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Fantasy The Princess and the village Mage

Catro the Writer

Sorin High Baby!
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It was a dark and stormy night in a small village. With it being the middle of the night and the rain pouring down it was pitch black outside and no one could see a thing, nor could a sound be heard. It was the perfect night for a man who was running down the street, holding a crying child in his hand.
Though it was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face the man had his face covered in a hood that was a part of the tan cloak that he wore on his body. The little baby, though wrapped in a bit of the cloak, was soaked and freezing to the bone. But the whiles of discomfort did nothing to stop the man and take shelter.
He made his way to the largest building of the little village and laid the infant down. He could hear a fire crackling on the inside and someone moving sound. Though he did grimace at hearing the man hum very off-key to some folk song. But he raised his hand and pounded on the door with three loud knocks.
Thud? Thud! Thud!
“Who is it?” A voice, tired and raspy sounding, asked having heard the knocking, though barely thanks to the raging storm outside, and hearing no answer went to check on it. Only after opening the door, he heard the sound of an infant crying. Looking down he saw a baby, no older than a year old. But the thing was just lying there on his doorstep wrapped in a piece of cloth.
Seeing the crying child the old man instantly lifted the baby up, flinching at how cold the poor thing felt. It felt like he was holding a lump of ice! But instead of taking the baby in right away the man stepped in the rain and tried looking around for someone, anyone really, who could have left the child.
“Hello?” The old geezer called out. But even he couldn’t hear his own voice in the downpour. He stared out into the dark for another moment before taking the baby inside.
Getting the infant changed into some dry clothes and preparing a bottle for the boy the man laid the baby on his own bed. Making sure he was wrapped up in a swaddle so the baby, which turned out to be a boy, wouldn’t roll off the bed the man sighed as he looked at the fire. He had just been looking at some tomes and scrolls before getting ready to go to bed, but now he had to think about how he was going to handle this situation.
Grabbing the cloth the boy was wrapped in he heard a slight crackling sound, which made him unwrap the cloth to find a piece of paper that had been tucked into the cloth. Probably to try and protect it from the rain, but even then the paper was soaked. But the old man unfolded the paper, and just as expected, the ink was washed away from the rain. It looked like it was a letter of explanation. But the only thing legible was the top part.
This is my son, M----ic
But the name was too damaged to make out more than the M, I, and C.
“Oh boy this just keeps getting better and better.” The old man sighed as he refolded the paper and sat it on his table.
______________________________________________________________________

On the complete opposite coin of when the story first start, years later the same boy who was found outside the door step of the old mans house was now a young man, 15 years old. Dressed in a white tunic, with brown pants and leather boots, he sat on a wall with a flute in his hand. His dark black hair combed up into spikes, kept up by a golden circlet with a green gem on it.
It had been fifteen years since that stormy night, and a storm that bad had never haunted the village again. The storm tore down houses and barns, killed live stock, and other wild things. But they never had to deal with that again.
As for the boy, whos was named Merric, he was raised by the old man, whom he referred to as Gramps, and grew up in the village. Which it was a quiet peaceful farm town, the rich soil made it so the plants grew extremely well, and they didnt have to worry about poisonous plants or weeds to boot. But Merric wasn’t trained to do farm work as he was a mage. Gramps could sense his magical power even when he was just a baby, and tried to train him in magic, figuring the boy had the be imbued with one of the six shrines. But nothing ever came from the training. But one day while he was playing around and blowing into a flute something weird happened. Now the boy wasn’t trying to do magic, just goofing off as little kids do. But when he did that the trees in the village seemed to react as he hit a sour nite, and their branches and leaves flew up.
Which seeing this surprised his Gramps, as that meant Merric was a music-craft mage. He could control nature with different music instruments. Different instruments did different things, he made this move around with his flute, made plants grow with violin, made the roots of the plants shake the earth with a drum. Which he was able to pick up thise three different instruments with ease. So this meant he was a music prodige as well as a music-craft mage, two things that obviously went hand and hand.

As Merric played his flute the tree he sat under moved its branch down and grabbed a fresh aom the tree. Holding it up to make sure there werent any worm holes in it. He took a bite, the juice of the inside exploding all over his face, making a crisp crunching sound as he bit into it. It was, as usual; juicy, tastey, and just perfect.
But as he ate the apple, taking a small break from his flute, he looked out to the wide empty plain. Sitting on the wall that surrounded the village he had a clear view of what was going on. Which normally would have been nothing. But today, taking another bite of his apple, he squinted as out in the distance he could see a group of people approaching the village. It was a large group and they were all dressed way too nice to just be vagabonds, or travelers. Heck they were even carrying flags with them!
Jumping down off the wall Merric rushed into the village and told his Gramps about it. Which he immediately jumped up and in a matter of minutes the entire town was outside of the houses, waiting for the group to get to the village.
 
