Lady Vulpix

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"When am I going to get a reinforced sword?," Eric asked his father one day.
He had already turned twelve and his old training sword was proving to be less than enough for the constant use he gave it. It had broken for the umpteenth time and, as usual, Eric had had to ask his father to fix it.
"You'll get a reinforced sword when you learn to make one," was the reply Eric got.
"But I'm a warrior, not a blacksmith!," Eric complained.
"It is essential for a warrior to be able to take care of his own weapons, just as a blacksmith can only make good swords if he knows how to use them. And experience has taught me that the sword you can wield the best is the one you have made with your own hands. So if you want a sword for a true warrior, you'll have to make it for yourself."
"Can you teach me, then?," Eric asked.
"Watch me and you'll learn," his father proposed.
That's how watching his father at work became a part of Eric's semi-formal education. Fortunately for Eric, his father did answer all his questions in detail, happy to see his son interested. He couldn't say the same about Erin, who became friendlier and closer to him as time went by but wouldn't let out a single word about her identity or her past. Her first name was all she was willing to reveal, and she considered that to be enough for everyday life. Eric thought that if she hadn't had the need to talk to others and have them call her some way, she wouldn't have even let them know that. Mariel was completely different. Eric felt he could trust her completely; like she would always be there for him and would always understand him, even at the moments when no one else did. It was always comforting to be by her side.

Mariel was growing at an incredible rate; not so much in height -or at least not as much as Eric had initially expected-, but in power and knowledge, and even in wisdom. At 13, she already seemed more mature than her 290-year-old teacher Primrose, and had already surpassed her abilities for light and connection magic. She no longer had to arrange meetings with Eric. She could feel him at the moment he set a foot out of his house to see her, and meet him before he arrived. It is true that she couldn't sense everyone as well as Eric, but she was very good nonetheless and those who knew her couldn't help but call her a prodigy. Some were even considering taking her as an apprentice. That would have gone to the head of many elvins she knew, but not her. She kept her angelic smile and her idealistic innocence; only that she was now more balanced and patient that she had once been. She was one of those who had started out well and gained a lot more from growing up.

It was Mariel's connection magic what once made her cut her morning meditation abruptly and run out of her house, and out of her city, without stopping to say a word to anyone. She ran to the east as fast as she could, wishing she could run faster; wishing she had Eric's speed, or at least that Eric had her magic. She got to Harland in about 20 minutes that seemed eternal and entered the city in such a rushed race that no one dared to stop her. Just like no one understood who she was, nor what was going on with her. No one but Eric. She knocked the door of Eric's house desperately; she'd never been there before, but she knew she was at the right place. No one responded. She took some time to catch her breath and then shouted out: "Eric, please open! It's me, Mariel!"

Only a few seconds later, the door in front of Mariel opened to reveal a pale-looking and scared Eric.
"Mariel!," he exclaimed, out of any other words.
"I felt it," she said. "I don't know what it is yet, but I felt it. Please tell me what's going on."
"You ran all this way for me?," Eric asked.
Mariel nodded. She was still agitated from the long run.
"Come with me," Eric asked her. "And please don't get scared. I can't handle the two of us being scared."

Mariel nodded again and Eric guided her to the backyard of his house. Mariel couldn't help but scream when she saw the brown-haired merial, about 1.40 m. tall, lying on the ground covered in blood.
"Please don't. He needs your help," Eric said, stopping Mariel's screaming with his right hand. Mariel understood, and nodded quietly.
"What happened?," she asked, kneeling down at the lying merial's side and inspecting him.
"He was fixing a sword on that anvil, and all of a sudden the sword launched itself to his stomach! I managed to pull the sword out straight, but he fell unconscious. The two sorcerers are out of town; my mum is on an exploration trip. I didn't know what to do."
"When did this happen?," Mariel asked.
"I don't know. I was so scared that I feel like It's been forever, but it was already morning."
"It must have been at the same moment I felt it. He hasn't lost too much blood yet. I think I can stop the bleeding. Maybe seal his wounds. But he'll need time to recover."
"Do what you can, please. I'm counting on you," Eric begged.
Mariel placed her hand on the wound and, from Eric's point of view, she stayed motionless. But he knew her well enough to know that she was using her magic. After five minutes, Mariel let out a long sigh.
"Will he be fine?," Eric asked her.
"Yes," she said, exhausted. "We must let him rest now."
"I still don't understand what happened," Eric wailed.
"I can try to find out," Mariel offered. She examined the blood-stained sword, and then walked to the anvil Eric had pointed to.
"Magic," she concluded after staring at it for a few seconds. "Someone cast a spell on this anvil."
"Can you reverse it?," Eric asked.
"Reversing spells is hard when they were caste by others," Mariel explained. "You have to know the spell very well, or at least have a good control of a domain that allows you to cast it. A spell like this would take either a good control over the earth domain, which I know little or nothing of, or a superb control of the connection domain, which I have experience with but not that much."
"I know some earth magic," Eric stated. "Can you... like channel it or something?"
"I've began to learn how to channel magic, but for now I can only channel magic from domains I'm familiar with. Besides, your ability for earth magic isn't strong enough for this yet. It would take a lot to neutralize the spell. I think it would be best to just stay away from that anvil."
At that moment, Eric's father woke up.
"Who is she?," he asked with a thin thread of voice.
"She's Mariel. She's a friend," Eric replied. "And she's a sorceress too. She has healed you."
"She's... an elvin," his father noticed.
"She's the best friend I've ever had. I've known her for 2 years now, but she never came here before because we were afraid you wouldn't like her. Just like I have never entered her city. Everyone says so many things about elvins, but they're not true. Mariel is the kindest being in the world."
"I... can't argue when... she saved my life."
"Please rest now," Mariel urged him. "You're not fully healed yet."
The blacksmith took a deep breath and closed his eyes again.

