A Mage's Wrath

Chapter 13

And she emerged in a dark tunnel on the other side of the metal doors.

Ignacia wasted no time striding down the tunnel toward the exit. She unsheathed her wand and cast a light spell that summoned a sphere of white light to hover at the tip of her wand.

She was not the Elemental Mage of Fire anymore.

She was never the Elemental Mage of Fire.

She refused to use any ability it granted her - no, cursed her with since she was Founded.

From now on, she was the typical Zertiman mage, living with her family.

With my family.

She pushed on.

Soon enough, a dim light appeared ahead in the tunnel's darkness, and the mage knew it was the exit. She turned a corner and encountered a wide opening leading to the outside world, hidden behind a thick cover of vines and bushes. Dismissing the light sphere and putting her wand away, Ignacia pushed aside the vegetation and ventured out from its coverage. She sucked in a breath and stared at the landscape around her.

There were gentle hills rolling in every direction, with a few copses trees providing shelter dotted about the grassy slopes. A stone-paved path sat several feet away, but it ensured the tunnel and the Mage Sanctuary security. She glanced back at the tunnel, which was already prodigiously hidden behind the plants; there would be no way someone passing by would specifically check for a hidden passageway in the middle of nowhere. The girl then looked up at the night sky above, its stars twinkling clearly in the endless void, and the half-moon reflecting enough light for her to see where she was going but to also remain a shadow at distance. She set off for the path and, recalling which way Master Agha had taken her to get there in the first place, followed it right of the tunnel.

Ignacia took a deep breath. This is it, she thought both excitedly and fearfully. This is where my life really begins. With my family.

She continued along the pathway as it curved around hills, sloped upward, and sloped downward, admiring the beauty of the landscape even in the dull lighting. As she did, she thought endlessly about her family, of what they could be doing, of where they were now.

She desperately hoped that they were safely in their home in the tundra of Ira, sleeping soundly.

Eventually, as she rounded a bend in the path, Ignacia saw a village at the bottom of the hill she stood on. Only a few candles burned on the porches of the wooden houses, including the house that was near the stable, where the stabler lived. Straining her eyes, she saw a couple of dark smudges within the stables, and realized they were beamras. Exactly what she was looking for. With confident and urgent steps, she made her way along the path down the hill and toward the stabler's house.

So, this is the village of Lingred, she remembered, pleased that her time studying maps was worth it.

As she entered the outskirts of Lingred, which was a decent sized village, not too small that everyone knew each other well there, but not too big that it took a while to get around. She passed the stables, one beamra huffing at her as she did, climbed up the couple stairs that led to the house's door, and knocked a few times.

Almost immediately, the door swung open. In the threshold was a man, around thirty years old, which she assumed to be the stabler. He wore ragged pants and a plaid shirt, and had a scruffy brown beard along with short brown hair. His eyes had bags underneath them, and he stood with a slight slouched. She noticed that his wand was strapped securely on his hip, ready for use whenever needed.

It is well past midnight, she defended the man herself. He's probably already busy during the day.

"What do you want?" he spoke with a low, rather cranky voice.

"I was hoping to buy one of your beamras," Ignacia replied, glancing back at the steeds. She looked at him again. "You are selling them, correct?"

The man huffed, much like the horse had. "Anything to keep my family going," he muttered, and a piece of sympathy swamped over Ignacia. "Do you have the mazuma?"

She nodded and removed the cloth pouch from her bag, opening it up to prove it.

A look of skepticism crossed the stabler's face, for how would a fourteen year old girl be able to obtain such an amount of coins? But he seemed to just roll with it as he noticed the urgency in Ignacia's blue eyes. He nodded and went to ready a beamra. "You sort out the profit. She'll be ready by then."

A small sigh of relief escaped Ignacia as she did as he said. Now she will get to Ira in no time. She glanced up from the stack of coins at the sky and saw that, in the east, black was gradually turning to a dark blue. It would be day in a couple hours.

The man returned with the beamra. It was a majestic creature that stood on four long legs balanced on dragon-like talon. The fur looked a beautiful golden-brown and had the softness of feathers. A well-groomed mane resting on its neck, and a short tail swished behind it. A saddle and bridle were already fitted onto it. "Here she is! I always called her Harmony, but my wife tells me to stop naming the animals, to not get too attached." He gave a chuckle.

"Well, I think Harmony is a beautiful name." She gave a smile and handed the owner the four hundred mazuma. "Thank you so much!"

"Ah, thank you!" he responded with a wide grin that caused his tiredness to run away. He poured the coins into his pocket. He assisted her onto Harmony. "Take good care of her, now. Say, where is a girl like you going, anyway?"

"To Ira," she answered. "I am going to visit my family." Ignacia gave another smile, and then turned back to her bag and removed a mazuma worth of five from her pouch, giving it to the man. "Thank you again. You don't understand how much is going on in my life right now."

He continued smiling, his brown eyes filling with sympathy. "Oh, life is always crazy in its own way. Good luck!"

Ignacia nodded in farewell and took out the map in her bag. According to it, she had to go northeast from Lingred in order to get to Ira, where a bridge would stretch across the river that separated part of Cynemolt from Ira. It would be the quickest way to her home, as well. She returned the map to her bag and took a piece of bread, taking a bite out of it. Holding Harmony's reigns tightly, she then urged beamra forward, racing to the other side of Lingred and back out onto the open country pathway.

~*~*~*~*~*~

By the way, a "beamra" resembles a horse, only with claws and feathery fur :)

Remember to Vote, Comment, Add, and Share! :]