The journey had been tiring, and not even the princess could stop a march when she felt that she needed a rest. Her legs, unaccustomed to the art of travelling long distances, felt like wobbly jelly beneath her frail form, and the dust that was kicked up from the entourage before her was sometimes suffocating. Even in this beautiful land the roads could house a great amount of dust and sand. She swept herself off with white-gloved hands, brushing free a light sheen of earth, and continued on, hoping that this shrine visit will make her a little more tolerant to the effects of the world.

"How are you faring, princess?" came the familiar voice of Porphyry, a retainer whose family heralded from the fire tribes.

His older eyes looked upon her with the warmth of an uncle, and his red unruly sideburns and wild hair, typically unheard of in the palace, swayed in the wind undeterred by the journey. He seemed perfectly fine with the travel, but then again he was a Samson of the group, even at his age able to move an ox and perhaps lift it. A shortsword lay at his side of fine white steel and bronzed hilt and guard.

"I am fine, Porphyry, thank you," she replied, unable to keep herself from smiling. "This is just one more conquest in my list of struggles. I just have not won it yet."

He cracked a grin and offered her a waterskin, its aged and cracked leather giving off an appeal bordering undesirable. The princess recoiled slightly and did not even know it.

"Not even a princess can conquer a struggle without water. Nobody has drunk from it yet besides myself just now." He unwrapped the top and poured a fair amount of water onto his tongue. Once done, he offered the rest to her.

"You do not need to do that."

"Do what?"

"Make a proof that the water is not poisoned. I know you, Porphyry, as I would a close relative, so please do not provide me a disservice by thinking that I would drink only after you or someone else."

She played with a strand of her blue hair as she spoke, as if uncertain how he would take the news. He looked her over and after a few seconds smirked.

"While I understand you would like to taste waters yourself, always be mindful what you eat and drink in mixed company. If it is not obtained directly, it can be poisoned. Besides"--he gave her a wink--"I was thirsty. I wasn't doing it for you. Now look up. We are nearly there."

A number of murmurs were happening about them as they came closer to the heart of the village, or perhaps it was a town. Were towns and villages differentiated by the number of people inhabiting them? She had heard of this before but could not remember. Nevertheless, the greenery gave way to habitation as buildings quaint and rustic were sprouting from the ground over the next hill.

The company, uniformly relieved of the break, stopped short of the crowd of people before them but stood at attention and parted around the princess and her retainer. Porphyry looked toward her in the process, gave a wink, drew her by the hand as he walked forward a few paces so that she was walking in stride with him, and stopped short of the crowd by about fifteen paces. Princess Catria followed his lead with careful eyes, making sure that she did not step in front of him when he stopped, and looked among the faces of the crowd. While she attempted to keep a straight face, nervousness oozed out every now and again with her nervous looks toward her guardian.

"Fine people of this fine town," he proclaimed powerfully over the sea of people, trying to ensure his voice was filled with business but did not contain a trace of harm, "we are looking for the one in charge. Who here can speak for the town as a whole?"
 
As everyone stood outside their houses, standing like statues only their eyes darting from side to side as they look at each other nervously. Merric couldn’t remember a time the townspeople had been this nervous about anything. Though this had been the first time the royal family had visited in about 30 or so years.
“Gramps,” Merric asked, leaning over to the elderly man that stood a little taller than Merric himself, and whispering, “Why are we all standing out here, and why is everyone so nervous?” Merric asked the old man. As he had no idea that this was the royal guard with a member of the royal family with them. But the questions just made the old man grunt in annoyance.
“Have I taught you, nothing boy?” The elderly man asked, his fuzzy white eyebrows bowing down over his eyes as he looked at Merric. “The banner you saw was that of the royal families! It's not every day that the royal family visits the family!”

Merric just looked at his Gramps, the old geezer was something to behold. At first sight, you would think he was just some grouchy old coot who was living the last few years of his life. Standing a grand five feet tall dressed in a brown tunic and pants, along with boots. His hair-thin, balding, and snow-white; which he assured Merric that he use to have grey hair until the boy came into his life, and leaning on a wooden cane that had a large ruby on the top of it.

But he was far more than that! He was the village elder, which meant he was in charge of the town, Merric's teacher, and the most powerful mage Merric knew! Which to be fair Gramps was the only mage Merric knew… But that didn’t change the fact he was still the most powerful mage that Meric knew! But the old man had seen the embuing of the earth shrine done three times before. The late King George, his son Sigurd, and his daughter Elise; of course their siblings had been imbued with the shrine as well, but only the oldest counted as a grand occasion. They treated the younger siblings with the respect the royal guard deserved. But when the oldest came there was always a feast and celebration to go along with it!