"What shall we do now?," Eric asked Mariel.
"I think we should stay here and look after him, and wait for one of the sorcerers to arrive," she suggested. "They will know best."
"You said it takes a lot of power to cast a spell like that," Eric reminded her. "What if it was one of the sorcerers?"
"I hadn't thought about it, but it could be. How well do you know them?"
"They come once in a while to get metallic staves or amulets fixed. They don't usually talk much; they only get things done. Kharchek was here yesterday and Selinur came here the day before."
"Weird names," Mariel commented.
"Those are their last names. I don't know their first ones," Eric told her.
"So either of them could have done it. What did they do when they were here?"
"Well, Selinur left a silver-colored staff for my father to fix it. Kharchek came to pick up a reinforced sword."
"Why would a sorcerer want a sword?," Mariel wondered.
"They channel magic through them. The lurians told me that long metallic objects are good for channeling spells. I've been thinking of a way to channel earth magic through a reinforced sword once I manage to make one."
"You're going to make a sword?," Mariel asked.
"Yes," he confirmed. "It will be my own sword. Made and wielded by myself."
"I bet no one will be able to stop you once you have it," Mariel commented with a smile.
"I hope so," yearned Eric.
"Did any of the sorcerers act strangely? Did any on them get close to the anvil?"
"If you ask me, they always ask strangely," Eric commented. "Oh, how could I have forgotten!"
"What?," Mariel asked.
"Kharchek sat on the anvil to examine his new sword. He also looked at Selinur's staff in a strange way."
"Well, that doesn't prove he did it, but at least we know he had the chance. Is Selinur's staff still here?"
"Yes. Follow me," Eric said, and guided Mariel to a storage room where lots of metallic object were lying in as good an order as was possible. He picked up the staff among those objects and showed it to Mariel.
"This staff has channeled a lot of magic," Mariel declared. "I can feel it's still holding strong magic inside."
"Dark magic?," Eric asked, rather scared.
"Dark magic is only light magic used backwards," Mariel informed her. "Darkness is only the absence of light. It's not an entity in itself."
"Alright, but is it evil magic?," he tried to specify.
"It's not meant to cause harm by itself," Mariel answered as precisely as she could. "But it could be used for it. It all depends on the holder."
Right after she said this, they heard knocks at the front door.

"This is not a good time for a customer to come," Eric sighed.
"It doesn't feel like a customer," Mariel told him. "I sense connection magic at work."
"Do you think it's the one who cursed the anvil?," Eric consulted her.
"I don't know," she said. "We'd better check for ourselves. Someone who could do something like that can easily force his way in. We can win some time if we open the door and watch him."
"I'll have my sword ready, if it helps," Eric decided.
"I'm too worn out to cast a good protection spell, but I'll be ready to shoot a million light spheres if it's necessary," Mariel supported him.
The knocks returned.
Preparing themselves for anything, Eric and Mariel walked to the door and opened it. A short, platinum-blond-haired merial with deep gray eyes was standing on the other side. The solemnity of his face and his blue and purple robes gave him an air of authority that overly made up for his short stature.
"Selinur!," Eric exclaimed.
Mariel was surprised when she heard him. She had been expecting Kharchek. Selinur looked straight into Eric's eyes.
"Where is your father?," he asked him.
"He's safe, and I won't let anyone hurt him," Eric bluffed. He didn't really think he could take on someone like Selinur.
"I don't want to hurt him, kid. Nor you," the sorcerer assured. "Something's wrong in this house. I need to fix it."
"How do you know something's wrong?," Eric inquired.
"I sensed it as soon as I came back to Harland," he replied.
"Connection magic," Mariel explained.
Selinur took a closer look at the elvin.
"Who are you?," he asked.
"I'm Mariel Shimmer," she answered.
"Shimmer," he repeated. "Any connection with the Shimmers from the Ayrus council?"
"I'm their daughter," Mariel replied, surprised that he had heard about her parents.
Selinur and Mariel stared deeply into each other's eyes. Eric didn't understand what was going on, but Mariel seemed to calm down.
"He didn't do it. He's here to help," she told Eric.
"How do you know?," Eric asked.
"Connection magic... again," Selinur and Mariel replied at the same time. They both smiled.
"You're a very special child," Selinur commended her.
"I'm no longer a child," Mariel calmly remarked.
"We shall see that," Selinur stated, as he walked into the house.
Eric was still reserved, but he trusted Mariel more than anyone, so he let him in and followed him to the backyard. His father was already sitting with his back against the wall.

