the room in front of her and did her best to keep from shivering. She would not stand down. This is magic. She told herself, a bolt of excitement helping to warm her. But why would the woman do this? Was she trying to frighten Rachael away? The girl did not know but she would not leave before seeing the woman and getting some answers. She didn't realize she would be seeing her so soon.

Hearing a voice behind her the child spun to face the speaker. Her eyes widened with shock and her heart quickened in her chest as she looked up at the looming figure. Rachael had to tilt her head back to see the face only to find that it was obstructed by a shadow. Her brow furrowed as she looked the person up and down, the cloak hid every human feature (or otherwise) from sight. The child could only hope that it was human but when a slender pair of hands pulled the hood back she was able to breath a sigh of relief, not that she let it show. The cold and the deep desire to flee still kept her on edge. The harsh tone to the woman's voice didn't help ease any of this the slightest bit but that wouldn't stop her. She wouldn't run, she couldn't run, even if she did run there would be nothing for her to go back to and she would never be able to forgive herself.

The woman's icy gaze seemed to pierce straight through into her soul, it was almost violating how intensely she felt the woman's eyes on her. Her sky blue eyes might as well have been made of ice, at least then it would match her current disposition. Rachael found it off that the woman's hair was the same color as her eyes but didn't find it a good idea to ask about it. When the wind blue it increased the chill causing the girl to shudder slightly but it also gave Rachael a chance to look at the woman's legs, though she didn't see much they seemed to be long and slender, beautiful legs, but who was she to judge? her own knees held scares from all of the time she had fallen on them. Life had been hard and that was one of the reasons why she was here. To try and make things a little easier. The girl continued to hold still as the woman circled her like a shark in the water, she could almost see the birds circling overhead as they waiting to pick at the scraps of remains that Kaylith would leave behind. The image, however, was quickly shaken form her head when she heard the woman's question.

At first she was not sure how to reply, she had told others the story and they laughed and said she would make a good liar. She did not want the woman to laugh at her and refuse her apprenticeship because of it but for some reason she didn't think this woman was the laughing type.

"I need to be a Mage to find a Mage." The girl said, then she paused before continuing, only staring straight ahead as she spoke. "There is a wicked Mage out in the world. A murderer. He killed my mother, my father, and everyone in the inn that my parents owned. He tried to kill me but I managed to escape. I need to be a Mage so I can find him and stop him from hurting any more people." The girl told the older woman, hoping this would be a good enough reason to take her.

 

[Exile]

After Kaylith had finished circling around her new apprentice her eyes peaked with curiosity. If one were to describe what Kaylith had perceived was a small beacon of light surrounded by a dense black mist that obscured her inner light. It was at that moment Kaylith finally figured out why most Mages had passed on Rachel, they had failed to see the light in her. For the light Kaylith see shows great potential, perhaps she had finally found someone who can surpass her. It was at that moment Kaylith's callous exterior had started to crack, as hints of a smile appeared. And that moment the ambient temperature seemed to have slowly returned back to normal. Even the aurora that played on one's fears had also silently dissipated.

However the smile had quickly vanished as Rachel replied with her answer as to why she wanted to become a mage for it seemed to struck a chord within her. As the chill in the air returned Kaylith glared at her new apprentice with such discontentment it seemed almost inevitable she was going to send Rachael away, or worst strike out at her. For a few seconds Kaylith just continued to glared without so much as flinch, that is until she took a deep breath which seem to wash away her discontent and the chill in the air.

"You must never seek out Revenge, nor must your anger control your actions" Kaylith replied with a raised tone to her voice as if she was trying to talk down to a little child. Kaylith then started to walk into the tower as she seemly ignored Rachel. However as soon as Kaylith reached the door's threshold she released a sigh. Kaylith then slowly turned around and faced Rachel with a slightly less cold demeanor on his face.

"Come inside if you want to be my Apprentice, though you should remember this code. There is no emotion; There is peace. There is no ignorance; There is knowledge. There is no anger; There is serenity. There is no death; There is the Weave" said Kaylith as she started float a few inches above the ground as she made her way towards the center of the tower, and half expected for Rachel to follow her inside.