“Oh, and why are they coming?" Merric asked in a normal tone as he steps straight, “Is the princess getting married to someone and we’re all invited?” He asked, which earned him a whack on the back of the head with Gramp’s cane. But to be honest the “Royal Family” sounded more like a fairy tale than anything to him. He had never seen the Royal Family in person before and in turn, wondered if they were real. Of course, he had seen the outside of the castle before, never the inside, as he walked to the point he could see the huge stone building. But from where he stood he didn’t see anyone actually in the castle (which is because he was over a mile away from the castle) so that didn't help with his belief in them.

“Foolish boy! The princess, your princess, turned 18 last week! We’ve been expecting them to make an appearance!” Gramps scolded the boy, all in thought love of course.
“Oh yeah, and she does that embedding thing right?” He asked which earned another hit to the head.
“Imbuing dunderhead.” The old man scolded the kid, “This is the first stop the princess has to make to be imbued with the power of all the shrines.

“Okay! Okay! Stop hitting me, I get it!” Merric growled rubbing the back of his head where a knot was forming.

The young mage was about to ask another question but was interrupted as the group of people he had seen before started to pour into the small village. The first thing that Merric noticed was how fancy they all looked. The knights had their armor so clean and polished the sun reflected off them like a mirror, a mage in the back had on a pair of white robes with golden hemming around, looking like it had just been made or washed and handled so well they looked brand new. Merric knew there were some people in the group of knights, but couldn’t see them thanks to the knights blocking his view. Though other people, people off to the side, could see whoever they were as they gasped, and just looked amazed at the sight of the people in the circle.

But then a man with messy red hair, wearing all dark armor, and a sword on his sidestepped out from the group and asked for someone to speak for the village. So Gramps, taking a short breath in and out, walked forward and up to the man before falling onto one knee.
“I am Jagen Arkship the II.” He introduced himself to the man, looking down at the ground. “I am the village elder and speak for the village and on behalf of the village, I am honored to have the beautiful princess Catria here in this village. I feel blessed to be able to witness a fourth imbuing ceremony. As I was present for her mother Elise, and her father Sigurd, and his father George
 
All eyes in front snapped to attention as the elder of the village stood forth and bowed in reverence for the princess of Dai, and Catria swallowed hard at the attention, not really preferring to be bowed to. Porphyry noticed this as well as her attempted, albeit muted, signs to have him rise, and spoke once more with a level of warmth in his tone.

"Four is an impressive number for a ceremony so few in count, Jagen Arkship, and may you live long enough to see a fifth or sixth! Your reputation precedes you, honoured mage. Please, lift yourself to your feet. The princess would rather that you do so."

Catria licked her dry lips and nodded once, timid from the crowd. This was only stage fright, she reminded herself. Everyone must conquer it in some part of one's life. Seeing that more people were afraid of being in her presence than her them, well, that gave her the strength to respond further.

"I would. Please arise, Sir Jagen. Your years of dedication to the shrine, my family, and the people here have earned far more than having to kneel in front of me."

Porphyry gave her a lasting look as if in warning. She recalled one of his earlier words of wisdom passed along from elsewhere: "Even in kind governance exercise a careful tongue." Swallowing, she dared to look on, focusing on the village elder before her who, while unimposing in body, appeared imposing and impressive in mental fortitude. What was he like, she wondered, behind the mask he built if there was one?
 
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"You flatter me sir guard." Gramps said as he got up upon the order. He was defiantly a man of tradition and would had stayed on a knee all day if told to do so by the royal guard or the princess herself. But that's not to say his old joints didn't appreciate the release. Then when the princess stepped forward revealing herself to Gramps and Merric, the old man gasped. He felt his old legs wobble as he witnessed the young princess. To say she was beautiful would have been a understatement, with her dark blue hair, and white royal robes draped, red and gold. The royal presence seemed to pulse from her and made the man want to fall back onto his knees. It was a feeling he had felt every time the eldest royal family member came to the little village.

"Ah my princess, you remind me of your mother." The old man praised, bowing his head. Like said before Gramps was a tradionalist, so being graced with just the presence of another royal family member in his life time made him feel like the luckiest man alive, "Strong and beautiful, on behalf of the village let me welcome you."