"Good morning," he said as soon as he saw the sorcerer. "Please forgive my position and excuse me. I haven't been able to finish repairing your staff yet. I've had... some problems."
"I can see that," Selinur remarked. He kneeled down and helped him up. "Now to see what's wrong in here."
"It's the anvil," Mariel informed him. "It has a spell on it."
Selinur stopped moving for a moment, and then, after examining the anvil, he looked at Mariel.
"This will be a hard job," he said. "Do you think you're ready to work with me on this?"
"Me?!," Mariel asked, shocked.
"I normally wouldn't expose someone so young to this kind of magic, but I could feel you have a strong power; and you said you were no longer a child."
Mariel couldn't believe what was happening. And experienced sorcerer was asking her to help him?! And what if she couldn't do it?
"Don't be afraid, everything will be fine," he promised. "Take my hands."

Mariel held both of Selinur's hands and they stood each on one side of the anvil. She then felt him guide her into the magic that surrounded the anvil. They both felt it, and slowly began to untie its threads. It would be impossible to tell how much time passed. But with every passing moment Mariel achieved a better understanding of that magic. She was impressed at Selinur's ability to guide her; just as he was of her ability to follow him. In the end, the last threads of the spell were cast away, and the enchantment was broken. Mariel was about to collapse, but Selinur held her firmly.
"We must go back slowly, so that we don't hurt ourselves," his voice spoke into her mind.
Mariel was appalled, but that didn't stop her from following his advice. She slowly let reality settle down in and around her. Once she could see Eric, his father and the house, and feel the wind stroke her skin, she asked the sorcerer how he had done that.
"We had to become strongly connected in order to undo the spell together," he explained. "In that state, physical barriers don't exist, and nothing can cloud communication."
"I'll remember that," she promised.
"I must admit I'm impressed," Selinur commended her. "You did an amazing job. I'm surprised that I hadn't noticed you before."
"Have you been to Ayrus?," Mariel asked her.
"Yes, but only on business. And I can never seem to get out of there without getting involved in an argument with an elvin sorcerer or five."
"Then why did you trust me?," she wanted to know.
"Because you trusted me," he told her. "You had seen what had happened here and had all the right to suspect me; but as soon as I opened myself up to you, you saw through me and knew I was on your side. Someone whose mind is open enough for that definitely deserves my trust."
"Then it was Kharckek who cursed the anvil?," Eric joined the conversation.
"I am afraid so," Selinur said. "I was attacked by him today. He told me he had something important to show me and had me follow him to an isolated spot in the forest. Then he suddenly attacked me with his sword, channeling lightening through it. I managed to evade him and then we had a duel. When he saw he couldn't win, he escaped to the north. I thought of following him, but then I thought he must have had a reason to drive me away from town. I searched for his magic and found out that I was right, so I decided to come here before I was too late. I wasn't counting on someone else doing the most urgent job before I arrived, however."
He looked at Mariel when he spoke the last words. The elvin blushed.
"But why did he do that?!," Eric inquired.
"I think it was because of the staff," his father theorized. "He looked very interested in it last time he came here."
"How important can a staff be?!," Eric complained. "It can't be enough to hurt someone like this. I could have lost you today!"
"Kharchek has been jealous for a long time," Selinur affirmed. "He tried to hide it, but it consumed him from the inside like poison. He was jealous, not just of my staff or my power, but of everything he didn't have and everything he couldn't do. I believe he was even jealous of things that didn't exist. Those sick feelings must have grown so much that now he wants to destroy all the things he hates so much, and everyone who relates to them."
"And someone like that is on the loose?!," Eric shouted, altered. "We must get to him and stop him before he gets to harm anyone else!"
"We will," Selinur said. "But we need to rest first. Even if we find Kharchek, we can't confront him in our current state."
"I don't need to rest, I'm going for him," Eric announced, heading into the house.
"Don't go. It's insane!," his father warned him. "You're not ready to face him."
"I'll do what it takes to stop him," he blared, determined. He was reaching the front door when Mariel called him.
"Eric, wait!," she shouted.
Eric turned around and looked at her.
"Don't try to stop me," he told her.
"Then I'm going with you," she offered.
"No, you must stay here. You're exhausted," Eric remarked.
"I'm not letting you go there alone. Besides, it will be hard for you to find him without me. I can help you track him down."
"Alright, but don't try to drive me away from him."
"You know me well enough to know I wouldn't do that," she confronted him.
"Then guide me," he accepted.

