Chereads / The Scourge's Herald / Chapter 7 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Chapter 7

{~Sam~}

Laughter echoed throughout the forest as we sped through the forest, even without my earth magic I was still agile and kept up almost as easily as I used too with the floating woman that was flying through the air. Well flying wasn't the right word, she moved gracefully through the forest. Seeming to float through the air from tree to tree, barely touching branches that weren't big enough to support her weight. As I ran, I used my chaos magic as a sort of haze to continue familiarizing myself with it. I kept it close to my body so any onlookers wouldn't suspect much, even if they were well-informed. Or ya know, just kept up with social media. I also pushed the magic into my legs as well which was a large reason I was keeping up with Marcie. Finally she slowed down before floating down to the ground next to me and saying "Alright we should be close, I think you'll enjoy it."We soon came upon an beautiful open grove, there was a large pile of fallen trees on one side and a clear pond opposite it. The most noticeable thing in the grove was the very large oak-ash tree that was opposite the pond and a large patch of moss in the center. Marcie stopped as I gazed at the beauty before saying "This is a sacred grove, can you feel it? A lot of mages come here to meditate during specific months of the year."I walked into the grove and took a deep breath as I pushed my senses as far as they could go, before my chaos magic, I could sense a full football field although the depth was limited. I could tell if a living being was in that range and the closer it became, the more I could tell about it. What species it was if I was familiar with it, what magical aura it had, sometimes if I was particularly familiar with it, I could interpret the moves that it was going to make. The biggest drawback though was that I couldn't isolate targets, so say in a situation like at the stadium. If I had opened my senses there I would've been flooded with the magical auras all around and most likely my brain would've exploded, very inconvenient. Something that surprised me when I opened my senses was that while the area I was able to sense had significantly gotten smaller like I expected, it had gotten more in depth. I focused on Marcie's aura, I could sense where her magic was mostly. Her magic was gray since it was the element of air, and most of it resided in her arms and hands, and her legs and feet. I turned my attention towards the grove and my breath hitched, for a skilled mage they could use their senses to 'see' in a way. Each magical aura being different, and this one was beautiful. Magic permeated every bit of the sacred grove, it was almost overwhelming, but as I moved forward the magic lessened in volume, seeming to gather around me. What made magic so different from the other elements, while the other elements were alive in a way, fire hungers, air dances without a care, water fills the void, and earth is steady and firm, magic has a sort of sentience. It fluctuates around every mage, as if it had a conscience. Magic was versatile, slipping into the cracks the other elements left and making it better, enchanting, lightning magic, necromancy, lava magic, ice magic. Magic was the stepping stone for everything. As I made my way to the middle of the grove, the magic guiding me towards the pile of moss. I kneeled and took a deep breath before closing my eyes, feeling everything disappear. As I was forced deep within myself, I came to a large river that ended in a pool frothing full of chaos magic. I looked around before slowly starting to walk down the bank towards the pool where a soft voice was singing from. As I came into view of the pool, the by now familiar female greeted me with a smile. Her solid form much more distinguishable than the last time we saw each other, she wore a different dress this time it was a frilly dress that hung below her knees with swirl and sparkle designs on it. Her dark red hair in a high ponytail but two long curls framed her face, the same scar more distinguishable. It wasn't a scar so much as a mark but it was too small to distinguish. I sat next to her as she continued singing, she was sitting on the edge of the pool with the water up to her knees, her dress softly drifting in the water. She bumped my shoulder as she finished singing "Well well, taking initiative are we? Seeking me out yourself. I must say, sacred groves are quite beautiful." I shook my head "What is this place?" She smirked and gestured grandly around her "My home. Like it?"I chuckled softly "It looks like a cave."She frowned and crossed her arms "Well...yeah it is but that's hardly my fault! You're the reason it looks so dreary after all, you're looking at your chaos magic all wrong and it reflects here. This is your soul's expectation of your magical core or at least a part of it, you've been here before remember? The plainlands? And your heart? After all, it is subject to change. This particular part of your core is for me." She kicked her feet in the water with a soft smile.I frowned "What do you mean looking at my magic all wrong?"She shrugged before her velvety voice became softer and she looked away, the water was slowly frothing as small whirlpools erupted in various spots "A genius yet as daft as ever. You already know how your magic responds to your emotions, it is the same with chaos. The difference is that magic is so integral with chaos that it reacts much differently. I can feel the anger and frustration you have towards the chaos...towards me. You are angry that the magic you trained so hard for is gone, that your ambitions are that much further away now. I do not blame you but as I am a part of that magic now and a part of you. Well let's just say, chaos creates as much as it destroys Sammy.""Her