Dragon Mage: Chapter 2

Eric's instructor motioned him to sit at the chair in front of the desk, then seated himself behind the desk.

"Mr. Nuleben, thank you for staying.  Ms. Winters informs me that when passing you, she couldn't read anything from you.  Do you know why that may be?”

“I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't.”

Eric sat nervously.  He knew what Mages could do.

Eric's instructor looked at him gently.  “I assure you, Ms. Winters means no harm, and will do no harm.  Do you know what a familiar is?”

“I think – I've heard of them.”

“Ah, well.  They are quite useful, and can sometimes let a Mage do what they would otherwise not be able to do alone.  It is difficult for even me to explain.  It's almost like having your own personal second Mage, except this is energy, so it can do more than a person.  In any case, Ms. Winters would like to have her familiar help her.

“I see.”  He was still uncertain.

The woman spoke.  “Mr. Nuleben, may I?”

Eric nodded nervously.  Did he really have a choice?  “Yes.”

“Thank you.”  The woman snapped her fingers and a light blue ball of light appeared at her shoulder.  It seemed to come to life, moving slowly at first, then bouncing up and down a few inches in the air, then finally settling silently, hovering in motion.  The woman looked at Eric, and the ball moved slowly towards him.  Eric kept perfectly still.  The ball stopped in front of Eric's face, bounced up and down, and proceeded to circle him.

The woman leaned forward, looking Eric in the eye.  The instructor leaned back, meanwhile, observing.  Energy seemed to radiate from the woman's eyes.  Eric felt like she was trying to mentally probe him.  She reached out to Eric, and again asked, “May I?”

Eric nodded dumbly.

She grasped Eric's hand.  Eric felt as though there was something else around her.  She continued looking Eric in the eye.  The orb started circling again, this time both of them.  The woman closed her eyes, concentrating, and the orb went to Eric's face.  It remained there a few moments, then went back to the woman's shoulder.  She kept her eyes closed in concentration for a few more moments, then she opened her eyes and shook her head.

“Nothing.”

Eric's instructor leaned forward.  “I see.  Mr. Nuleben, I don't know what you and your friends are involved in, that Ms. Winters advised you to stop.  However, I feel a very strong urge to tell you again, to stop.  If you are not a Mage, there is nothing wrong with that.  But do not seek to become one through the wrong avenues.  There are particular powers that may appeal to one who is not a Mage, and seem to be easy or a foot in the door, but that is never the case.  A true non-Mage simply garners the help of demonic forces, at the expense of his own soul.  A Mage starts practicing with the dark arts.  Either one is, quite frankly, damned, unless, by some miracle, they turn themselves around.  Few, having tasted power, care to do so.”

“Sir, I am --”

“Silence!”  Eric's instructor cut him off, closing his eyes and holding up a hand.  “I have already told you that it is in my judgment to not care to know what you are doing.  Do not say any more and force me to officially recognize your wrongdoing.  Frankly, I prefer to think you're trying to breed two-headed goats, and leave it at that.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You may go.  Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Nuleben.”

Eric rose and walked away, while Ms. Winters watched him.  He left the classroom and closed the door behind him.  After looking to see the hall was empty, he walked down the hall to the door at the end of the building, nearest the front entrance, opening the note he was passed earlier in the classroom.

“Still on for tonight – location changed – meet at trees outside campus SE tower”

Wonderful, Eric thought.  He wasn't sure if he was ready, and more uncertain.  The Psychic Mage had probably found his friends were practicing Necromancy.  Between the first and second warnings he had from his professor, he wasn't sure he wanted to continue.

“Clever.”  Eric jumped at the voice behind him.  He swung around, ready to fight, but saw the woman from class.

“Ms. Winters?”

She nodded.  “You may call me Serene.  Clever of you to not read the note until after class.  Of course, your professor and I both knew of it and its contents.”  Serene spoke in a soft manner.

“What?”

Serene was somber.  “It is very difficult, borderline impossible, to hide something from a Psychic Mage.  About the only intelligent thing you did was not mention why you're meeting.  But, after reading your friends, I already know why.”

Eric was even more surprised, and asked again, more in exclamation, “What!?”

Serene nodded.  “If I may, what is your given name?”

“Eric.”

“May I use it?”

Eric nodded and started walking again, with Serene following alongside.

“Eric, I need to talk to you, but in a more private area.  Would you mind being transported there?”

“Uh, no?”  Eric wasn't sure.

“Please take my hand.”

Eric did so, and Serene closed her eyes.  The next thing Eric knew, they were standing outside, with the school in the distance.  They were in the middle of a clearing surrounded by pine and fir trees.  They were next to an arrangement of rocks; two large boulders supported a relatively flat slab.  The slab was deeply stained in crimson, and the stains ran down the sides and onto the boulders.