They both left the house and headed to the north.
"This is ridiculous!," Selinur protested and ran after the young ones.
He reached them, but was unable to dissuade them, so instead he decided to follow them and protect them.
That turned out to be unnecessary, though. The three of them walked a long way at the fastest pace Mariel could muster, but they found no trace of the rogue sorcerer. Eric wanted to keep up with the search, but Mariel's legs gave in and he realized he couldn't put her through so much strain. When Selinur knew they wouldn't go any further, he looked around and decided to return to Harland.
"You'd better look after your father, boy," he said to Eric before leaving. "And Mariel Shimmer... pay me a visit when you can."
He then turn around and left.

"I didn't get to thank you for what you did today," Eric realized. "I owe you big time."
"You owe me nothing," Mariel responded. "I know you'd do the same for me anytime."
He nodded, noting that she was right.
"I wonder why Selinur insisted on following us and then left us alone," Eric commented.
"Maybe he knew that you wouldn't be alone," a voice came from above.

Eric and Mariel looked up and saw 4 bright spots of light. One was red, one was green, one was yellow and the other was light violet.
"The lurians!," Eric exclaimed.
"What's going on?" the yellow lurian asked, descending to their level.
"What's not going on?," Eric sighed.
"A merial sorcerer named Kharchek attacked another sorcerer and Eric's father," Mariel explained. "We were trying to find him, but he seems to have vanished away. You haven't seen him, have you?"
"No, sorry," the green lurian replied. "But we'll tell you if we see him."
"When I get him, I'll make sure he never hurts anyone else," Eric assured.
"And how are you planning to do that?," the red lurian inquired.
"I don't know, but I'll find a way," Eric affirmed.
"I'm sure you will," the violet lurian told him in her very thin voice. "You're a little big guy."
"Was that phrase supposed to make any sense?," the red one teased her.
"Well, yes, it was," the purple one confronted her. "He's still very young but has already done great things and I can see a bright future ahead of him. If he works hard, hell be able to do just about anything."
"We'll see," the red lurian replied.
"Was anyone hurt?," the yellow lurian wanted to know.
"My father was," Eric told her. "But he's better now. Mariel healed him."
"Would that be..." the green lurian began, examining the elvin. "You?"
"Yes, I'm Mariel," she answered. "What are your names?"
"Oh, sorry we didn't introduce ourselves," the green lurian apologized. "I am Tirena. My red friend over here is Nayra. The violet one is Pura, and the naughty yellow girl is Einy. We're currently in the first class of the teaching school and we're all graduating this year."
"Einy?," Eric repeated. "I remember you. You were the one who shot me on my back on my first training session!"
"You still remember that?," Einy giggled. "Sorry, please forgive me. I only did what I had to."
"I know, it's ok," Eric accepted. He was already feeling much more collected.
"I'm offended," Pura, the violet light, shot out. "You remember Einy but not us? Nayra and I were also there. Several times, actually."
"Yes, I was the only one who missed your first training session," Tirena told him. "I heard it was great. My brother Shurin was there. He told me he had the privilege of the first shot."
"I'll make sure to remember you from now on," Eric promised. "It's just hard for me to distinguish between you, though. The ones who have the same color look exactly the same."
"You may learn some day, little big guy," Pura giggled.
"Or maybe not," Nayra countered. There was a slight tone of anger in her voice.
"In any case, you can tell us from each other from our voices," Tirena intervened.
"And for our sparkling personalities!," Einy chirped.
"Thanks, friends. You really know how to cheer me up," Eric praised them.
"I'll have to learn how to do that too," Mariel reckoned.
"When I said friends, that included you," Eric told her.
Mariel smiled.
"I just wish that worked on me as well," she let out. "I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong."
"Of course it is, Kharckek got away," Eric reminded her. "But he won't get far. As soon as he makes a move we will hunt him down. He'll now have all the merials of Harland after him."
"It's not just Kharchek. He's a part of it, yes, but I feel there's something bigger. Scarier. Like there's something wrong with the world."
"You're scaring me," Eric told her. "But whatever it is we'll find a way to sort it out. We'll protect each other."
"That's big talk," Pura pointed out. "But the kind of big talk I'm all in for."
"We'll be on the watch," Tirena promised. "If anything happens, you can always count on the lurians to help you."
"Thanks, I'll be on the watch too," Mariel responded.
"I think you can skip class today," Nayra told Eric. "You've had a much tougher training, and your father must be worried sick. Let me follow you home, if only to show him you're not alone."
"I can go with him," Mariel offered.
"No, you should go back to your own home," Tirena advised her. "I'm sure you're being missed right now. We can meet again tomorrow, or any other time when things have calmed down."
At that moment, neither Mariel nor Eric felt like things would calm down any time soon. But they understood it would be best to return home and let their parents know they were alright. They had no reason to stay there anyway. So, they let the lurians follow each of them to their places.