Merric had a dumbfounded look on his face as he looked at the princess. It was like looking at a unicorn! He had just gone from not being sure if the princess was even real, to witnessing her in person. As Gramps rose his head again with a smile on his face, clearly excited about the princess' presence still, he waved his hand back at Merric, then motioning for the boy to come forward. "This is my grandson Merric. A mage in training." The old man introduced the boy as he walked up, and thankfully Merric hadn't fully forgotten his manners.

"H-hello there princess." He said as he looked at her straight in the eye, and gave a quick small bow, "You are very pretty!" He said to her as his cheeks tinted a pinkish color. But the comment earned him another hit on the head, "Ow! What was that for?" He hissed at his gramps.

"Boy you have lost your mind! You don't address the princess by calling her beautiful!" He scolded the boy, which quickly devolved into a argument about what they both said, and it lasted until someone cleared their throat to regained their attention.

"Oh I'm sorry your majesty!" Gramps quickly apologizing and bowing once more.
 
Catria could not help but be pleased with the compliment and smiled gratefully toward Jagen at the mention of her mother. She had inherited much from her in terms of physical appearance and longed to be similar to her in spirit as well. While she didn't know much of strength and even magic as her mother, she felt as always pleased by this comparison.

Upon the village elder calling attention to a youth in white and brown garb, her attention shifted almost wholly to the new face while Porphyry scanned the crowd as a sentinel. Merric was certainly easy on the eyes and a bit younger than she was, and his comment made her both chuckle and harbour a blush on her cheeks. The boy was quite sweet and direct. She wished that the older man would not badger the poor youth, especially if he just stated the same thing earlier.

Porphyry was the one to cough loudly to attract their attention, business-like but grinning. It must have reminded him of him and his son Nabar, Catria surmised. Those two bickered like finches over the oddest of things, but with a glue of love between them.

"All is fine," she replied, looking toward the two with a simper. "If I may," she stated, "I am very much eager to reach there and start my journey. Would one of you fine mages accompany me to the shrine, or perhaps another mage if either of you are unavailable? Any help you can provide would be more than welcome."

Porphyry nodded ever so slightly a few times in agreement, cupping his chin and stroking his sideburns with his thumb and forefinger thoughtfully.
 
With their attention being redrawn to the princess. Merric stood stiff as he looked at the princess... He couldn't help but think that she looked really pretty! Like a flower had taken the form of a human and started to walk and talk. Her dark blue sapphire hair was like pictures of the ocean he had seen in books. The elegant dress was obviously made by the best material, unlike his normal wool cloak and leather boots. Plus the smell... She smelled like a flower! He hadn't known someone could smell so good. Even when they took baths in the village they didn't smell like that!

The boy was only taken out of his trance like gaze when his grandfather grabbed his arm and said, "Merric will escort your highness." The man said pulling the mage forward, "There are no dangers in the shrine and Merric knows the way to where you need to go." The old man explained.

"W-wait?! Me?!" The boy asked as his face turned red like a strawberry as his arm was let go of. He wasn't expecting to have to escort a princess today! Was he even allowed to do that? He was just a mage in training, he wasn't as strong as his Gramps... What if something happened?

"Yes you!" He grummbled, "Like I said nothing's down there to cause you any problems. It should just be a quick trip in and out. And while you are doing that we shall prepare the festival!" He said... When every the royals came to start their imbuing journey they always threw a festival to celebrate the occasion.
 
Catria raised a curled finger to her mouth to hide her titter at the display, quite enjoying the redness in the face from Merric. The boy reminded her of herself when she was that age. Actually, she may still have those traits, but she discredited that notion. And then there was talk about a festival! Catria opened her eyes wide at the thought and was about to say something when Porphyry laid a hand on her shoulder, attracting her attention.

"Don't worry; this happened when your mother came here as well. This came straight from the horse's mouth," he said to her in a quieter voice and with a well-meaning smile. The others of the group could listen in, but not the majority of the people around them. He brought his voice back up in timbre. "We would be honoured to participate in this festival! I myself would like to help with the festivities in the meantime. Princess Catria, please accompany this boy to the shrine. It is a time-honoured tradition, and the boy seems entirely trustworthy, especially if he is under Jagen Arkship the Second's tutelage. Still, please exercise caution. The royal guard will be around to help if you run into any issues and will inform me. I am still your guardian, after all. Oh, and please be sure to bring your staff."

"That sounds lovely," she replied with a smile, her skirt flaring as she spun on a heel to collect her staff, "but I will be able to manage myself. Thank you, Porphyry."

Porphyry eyed her as she walked off, thinking that she will grow to become a strong princess, but still had much to learn in terms of accepting help if needed. She was sweet, at least in his eyes, but oh so stubborn.