Serene looked around, then slowly lifted and drew her arms apart until they were shoulder level.  As she did so, needles and branches moved away from areas in the clearing and revealed a well worn path.  The path was directly to the stones, with a rectangular area on one side of them.  A circular path had been drawn out about five feet away from the stones.

Eric recoiled.  He had heard of this place, but thought it legend.  Years of disuse had hidden it, yet the past was plainly evident.  The paths around the stones only enhanced the crimson evidence on the stones themselves.  The school was built not too far from the place Necromancers practiced.  That was why it was built like a fortress, and why students had to observe strict curfews.  He suddenly felt cold, and very vulnerable.  He shivered involuntarily.  A part of him wanted to run and cling to Serene.

“You know what this is?”  Serene asked quietly.

“Yeah, I do.  Why did you bring me here?”

“As I said, I wanted to talk to you privately.  This seemed like a place at which we will not be bothered.”

That sounds about right, Eric thought wryly.

“Eric, would you mind me asking you a few questions?”

“Wait a minute.  I only know your name.  Why are you so interested in me?”

Serene sighed.  “Eric, have you ever heard of a Dragon Mage?”

“Yes.  They were mentioned in our histories, and we spent some time discussing them in Mage Studies.”

“Do you know just how powerful, and dangerous they are?”

"They're quite a bit stronger than normal mages.”

“Yes, they are.  I am,” she hesitated, “in a position that requires me to study them closely.”

“Serene, what exactly are you?”

“A Guardian Psychic Mage.  I'm interested in you because in your class, I encountered something in you I've never encountered before.”

“What's that?”

“I couldn't read you.  Not even with my familiar was I able to read you.”

“What?  What do you mean?”

Serene spoke calmly, and softly.  “Everyone possesses a soul, and some sort of energy that a Psychic Mage, even at the earliest level, can see in a magical sense.  Everyone also has thoughts, emotions, and physical traits that we can see.  When I passed you, I sensed nothing.”

“So?”

“Eric, even a non-mage will have a soul, and thoughts that we can see.  For you, I did not see you.  It's as though you were an empty husk.”

“What, exactly, does that mean?”

“Before I answer any more questions, I have to ask you something.  Please trust me completely.  I promise only to help you, and to do no harm.”

“What?  Wait --”

“Please, Eric.  I may have already said too much.  I need you to agree to trust me, no matter what.”

Eric struggled for a moment.  Her request would have been unusual, and even unreasonable under any circumstances, given that he did not know her.  The fact was, Eric had trusted some people before, who had uttered similar words, and been crushed, betrayed, used, or otherwise hurt.

Yet, the others who had hurt him had not approached him like this.  The fact that Eric found Serene quite attractive did not hurt, either.  He gambled.

“Alright.”

“Very well.  The fact is, you had very powerful protections put onto you.  They were enchantments designed to hide any power you had, from you and others.  They were also designed to prevent your thoughts from being seen.”  Serene hesitated a moment.  “Eric, this is very important.  I apologize if this brings up anything.  Do you know who your parents are?”

“What an odd question!”  Eric exclaimed, then realized it wasn't odd at all.  He had always considered the people who raised him, to be his parents, but in fact he did not even know his real family name.  “No, I do not.”

“I see.”

“What does that mean?”

Serene thought.  “I do not know, right now.”  She waved her hand, and the needles and branches went back to their places, as though they had not been moved.  As she did so, she continued.  “Eric, I want to help you answer your questions, and I need your help to do my part, but I need you to agree to a few things.”

“Alright.”  Eric was again unsure where this was going.

“First, I need to have your unconditional trust and confidence.  That we were here, who I am, and what we discussed, must never leave the two of us.”

“Very well.”

“Second, I need you to follow any instructions I give to you, without question.  I promise I won't give you any unless absolutely necessary.”

Eric nodded.  “Agreed.”

Serene took a breath.  “Third, this is the first instruction that I give you.  Trust nobody.  You may not be safe.”

Eric looked at her.  “Alright, but you need to tell me something.  What is really going on?”

Serene hesitated.  “I'm not sure I can say, Eric.  I may be wrong.”

“Wait a minute.  I have to agree to all these conditions, on your say-so, and I don't even know what's going on!  Tell me why I should agree!”

Serene spoke calmly and softly.  “Eric, some very powerful enchantments were put on to you.  They were not only to protect you from others.  They were to protect you from yourself.  The problem is, the protection may be wearing to the breaking point.  When that happens,” she thought for a moment, “I may have to give you some more instructions, for your own protection, that, no matter what, you'll need to follow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eric,” Serene took Eric's hand, getting ready to transport him back to campus in an unoccupied area.  Just before doing, she said, “You're a Dragon Mage.”