Poll for chapter 4: what do you think the implications of this chapter will be?
You can still reply to the poll for chapter 3, seeing as no one has done so yet.

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kalad1

My evil side says that Karchek is so connected they'll die soon. my good side says that they will learn to be the greatest force of good ever.

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Last Exile

Nice couple of chapters there. Interestingly the focus is more on Eric rather than Mariel at the moment. The Lurians are quite intriguing. i might have been a little miffed if you didn't have a green one, but you did, so I'm pleased!

As for your polls (Yes, I noticed them! ) I think Erin would be someone that some would like to think of as a villain but really isn't. And for the other, sounds like Eric and Mariel will go looking for Karchek.

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Lady Vulpix

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Lady Vulpix

Mariel didn't get in trouble for her little adventure. Her parents were used to her leaving home for hours, and she skipped her class with Primrose telling her that she had exhausted herself from using too much magic, which was actually the truth. The only elvin who noticed any change in her was Jasmine. Mariel kept visiting her out of habit and not to leave her alone, but Jasmine could see that she wasn't quite the same.
"What's the matter with you?," Jasmine asked her.
"What are you talking about?," Mariel tried to know.
"You used to laugh and talk a lot. Today the last thing you said was 'hello'. You look up and sigh all the time and you don't even complain that you're bored. Because I know many of my games get you bored stiff."
"Oh, sorry, Jasmine. I'm just worried."
"Worried about what?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me. I'm 9 now, I understand a lot of things. I even know where babies come from."
Mariel almost laughed at the last statement, but the weight of what she was about to say stopped him from doing that. She paused for a moment, trying to find the best words.
"I've been... feeling things lately," she finally said. "I don't know what it is yet, but it's not good. And I feel it's coming this way."
"Magic?," Jasmine asked her.
"Probably," she replied.
"I hate magic!," Jasmine ranted.
"Why?!"
"If it wasn't for magic, you wouldn't get worried, you wouldn't be feeling things and you would still be my friend."
"But I am your friend," Mariel assured, holding Jasmine's hand. "I will always be your friend. Bad things happen in the world. It's not because of magic. It's because of... I don't know. But they happen. And sometimes we can't stop them from happening; we can only do our best to make things better. And that's why I get distracted. I'm trying to figure out what I can do. But that won't ever make it care for you any less. You and I will always be friends."
"Promised?," Jasmine urged her.
"Promised," Mariel confirmed.

Eric had taken things even worse than Mariel in spite of not feeling what she could feel. Up to then, being a warrior had been a beautiful dream filled with colorful promises of strength and glory. Now he had found another side to it, and it was a side he wished he had never known. As an elf, death was something he didn't normally face. He hadn't seen anyone die before, except for some insects and a little bird once; now being on the point of losing his father had shaken his world like nothing ever had. And he didn't fear death nearly as much as the hate that could push someone to cause it. He became determined to stop Kharchek and anyone who followed his steps, and for that he trained harder than ever, both in the fields of fighting and crafting of weapons, pushing himself so much that the lurians had found themselves in the need of urging him to stop before his raged consumed him. And even their efforts had short-lived results. Plus, the repeated news that the local explorers had found no signs of Kharchek wasn't helping.