Catria pulled out a staff of intricate design from the wrappings within a wagon, a straight rod of wood with an intricate golden head of angel wings wrapping around the frail form of a small body on a slab, a red gem clutched in its hands. This was not the Staff of Dai, but was her own that she used for the last three years. Successfully gathered, the rod now rested in her hands, and its bottom tapped the ground every now and again as she paced toward Merric.

"Shall we go?" she asked Merric, her smile perhaps contagious.
 
Merric's body had turned to stone as he stood in front of the princess. Was he supposed to stand there until he was ready? Was someone going to tell him to go? Why did he have to do this? He had no idea how to act in front of a princess. His Gramps had done this three other times, he should be doing this! But yet here he was, standing in front of the princess that he hadn't been sure was actually real until ten minutes ago if that. But his gramps told him to do it, so it wasn't like he could argue with that, plus he was sure there was a rule against denying to do something for royalty.

Thankfully the princess seemed like decent company. She didn't seem like a spoiled brat or a snob like some people said royalty were. No, Merric could tell just by the way the teen held herself she was more than a spoiled brat. She was on a mission, even if she had a caravan of people with her to keep her safe he could tell by her aura she was powerful with magic, or at least she had the potential to perform strong magic spells when she learned them. This aspect excited Merric, being a mage himself. He started to wonder what kind of magic she specialized in. Fire, Water, Air; maybe the rarer of them all and used shadow magic.

When she smiled down at him and asked him if he was ready, it pulled him out of his train of thought. Then noticing her smiling at him again made him blush. His stomach felt like butterflies were floating in it. So he immediately looked away chuckled nervously and started to head to the earth shrine. Thankfully the shrine wasn't too far away. Just a cave on the back of town, the shrine was in the back of the case, though it was a bit of a walk to it. Plus there were some different paths in the cave, so it was possible to get lost. But other than that there was no danger of traveling in the cave.

Merric had been to the shrine many times before. He wasn't sure what the whole deal with the shrine was. There was a crystal in a pillar, some ceremonial markings around it, but nothing else. The crystal didn't really do anything spectacular, it sparkled a little when Merric touched it, but other than that it was just a rock. But that was because he had never seen it when the proper person interacts with it.

The boy used a flint and a piece of steel to light a torch when they got to the cave, "It's right in here princess." The boy said to her, looking at her once more, and blushed again, but managed a smile at the princess.
 
Catria could not help but smile under the scrutiny of youthful Merric and tried to hide it behind the index finger she brought to her lips. The boy was very kind, and even after her being considered beautiful in his eyes she noticed that he was quite attractive as well, his spiked dark hair and fair complexion being matched very nicely by the earthen hues of his clothes and the gemstone in his circlet.

She followed close, her staff tap-tap-tapping nearby as she observed the buildings in the heart of the town, then the giving way to the open mouth of a cave. Her face expressed her interest and amazement without intention. The exploration of something new as this town was a joy to her, even if she had to be bathed in dust from the long journey here.

"In there, you say?" she asked, frowning at the thought of what lay inside in that primal darkness.

She did not fear many things too greatly, at least not in accordance with her own mind, but being trapped in the pitchlike black worried her. At the very least she can use some of her healing magics to dispel some of the darkness with the warm glow of white light, but that was only a quick solution. Merric did bring a torch, however, and maybe there were sconces on the walls as well. Beyond that, he also smiled and blushed. This brought an equivalent smile to her countenance.

"Well, all right. Um, please lead the way."

If continuing further, the bends and narrow corridors of the cave made her wonder what lay at the end of each unchosen path, and she remained close as Merric walked so that she did not fall behind and get left outside of the protective torchlight.
 
He nodded his head and started to make his way into the cave, a cold gust of wind circling inside. Which Merric found a bit odd, why would the wind be coming out of the cave? But he didn't pay it any mind as it was just a quick gust of wind... But it did make him a bit uneasy for some reason. The gust of wind, like a cold gust of winter wind that should have carried snow with it. But it probably didn't mean anything, as said before Merric had been in the cave many times before and nothing bad had ever happened. He didn't let that stop him though and he pressed on, his bag close by that had some food rations (Consisting of a couple of apples and some berries), a water skin that he had refilled that morning, and his flute that stuck out of the top of the bag (that way it could be grabbed in a moments notice in case it was needed.

"So... Are you a mage too?" Merric asked the princess, trying to make some small talk but also wanting to know. But it was going to be a bit of a walk to the shrine itself, so he figured some small talk would help make the walk go by faster. But he really wanted to know what kind of magic the princess used, as she had too much magical power radiating off her to not be a mage! "I mean I-I assume you are. An earth mage? Since you're going to the earth shrine." He said, really showing how much he knew about things outside of the village. He didn't know the reason why the princess was there or the well-known healing magic that the royal family possessed. He assumed that the girl was just a simple earth mage. But in his presence was someone who had the potential to be the strongest mage of his generation... and he didn't realize the honor it was to escort her to the shrine.