words echoed in my ears as she gently leaned onto my shoulder before softly murmuring "Its time to go back Samuel. Do not worry, we're a pair you and I." A soft crack sounded through the cave as the water started to build, large waves hitting the bank before a wave crashed over us and darkness engulfed me.I was pulled back to reality as abruptly as I had left it, Marcie was sitting opposite me in the same position her eyes closed as she meditated. I took a few deep breaths to steady myself as I glanced around the clearing, we were still alone and I shifted through my thoughts. It was true that I held anger and frustration with the whole change but I wasn't going to let this get in the way of my ambitions. It was a setback sure but I would adapt and overcome this setback. I shook my head as I checked my watch, it was around 10:30 in the morning so we still had an hour and half before classes started. I turned my attention back to Marcie who was shifting as she came out of her trance, her sky blue eyes refocusing and locking onto mine. I tilted my head as she steadied her breath before asking "So how was it?"I shrugged and replied "Different. Unique. This really is a beautiful place."She nodded and slowly made her way to her feet and stretched, my eyes following her. She caught my gaze and smirked "Tut tut, watch those eyes Samuel."I rolled my eyes as I stood pulling free from the moss that had attached to me during the meditation, I looked around the grove before saying a small prayer. Marcie watched with intrigue before I turned to her and said "Alright, we should probably head to Pixonia. We've got around an hour and a half until twelve and I would like to make sure all my stuff is transferred to the dorm and get settled in." She nodded and turned towards the city with a chuckle "You are so uptight Sam, I could never doubt that you weren't an earthen mage. Come on live a little! You're in nature, unwind and enjoy it." She floated in the air with a spin and a laugh before turning her gaze back down at me.I simply smiled and gazed back up at her "And what would we do in the meantime then? Did this count as training?" She shook her head and shifted her gaze to something behind me "Mm no, but they may."I turned to see two figures standing on large branches watching us, how I hadn't sensed them I don't know. Their presence revealed they jumped down from the branches and landed gracefully on the opposite side of the grove where I could fully see them and the reason I hadn't sensed them. Dryads. Spirit guardians of the forest, most legends say that they are physical manifestations of earth magic. Plants given form to defend themselves from those that do them harm. Others say that they are the souls of those that have lost their lives in forests and as such serve the forest as guardians for eternity. All legends detail how dangerous they are. The older and more aged they looked, the deadlier. There were also other nature spirits, most notably the Ents, giant sentient trees that protected whole forests but not many believed they existed. Hence only legends. The two dryads seemed to share a look before one took a few steps towards me and the other hopped up onto a large tree and faced Marcie. I cracked my knuckles as I faced my opponent, all dryads had a fairly feminine body, although usually that's where the similarities ended. Their wooden bodies were usually the color of the tree grove they inhabited, these were a golden brown color with moss clothing that covered parts of their body. My opponent was wearing a moss skirt and a simple moss top that covered her chest. The most notable details were their faces, they had bright lime green eyes and nothing else. No mouth, no nose, no ears. It was just roughly smoothed wood. Which, yes doesn't make sense at all. But I believe the dryad looking at me with such an intense stare says otherwise. Marcie's voice reached my ears as I stared back "The guardian's of this grove, they only reveal themselves to those who wish the grove harm and those who are a worthy challenge. Do try not to damage them much, this test is a show of good faith."I unsheathed my war picks and held one of the war picks to my chest in a salute with a nod. The dryad tilted her head before taking a curtsy with her mossy skirt before summoning a spear from one of the larger trees and settling into a neutral stance as I slipped into a semi-crouch building chaos in my legs before feeling the earth underneath my feet erupt as I dashed forwards.The dryad dashed and we clashed, loudly. The ground beneath us cracked and magical essence erupted in the clearing, I pivoted and spun to the right swinging a war pick down in a slash which the dryad blocked with the shaft of her spear before using one end to attempt to disarm my right hand. I pulled my war pick up and locked it on her spear before pulling it up and lashing my foot out connecting with her sternum. She went flying back flipping in midair before landing on the large tree trunk, she nodded before dropping to the floor gracefully and slamming a fist down into the ground causing large roots to erupt and hurtle towards me. I hopped back and acting on instinct built magic up into my chest before a roar escaped my lips, red and black fire like chaos spilling out and searing the roots in their tracks. As I closed my mouth and breathed heavily, the dryad stood from behind a barrier of scorched roots that still had chaos consuming it. She tilted her head up and a firm voice emanated from her position as she made a beckoning gesture with a hand "More."I growled as I dashed forward coating my weapons in chaos before slicing towards her and sending two waves of energy at her, before following it with consecutive slices, kicks, spins. She countered easily, batting away the energy slices before simply dodging, countering and parrying her way through my attacks. I