In order to discharge his rage without hurting anyone once the advice from his friends had begun to sink in, Eric ran into the forest and started dealing blows with his sword to the biggest rock he could find. Until a familiar voice interrupted him.
"That sword is going to need a lot of maintenance when you get back home."
Eric turned around to face the ever so mysterious faerie.
"If there's still anything left of it," she added.
"Erin," he let his lips utter. "How did you find me?"
"Do you really need to ask? You're making a lot of noise. Even the worms must be shaking under the ground right now."
"Sorry, I didn't think I'd hurt anyone by hitting a rock," he apologized.
"You haven't hurt anyone," she comforted him. "But you've managed to scare me, and I'm not easily scared. You're beginning to look like..."
"Like someone you know?," Eric inquired, jumping at the opportunity to find out something about Erin's past.
"Someone I know since I was born and I could never run away from," she half joked. "Believe me, being like that will only hurt you. Don't lose yourself like that."
For the first time Eric looked at Erin as if he was looking at a mirror, and knew that any questions would be out of place.
"Thanks," he said to her, sheathing what was left of his sword.
"You're welcome," she responded. "Keep your innocence. It's one of the best things you have. And... you'll have to do something about that sword."
"I'm already making a new one," he revealed.

After the meeting with Jasmine, Mariel reckoned that she would need the advice of an expert. She still believed that most sorcerers in Ayrus were too full of themselves, and Primrose didn't have the knowledge she needed. Actually, the last classes had been spent in refining what Mariel already knew and creating a new potion together. Mariel had the feeling that she wouldn't be able to learn much more from Primrose, unless her teacher started to learn some new things herself. So, Mariel decided to take Selinur up on his offer and look for him. She didn't feel very comfortable entering Harland -she had only done it once in an emergency-, so she stood outside the town limits and used her connection magic to call for him.

Selinur walked to Mariel's encounter and welcomed her with a smile. He insisted on her following him to his place, and in the end she accepted. His house was old and poorly lit, with books lying on top of every piece of furniture. Not what Mariel had expected of an experienced sorcerer's home, but she already knew life was full of surprises. He offered her something to drink, but she politely refused. Her attention was hoarded by the piles of magic books. Selinur noticed that, and offered her the chance to take a look at them. Mariel immediately picked up a book with a black cover from the table in front of her.
"The principle of opposites," Selinur spoke up. "Interesting book for someone who's walking the path of sorcery or trying to master a domain on its whole. If you ask me, you cannot fully comprehend an element unless you know both of its polarities well. Some tend to forget about the reverse polarities, thus never reaching their full potential."
"Do all elements have reverse polarities?," Mariel asked him with curiosity. She knew about darkness, but hadn't thought about the polarities of the other elements.
"Darkness. Cold. Vacuum. Drought. Erosion. Death," Selinur recited.
"There's death magic too?," Mariel asked, scared.
"Understood as the absence of life, yes. It is possible to suck life out of a living being; though death magic by itself is hard to master, as souls normally tend to cling to their bodies and taking them out against their will is not something anyone can do. Other than shadows, I haven't heard of anyone capable of doing that. Those with enough balance, knowledge and self control to stand a chance, wouldn't do it for the same reasons that would allow them to."
"Shadows?," Mariel asked him, holding the word in her thoughts.
"Pure life beings with no material form. They have the ability to take a soul out of a battered and unconscious body and possess it. That's the only way they can interact with the material world. Though I'm only telling you what I have read or heard. I have never been in contact with a Shadow, and none has been found in this region."
"Why would nature create something like that?," Mariel wondered.
"There's a theory that suggests that Shadows aren't natural, or in any case they were not born like that. Some say they are a product of life magic."
"I didn't know life magic could be so harmful," Mariel admitted.
"All magic can. It always depends on who uses it and how. Any element can be used to make life better or worse."
"Doesn't nature find its balance?," Mariel asked him.
"It tends to, but it's a slow process. And you must remember we're all part of it. The world is what we make from it."
Those words stuck into Mariel's mind like fire carvings.
"I'll make sure to make the best of it," she promised.

Time passed. Mariel split her time into meeting Selinur, Primrose and Jasmine, experimenting on her own and being with Eric, which was increasingly becoming the best part. Having no news of Kharchek, their worries slowly began to fade to a second plane, and they were able to enjoy each other's company like before or even more. Eric finished forging his reinforced sword - made of the hardest alloy known to elves, thick, sharp-edged and with a shiny golden hilt-, and was very proud to show it o the young sorceress, who immediately knew the sword would never be separated from its owner. He also told her that he would soon finish his training in Urthum and would be assigned a guide to assist him on his first journey.
"That's the way with everyone who finishes the course," he explained. "I'll be the youngest merial who has ever achieved that!"
"Congratulations!," she cheered. "I just wish I could go with you."
"You can," he told her. "There are no rules against that. It would be great if you came with me."
"It would be hard to convince my parents to let me go," she said. "They still think I'm too young to stay away from home for more than a day, and it will be hard to think of a good excuse. Besides, I have to tend to my studies."
"Too young?! You'll be fourteen in a few days. And you're the best sorceress I've ever met! Well, the one who learns the fastest anyway. You can continue learning and practising your magic during the trip. I'm sure you'll find things you'd never find at home. Anyway, I think it will be some time before I actually leave, so you have time to show your parents that you can take care of yourself."
"We'll see," Mariel told him. "I'll try not to miss it."