He made sure that he was close enough that the princess would be in the light and that she could see what was in front of them. Thankfully he hadn't forgotten that the princess hadn't been in the cave before. So he stayed close to her, knocking away any spider webs that were in the cave. Thankfully spiders and other bugs were the only things in the cave, and none of them dangerous. Since the shrine was a sacred place evil couldn't live there. Poisonous bugs and animals could try to come in and try to live in the cave but the magic of the shrine would chase them off.
 
The chill of the deep dark of the earth was quite noticeable to the princess, a shiver passing over her as she stepped into the cave's shadow. It was colder than the deepest recesses of the castle, even the royal catacombs where the kings and queens of the ages for Dai were buried, untouched by grave robbers and never forgotten by their ancestors, protectors, and cleaning staff. She learned of something like this where underground water existed, pushing out wave upon wave of cold air. Was there water inside this cave, even though it was dedicated for the earth shrine? The stories her mother gave her regarding this specific shrine never elaborated.

She rubbed some heat and life into her upper arms as she continued on with Merric before she was glad to hear him speak up.

"I am a mage, yes, in a general sense. I do not have much skill in the usual magics, not even earth magic."

She laughed lightly, relieved that it was only him. Why him? Well, he had a friendly nature to him, making her feel comfortable sharing more about herself in an unguarded manner. She continued with a smile on her face.

"I tried earth magic a lot when I was growing up, but the most I could do is a puff of dusty air for the longest time. Then I discovered my best personal skill of healing. I found that I can use the two together to create a magic dedicated to healing. It's . . . different than the traditional methods, but it works. Coming here will hopefully make me a little better, along with doing my duties as a princess of Dai." She pursed her lips as she combed an errant strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes lost in thought for a few seconds before she turned over to Merric, her smile returned. "What about you? Are you an up-and-coming mage like your grandfather? Jagen, was it?"

She could slightly feel the pressure of magical power bleeding off of him as well, but it was unlike any other she had seen before. Granted, she had not seen many mages before and she was not very good at assessing magic, but something seemed unique about him. His zigged when it should have zagged. What was this?
 
Merric continued to walk along the path, listening to the princess speak. Though he did notice her rubbing her arms. Should he offer her his cloak? He wasn't sure, the thing was pretty dirty, but the princess looked like she hadn't encountered many hardships in her life. Though he figured that was one of the perks of being a royal.

But thankfully his thoughts were pulled as she continued the conversation about magic, Merric favorite subject. "Well a lot of people train their whole lives hoping to do some magic. My Gramps says most people aren't capable and those who do get frustrated. They find out later in life and they want to start casting some of the strongest spells, but don't want to put in the effort to master a life time worth of skills." He told her. Which he had seen it. There was a lady in town who had the power of water. She could make it spin around, stirring it just by waving her hand. But she wanted to be able to summon it up from the ground or block rain from falling around her house. But she figured it wasn't worth the years of training to be able to do that. It was kind of sad in Merrics eyes.

But the boy perked up, actually pausing and turning to face the princess with excitment in his eyes. "Wait? Healing magic?! You can really cast healing magic?!" He asked her excitedly. He had heard of healing magic of course... But it wasn't apart of the 6 main magic groups. He had been told healing magic had accidentally been made in the ancient days when humans, Sages, and demons all lived together and started to interbreed. But it was a rare form of magic you had to be special to be able to cast that kind of magic.

"But me," He said with a smirk as she asked him about his magical ability. "I'm a Music-Craft mage!" He said pulling his flute out of his pocket as they started to walk once more, "I can control all the elements of magic and nature by playing music." He started, "With this flute I can control the way the plants bend, I can make them grow, even make them produce fruit. But different instruments have different uses." He told her and blew on the flute, not making andy melody... But just blew on it and the small plants that grew in the cave started to bloom before there eyes. Most were just vine like plants, grass, etc. But a couple bloomed with light purple flowers. Seeing one he plucked it and offered it to the princess. "Pretty cool huh?" He asked, a boyish glee glimmering in his eyes. "Gramps, which yeah Jagen is his name, said that music craft is a lost gift. Hes done his best to train me how to use it. But with music craft you need to know how to play instruments to call on the different elements. But no on here knows how to really play anything." He said with a sigh, "So I just know how to make this grows, but one day I'll get to the sea shore kingdom and I'll find someone to teach me how to play a bunch of different instruments!" He said, and like the princess with him, he found it really easy to open up to her. But this also explained why the boy had only made plants grow and not try any traditional magic.
 