growled in frustration and dipped low swiping with a leg sending a blast of magic towards her feet causing her to jump before I let loose another torrent of chaos fire from my mouth. I widened my eyes in surprise as she stabbed towards the ground with her spear causing it to elongate before using it to launch herself over the torrent of chaos magic, landing behind me and leveling her hand to the back of my head. I grimaced and lowered my war picks "I concede."I turned to see the dryad nodding, it was hard to tell her facial expressions since she only had eyes but she gently patted my shoulder as she walked past me and retrieved her spear before the same firm voice emanated from her "Strong. But unsure. Challenge me again once you are confident." She walked over and leveled her gaze locking eyes with me "Chaos is a magic like no other, unique. New. But still an element." I digested what she said as I breathed heavily, it was a short battle but taxing. I was unused to chaos and it took a toll on my energy and my body. I shook it off and glanced around for Marcie, spotting her sitting on a fallen log next to the pond chatting with a woman made of water, a water spirit similar to dryads who were spirits of the forest. It seems this magical grove was home to a variety of beings. The dryad who had fought her was sitting on the large tree watching over the grove. I walked over to Marcie who glanced at me before saying something to the water spirit next to her who giggled before disappearing back into the pond. I raised an eyebrow as she spoke "Well well, quite a show you put on Sammy. I see even you aren't strong enough to beat her."I furrowed my eyebrows and frowned at her "You set me up."She giggled softly and shrugged "Oh yea totally. They are notorious for being hard to beat. It's why this grove is so popular, not only is it a great place to meditate with your element. Should the dryad's deem you worthy, they issue a challenge. I've been coming here to train for a few weeks since I learned of it and haven't been able to beat them. They are efficient teachers, brutal but efficient. They also won't simply reveal themselves to anyone. I've learned that they only come out when they think you are fit to teach. Out of the dozens of times I've come here to meditate, this is only the fifth time I've been tested. They always teach you something, even if you don't know it." I sighed softly and shook my head as she asked "What did she say to you?"I shrugged "Nothing I didn't already know. I keep hearing the same thing over and over, it's slightly frustrating because I'm obviously missing something."She nodded with a sympathetic look and stood with a stretch "Well, time to head back. We can brainstorm on the way. Ready?"It was a shorter trip back, I wanted to push my limits to gauge how long I could last under continued use and it was significantly easier as I dipped and dodged through the forest while basically sprinting. I used my senses as a warning light to any obstacles such as holes or logs that I could trip over or any other bothersome obstacles. Mages technically had two components of their body per se, their spiritual body that dealt with all things magical, and their physical body. So while my physical body was near peak condition and I could easily lightly run through the forest avoiding obstacles, my spiritual body was like a middle-aged teen who had been conditioning since middle school, prior to before my magic changed, for gods sake I'm an eighteen-year old who never missed a day at the gym or training. I was almost peak physical and spiritual body condition back then. But I was determined to overcome this setbacks.When we got back to the city walls, we simply slipped some school robes over our armor. Well I did, Marcie once again use her air magic to quickly change. I was far too tired to even care at that point and as we made our way towards Pixonia we made small talk about our lives before enrollment. We had the opportunity to get to know our classmates before the official combat classes had started but Marcie had been right, I hardly interacted with the rest of the Phalanx class if it wasn't training or combat challenges. I hadn't seen the need to, but since Marcie and I would be in the same class for the rest of the year I decided that it couldn't hurt to socialize a bit. After all, she did show me to the magical grove and I didn't like the idea of leaving favors unpaid. Speaking of which, the air mage in question was gazing at me intently, her sundress billowing in the breeze somehow keeping her modesty even through it was a moderately windy day, and her sun hat doing nothing to tame her long brown curls. I blinked a few times before sheepishly asking "What was the question Marce? I got lost in thought."She rolled her eyes with a smile and repeated her question "I asked if there was anyone you were seeing?"I shook my head "No, not anymore. I've got an ex-girlfriend that's attending Pixonia but other than that, nope. Why do you ask?"Marcie had a strange look on her face for a second before it disappeared and she shrugged with a teasing smile "Just curiosity is all Sammy, a pretty boy like you must've been drowning in girls in Greka."I rolled my eyes and shook my head with a smile as the gates to the school came into view, the massive towers standing tall against the sky. I glanced at Marcie who had fallen in step besides me "Well how about you? Any boyfriend or ex-boyfriends to speak of? Or better yet, any crushes?"A small blush spread through her cheeks as her eyes widened a bit and she squeaked out "Nope. No boyfriend to worry about. I left all my boy troubles back home in Egypt, and I do have my eye on someone although I believe I'm a bit out of his league, besides he's too braindead towards women to notice." I chuckled softly as we passed under the gates "Ahh there she is, wondered when the