Ok, this chapter was shorter than usual, and so will be chapter 6, but please don't get used to that.

Poll for chapter 5: what kind of creatures would you like to see on this fic?

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Lady Vulpix

Eric was sitting outside Urthum after his class when a bright spot of green light approached him.
"Tirena?," Eric tried to guess.
"No," a male voice told him. "But close. I'm Shurin, Tirena's brother."
"Oh. Sorry for mixing you up," Eric apologized.
"It can happen to anyone," Shurin conceded. "So, how's your training going?"
"Good," Eric replied. "But you must know that. You've seen me train many times."
"True, but I wanted to know how you felt it."
"Are you on the teaching course too?," Eric took the turn to ask.
"I've already completed it," Shurin informed her. "Now I help around at school. Which is the same thing Tirena's planning to do when she graduates, so I guess many will be mixing us up in the future."
"Then I guess neither of you is going to be my guide," Eric deduced.
"No, we're not the journeying type. But there are plenty of lurians among the graduates and the ones who are graduating this year who would gladly take on the opportunity. You're likely to be assigned someone you've already had contact with."
"Like Nayra, Pura and Einy?"
"Yes," Shurin laughed.
"What are you laughing at?," Eric asked him.
"Just some old memories. When Einy entered the teaching school, no one thought she would be able to finish it. She was so undisciplined and was always getting in trouble. But with time she proved everybody wrong. Before the tests she locked herself in her room and studied so hard that no one could believe it, and she passed every test with excellent grades."
"Wow!," Eric exclaimed. "And what about Pura and Nayra?"
"Oh, they are both great," Shurin replied. "As long as they're not together. They can't seem to get along. Nayra always things she knows best and Pura just can't stand it. She likes being herself whether others agree with her or not."
"I think that's a good thing," Eric commented. "I'm like that too. I've been frowned upon many times for not thinking like others, but I've held to what I believed in and with time things began to work out."
"That's great to hear," Shurin commended him. "Though I must admit I find Pura a little weird."
"Yeah, she calls me 'little big guy'," Eric laughed. "But it's alright. I think they're all good in their own ways. Nayra's always trying to do things right. Einy can give courses about having fun. And Pura's the most direct and honest. And Tirena, even if she won't be my guide, has always been helpful and understanding. And Auna has taught me so much! Just like Sofrim, the sorcerer. Everyone in Urthum has been great to me. And you're all so different! When I first saw you, I thought that the only differences between you were your voices and the colors of your light."
"Then you have learned the importance of looking close," Shurin pointed out. "Just don't look too close or the light might hurt your eyes," he joked.

Things were finally going on the right course, and it didn't seem like they could change for a while. Until they did.
Eric didn't notice anything out of ordinary. He was heading to the training school as usual, when he was met by a sight he hadn't expected to encounter there. Actually, he was surprised not only by what his eyes saw, but also what his mind made of it. He knew who she was, practically as well as he knew himself. But either his eyes were playing a trick on him, or she had suddenly become extremely beautiful. Everything, from the long threads of gold that fell gracefully down to her young breasts, to her soft skin which was all white except for her ruby-like lips and her cheeks that trapped the sun in them, and the shiny fragments of clear sky that rested peacefully on her face, was all perfect. Even her long white dress decorated with small glittering stones which had once seemed like an excess of elegance to Eric, looked completely different as the wind formed soft waves on its surface. The merial didn't understand what was going on, but he didn't do anything to stop it.