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Princess Catria looked on with interest as Merric explained a bit more of how other people learn magic, her expression shocked, then understanding. Not everybody has the time or devotion to master just one of their skills. Some had families and other needs besides themselves. She was just one of the lucky ones whose life was dictated by learning of governance and magic. She assumed Merric was very similar, being the grandson of Jagen. It was much like her own situation: a family tradition, passed down from generation to generation in a manner of succession. First- or second- generation users had other priorities in mind, one of the key ones being survival. It was hard to make a paycheck with a lifetime of devotion to learning magic.

His cheer upon hearing a bit more about her magic surprised him, and she simpered behind her forefinger again. She could probably understand, though. It was a rare kind of magic, but then again the next kind of magic blew her out of the water. She looked at him as if he grew a second head at first, but then she relaxed. Music-craft was legendary in the royal court, a skill that never was even brought up outside of obscure texts and some royal councils. There was not many users known, and those she knew were far off, unable to be consulted, or lost themselves in the world. It could very much have been any or all of those three according to the kingdom of Dai, but here, in this village. Was her father holding out on her, or was this information not even known to the royal ear? She was not going to be the one to tell them about Merric, though. Perhaps there was reason enough he was hidden from the crown.

However, the boy spoke with such passion, such resolve, and such love for his gift. He even showcased it to her with a surprising toot of his flute and plants at their very feet grew in size. Wow! She did blush when he gave her one of the purple flowers, the boy quite the gentleman even at his age.

"That is amazing!" she expressed, hugging the flower with her hands cupping the stem and pressing against her heart. "You have a gift that could help so many people. While mine can help one person at a time, yours can help hundreds. I hope you can achieve your dream and get a teacher. I would be nothing without my own teachers. They are what got me this far. All of the elements, though . . . that truly is amazing!"
 
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Merric sighed at the look she gave. He knew people had lives of their own they had to live. When people started their training as children it was different, as by the time their adults they can do more complex spells to help out. Earth mages and make bricks or move borders, water mages could pull water from the ground, fire mages could keep villages warm... These skills were great and it annoyed Merric to hear people just give up the gift because they don't have time at the moment to sacrifice. They don't know if that skill could potentially save a life one day. But again he did understand that if you had a family to supply for and take care of you couldn't just drop that.

He did give a smirk as they continued down the cave, going down a path to the house ight when two tunnels approached them.
"Yeah I know it's pretty cool. Gramps says I'm the second Music-craft mage he had ever met!" He cheered excitedly... Though it was clear how oblivious Merric was to the fact he was a Music-craft mage. They were legends, things parents joked around about with their kids. It was a rare gift to be able to not only control the magical elements, only the first born of the Dai kingdom could do that, but then control nature itself! Stories have told about Music-craft mages making entire forests appearing, oceans suddenly coming into existence, and even summoning mountains.

But his love of his gift was clear and he was doing the best he could with what little he had. The homemade flute he was currently carrying, a drum in his room, and a harp that he didn't use to often (as the strings were very hard to replace). So when she said she seen he had a gift it made him beam a smile.

"Thanks, it may take a while to raise the money but I'll make it one day." He said confidently. "And I hope that you earth magic training and healing magic training go well." He said to her as they went through the middle tunnel of a three way split off. As they did this Merric smile as he felt a sort of aura... He couldn't explain it, it was like being covered in a blanket and then having rocks rubbed against you... Terrible explanation, but it really was hard to explain. But it was the aura of the Earth Shrine. Which meant the two were getting close.
"We're almost there Princess Catria!" He said cheerfully
 
Merric's cheer was contagious, and Catria smiled at the boy. He had much that carried him on, and it seemed as if it were dreams rather than legacy. While she was none the wiser of any history besides the fact that weaving songs can bring about miracles, she wished the best for him. Perhaps if she lent him money, he could go off to this other nation and learn quicker? Would that even be allowed for the princess of Dai, to help a commoner in anyone else's eyes move to another country? She knew of his need and his status, but without telling that he is special how can she provide him an excuse?

"Thanks as well, Merric," she replied, grateful for the well-wishes he provided. Yes, she had to help him in someway, but outright support seemed out of the question. Maybe she should give him something in secret, something that can cover the costs. She thought she had just the thing, too, but for now she had to think about the Earth Shrine. "I do hope the imbuing works. If not, I can always concentrate on improving it my own way.