 

[Cheshire Pup]

Rachael thought that the girl was smiling at her but it vanished as soon as she heard her story. She thought the woman was going to laugh at her or drive her away like everyone else she had told that story to. There was something that came along with having survived the attack of an evil mage. There was a rumor that if someone survived they would either live cursed or be hunted down by the mage that missed them and brought to an end as well as anyone around them. That was another reason she was always traveling but surely no one was stronger then Kaylith and if this woman took her in even if the mage did come she would be able to stop him.

The child shuddered again from the chill. Her clothing was not meant for cold, it wasnâ??t even hers. It was borrowed, loaned to her by someone who had just wanted to see her fail. She needed to prove to everyone that this orphan could make something out of herself. It seemed like this woman was going to hit her for her story but she stood fast. Even if the woman did strike her she wasnâ??t going to move. Yet, the woman didnâ??t strike her, she spoke down to her but she didnâ??t strike her.

When the woman turned and walked back towards her tower without inviting her along the child looked up. Her eyes followed the woman, watching her leave and sure that she had somehow failed. When the woman turned back she smiled, the womanâ??s words confused her but she was happy, she was still going to be allowed to be an apprentice. She hurried after the woman but stopped at the doorway and looked back. Several people had gathered to watch. For all any of them knew she was never going to leave again. There is no emotion; there is peace.

The woman had said so and she tried her best to calm herself, taking deep breaths and trying to relax but she couldnâ??t, not yet at least. She had a master, she had a future. For once she had finally proved she would make something of herself and not grow up a street urchin. To everyone who though she would die in the winter and not even make it to spring she had proved them wrong. Yet she was nervous. What if she couldnâ??t cut it? What if the training killed her? She had no clue what this woman would do and after the display outside she was a little fearful. With all these feelings, excitement, joy, triumph, nervousness, and fear all playing through her she couldnâ??t keep rid herself of emotion. The best she could do was bring her ear to ear grin to a small smile while inside still jumping for joy.

She crossed the threshold and walked into the middle of the tower, her feet chilled on the cold stone floor. She bit her lip and looked down for a moment before she summoned enough courage to speak. Looking up at the woman she began â??M-master Kaylith?â? the girl began, the words felt so strange in her mouth but she would need to get sued to saying them, this woman was her master and she was the apprentice. â??I donâ??t understand everything that you said b-but I will do my best to learn. What is the Weave?â? she asked the woman, having just started and already eager to learn.

 

[Exile]

“The weave is an invisible well of energy that one taps into cast spells. Without it magic would cease to exist… save for select few” Said Kaylith with the same cold demeanor as before as the door to the tower closed on its own. But even more surprisingly the wooden door seemed to transform into stone with the swiftness of a blinking eye and the change seemed to be seamless.

Without as much as letting Rachel react to the sudden disappearance of the door let alone ask another question, Kaylith gestured with hand an unraveling of a scroll and suddenly a scroll taller than Rachel appeared in Kaylith’s hands. “This is a legal contract binding your apprenticeship to me, it states you Rachel shall not leave the tower walls for eight years save for threat of life from sources other than I, be on call all hours; to include late night, holidays, birthdays or any other special events .” Kaylith quickly said with a Lawyer like tone and speed that one could easily miss something as her attention remain fixated on the document as if to make one last examination.

“To sign this document you first need extend your right Index and middle finger together” Said Kaylith as she extended her arm out to show Rachel which two fingers she was talking about. Kaylith then slowly reached down her robe and paused for a second to see if Rachel was following her example and to glare evilly should Rachel not follow her example or attempt ask a question. “You will then insert you two fingers into your vaginal and… perform a sweeping motion, before slowly pulling out and pressing the fingers by your name” said Kaylith with her usual tone but paused to take a deep breath just before she retracted her arm from her robe. After Kaylith had pressed down on the scroll with her two fingers it left behind a set of glowing finger prints. Kaylith then handed the scroll to Rachel and pointed to where she was suppose to sign as Kaylith licked her fingers she had just signed.