"Is everything alright?," Mariel asked, bringing him back to reality.
"I think so," Eric responded. "I was just remembering how you were surrounded by light when I first met you. And now..."
"And now?," Mariel wanted to know. Eric did his best to find the words.
"Now it looks like the light is inside you," he finally finished.
"I hope so," Mariel sighed worriedly. "I feel we will need all the light we can get."
"Why, what's wrong?"
"I don't know yet."
It's amazing how those can be the scariest words, especially remembering the last time Eric had heard her pronounce them.
"Where?," he asked.
"Somewhere between Urthum and Isthum, I think," Mariel replied.
Without the need for further words, both elves ran to the place Mariel pointed to. What they found was a large burnt area which seemed to have held crops in the past. That, and a large group of lurians floating over the burnt land, and a motionless Erin kneeling down on the blackness.
"What happened here?," Eric asked.
"We shouldn't have let our guards down," Mariel lamented.
"What would you have done?," a red lurian they recognized as Nayra faced her. "This is something no one could have predicted nor prevented."
"Screw us!," cried out an enraged Pura. Everybody turned towards her. "After all these years of being so careful... What have all our precautions served us for?"
"Well, they didn't attack us," pointed out Yolker, a male blue lurian who had also assisted Eric in his training. "Only our crops."
"But we'll starve without them!," complained a pink lurian who was unknown to the elves.
"We will work hard, and we will get them back," Tirena decided.
"But we must find a way to stop this from happening again," her brother pointed out.
"We'll cast protection spells," suggested Sofrim, the gray lurian sorcerer. "We won't take our safety for granted again."
"That won't be enough," Erin finally broke her silence and stood up. "I saw what happened here. It was black fire. It struck overnight and consumed everything. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't."
"Why didn't you ask for help, then? For all we know you could have caused the fire!," a light blue lurian accused her.
"I did ask for help," Erin defended herself. "Many lurians from Isthum came to help me. Most of them are here now, so you can ask them. It's not my fault if you were sleeping too deeply. I can't believe after all these years you can lay such an accusation on me! I thought you knew me better than that."
"Please forgive him, he didn't mean it," a maroon lurian begged her. "You've always helped us and protected us. You've never given us any reason not to trust you."
"Besides, this was black fire," Erin continued. "Caused by magic. I consider myself able to fight many kinds of magic, but I can't use it myself."
"Do you think it was Kharchek?," Eric suggested, worried.
"I feel traces of magic here," Mariel said. "But not his magic. This is something else."
"Then we're being attacked from more than one front," he concluded.
"This is what I've been fearing," Mariel revealed.
"What are we going to do now?," asked Pura.
"You, work on restoring your crops and protecting yourselves," Erin instructed. "I'll get to the source of this and finish it off once and for all."
"What?! It's too dangerous! You can't do it on your own!," Eric warned her.
"Thanks for your concern, kid, but I can't stay motionless while someone or something is trying to take over the world. I'd rather die fighting than watch everything I hold dear crumble in front of me."
That was a side of Erin he had never seen before. He had always thought there was more to her than she cared to show. Now he was finding that to be an understatement.
"I'll go with you," Eric offered. "I'm finishing my training soon. I was going to go on a journey anyway, so I'd rather go with you and do something right."
"I'm going too," Mariel said. "Over the last year I've been feeling something was wrong. I can't live with that feeling unless I try to do something about it."
"You two really are something!," Tirena praised them.
"I've always known it," Pura remarked.
"That must mean one of us is going too," Einy deduced. "Who will it be?"
"Auna will decide that," Shurin informed her. "She'll talk to all of you before the journey begins."
"I just hope things turn out right," she sighed.
"We'll make sure they do," Eric promised.

Poll for chapter 6: Who do you think Eric's guide will be? And can you reply to the poll from chapter 5, please?

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Last Exile

Wow, good stuff Gabi! I'm a little concerned about this Selinar guy, he seems like someone that could sway Mariel from the light into the darkness. And figures Erin is the heroic type, she's always the one ready for action.

As for the polls,I'd lvoe to see some dark and light characters. Kind of like people's familiar's might be fun. it would be cool if Mariel had a familiar that suited her. As for Eric's guide, one of the Lurians he knows. Pura probably because it would be sooooo ironic! I just don't see Mariel going off with Eric yet since she is compelled to embrace new powers so much right now.

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AntiAsh Superstar

I'm impressed. Things are getting quite interesting, can't wait to see what's going to happen later. Heh, I like Erin a lot in particular, I hope we'll get to find out more about her eventually.

Polls... hmm, well if Eric's getting a Lurian guide I'd agree with Ryan, Pura would be my bet tho I reckon Einy might be more entertaining as a companion. As to creatures, I'm not really sure about that one, I have no particular preference. Keep up with the good characters, that's all I ask.

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fireguardian

This is probably the best fic I've ever read!realyMabe Pura well I have a long list of creatures,but I'll only do a couple
5.Mermaid!
4.Pegusus
3.Harpie!
2.Sphinks
1.Siren!!!!!!!!

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Lady Vulpix

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PancaKe

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Lady Vulpix

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Knight of the I.N.D.E.E.D. after waiting for about 3 years to get a reply.
And how did this forum get into my sig?