lioness would show her face. Looks like we made it just in time, students are still arriving."We entered the large bustling courtyard a little after twelve and some teachers were chatting with students, new and old. Marcie nodded and got in front of me and grabbed my hand to lead me through the bustling crowd "Come on, I'll lead the way to Professor Goldstein's room. He's the head of the exotics division so he specializes in magic like ours, I read his book on Spatial Magic Theory and Application during middle school as a hobby. He's what inspired me to learn it too. He doesn't specialize in an element so it'll be a new perspective. And for the record, I like to believe I'm more like a sphinx than a lion." I laughed as she expertly weaved through the crowd, dodging students left and right. As we made it inside she released my hand and led me through the busy halls, students and teachers filling them almost to the brim. It was chaotic but there was a serenity to it, students were asking advice and directions, teachers were directing the flow of traffic while giving out advice like rules and warnings. I heard one teacher warn a group of students that while the animals that roamed with the schools protected walls were able to be petted, it was highly discouraged until they were formally introduced as all species owned and cared for by the school were protected, endangered, dangerous, and very intelligent. There were a variety of species that attended the school that included but weren't limited to, humans, elves, dwarfs, halflings, orcs, Fae, and I had even seen a centaur carefully walking through the halls as we ascended to the northern tower. She finally slowed down as the crowd of students thinned out, the halls were still busy but it was much quieter and the students we passed seemed to know where they were going. We found the classroom easy enough, it had the name Goldstein written over it. I pushed the mahogany door open and was greeted with a fairly empty room except for two students, a male and female, who looked up as we entered. They were wearing the same robes as we were so I could only assume this was Travis and Sidney. The guy was leaning on the table opposite the girl who was sitting on top of a table opposite him. We walked over and I spoke first as I held my hand out "You two must be Travis and Sidney, I'm Samuel. Nice to meet you."They both nodded and the boy stood from where he was leaning on the table, he was a bit taller than me and had a tan complexion as was common here in Sangea. His brown hair was tied back in a ponytail with a blue hair band tying it together. He spoke with clear tone that was a bit softer than expected as he clasped my hand in a firm handshake "Nice to meet you as well Sam. You must be Marceline?"Marcie smiled and nodded "Please call me Marcie. Only my parents call me Marceline. Have you guys met Professor Goldstein yet?"Sidney spoke with a soft voice, she had short blond hair that framed her face with freckles dotting along her nose and glasses that gave her a scholarly look "No, we only just got here. It took awhile to find the classroom though all the carnage."I chuckled and nodded "Yeah, it was chaotic all right. At least we aren't too late. So how did you guys do in your general tests?"Marcie scoffed and slapped my shoulder "Sammy! You've barely met them and you're already talking about their fighting scores? Have some class."As I sheepishly grinned, Travis chuckled and waved his hand "Nah it's okay. We actually didn't have any fighting tests. I actually enrolled to become an oceanic explorer. My dream is to dive the Mariana Trench. My final test was about how well I could navigate a destroyed city that was mostly submerged underwater. Sid?"The girl shrugged shyly "I enrolled to study and understand magical beasts. I uhm...well I lost family to a magic beast rampage when I was young and I've dedicated my life to understanding them so that I can help both people and magical beasts alike. My test was actually a bit of a ways from here and pretty unorthodox according to the proctors. There was a flock of these large terrestrial birds that can teleport and harness lightning. They're called Lyn Fugl, Danish for 'lightning bird'. The lady who discovered them was from Old Austria. What about you two?"I glanced at Marcie who shrugged and said "I enrolled to get out of Egypt. I was always pretty good with air magic and spatial magic. Growing up as a middle child with six siblings tends to get a bit exhausting. I was good at fighting, as were the rest of my sisters. Three sisters and two brothers. I chose to study abroad and landed here. Got placed in the combat classes and met Sammy here. Your turn Sammy."I chuckled "I grew up in Greka, an archipelago thats off the coast of the mainland. What used to be Hawaii, didn't really have a great childhood but a great mentor who taught me how to fight. Really well. I never really enjoyed school and ended up becoming the regional fighting champion before I had a...falling out with my family and decided to study abroad. Different perspective I guess."Travis and Sidney nodded while Marcie gave me a curious glance that I avoided. I had intentionally avoided talking about my family with her and that only caused her curiosity to peak. Travis leaned back against the table and crossed his arms "You still haven't told us how your tests went. I feel like I know you guys from somewhere."I shared a look with Marcie who smile and just before either of us could speak, a voice interrupted our conversation from behind us "Well I would hope so! The heads of the Phalanx class were all over the news! Especially Mr.Degray. Now that introductions of your fellow classmates are over. I believe it is time I introduce myself." We all turned to see a shorter lithe man was walking into the room as he continued "Professor Aeli Goldstein. At your service."