Again, his cheer was contagious, and the happy expression and voice he emitted as he cheered about being close was inspiring. Her face lit up and her skin did not feel quite as cold. Up ahead lay what she hoped would be her destiny, and her hand clenched her staff with a new set of determination in mind: not just legacy, but dreams as well.
 
It would be hard for the princess to just give Merric money. There would be a number of people would question her on money being taken out of the treasury. Then being told it was going to a village boy... They wouldn't allow her to use the money. But then there was Merric himself. He wouldn't want to just have money thrown at him when he didn't do anything to earn it. But who knows what would happen in the future.

"Well I hope it does." Merric responded to her, "Gramps says the shrine is suppose to be special... But I've never seen it do anything special." He admitted. Like said before, the only thing he had ever seen from the shrine was a little sparkle whenever he visited it. But he never seen anything super special about it. So this was something he was looking forward to as well!

But as fast as the wave of warmth covered the two, it dissappeared and a freezing cold chill filled the air. As a shiver ran up Merrics spine, he frowned. Something wasn't right and Merric paused holding his hand out to signal the princess to stop.
"Somethings not right." He said to her as he squinted into the darkness. There was a eerie feeling in the air, and Merric noticed something. There was no sound other than the torch crackling and them breathing. No crickets chirping in the cave, no frog chirping, nothing.... Which did make Merric freeze. What could be in here? Nothing dangerous should be in the cave, and certainly not that deep in!
"Get ready to run..." He said, as that was the only thing he could think of doing, as neither of them were equipped for battle. Sitting the torch on the ground he reached into his bag and pulled out a few seeds. Throwing them into the darkness ahead of them, and then blowing on his flute the plants around them began to grow again. A few more purple flowers and grass grew, but his seeds started to grow, becoming vines that grew against the wall. But the really cool thing about them was, bulbs in the vines started to glow with light.

Merric continued to play his flute as he looked at what was ahead. But his eyes widened as the bulbs glowed... But the darkness didn't go away, it slithered away like a snake. In a flash Merric went over his magic research and recognized this... It was Shadow magic. Which meant someone who wasn't suppose to be there was there.

"Hahahahaha...." A dark voice, a voice that made another chill run through Merrics body again, "You're to late princess..." The voice said. But in the dark it was impossible to see anything, other than orange glowing eyes that started to appear in the dark.

"Princess run!" Merric yelled and blew hard on his flute, making a sour note. But the bulbs grew as big as apples and shined as bright a fire. But sadly as they were surrounded by shadow magic it didn't show. Even behind them, in the way that had come, orange eyes glared at them... They were surrounded.
 
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Catria's smile was wide when the air and her blood ran cold, and her eyes widened as Merric held out his hand in front of her, as if . . . urging her to stop.

"Something's not right. Get ready to run."

A sensation of dread crawled up her spine and refused to let go even as she backed up to give her some distance between whatever it was, with the added effect of drawing her weapon near her and facing the darkness before her. What even was this? She looked toward Merric with worry and suspicion. Was he joking or serious? Worse yet, was he doing something to target her, now that he had pulled her defenses away from her, one by one? No. This was impossible. He made no gestures, spoke no words, billowed no power besides the strange little seeds he tossed in the distance and his flute's magic. Whatever it was lay beyond the immediate vicinity of her and him.

The magic within the seeds glowed and grew, amazing her once again with the practicality of his magic, and they even sprouted little bulbs that lit up like lamps, but failed to fully dispel the magic. Tendrils in the dark . . . she did not recognise the magic but found it foul.

"You're too late, princess."

Catria's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. Whoever was in here knew she was the princess. What was this? An assassination attempt? And the orange eyes . . . was this a demon or part of the fell magic that surrounded them? Either way the sensation was almost too much for her. Her knees shook beneath her. Merric's voice pierced the shadows, however, urging her to run. While she hesitated to leave him in here with an unknown accomplice to the night, she knew that she had to protect herself for more than herself. She turned, and more orange lamps called eyes watched her, lidless, terrifying.

"Bless this staff and devote it for dispersing impurities from body and mind," she whispered under her breath, an invocation voiced to strengthen the magic culminating within the ruby of her staff. The little childlike figure holding the ruby glew with light as the gemstone shown bright red, then green as magic overlapped it, then white. She waved it about over her head in an expanding circle. "Dispel!"

A pulse of white magic would sweep through the air, the target being the darkness around them and not the lamp-like vines. She did not know if it would work, but perhaps even if it did not she could glean into what it was that they were dealing with, this foul force that was slithering in the dark.
 
Merric grinded his teeth together seeing the darkness behind them as well. He wasn't to concerned about himself. He may not know any battle spells out right he was pretty resourceful. The apples in his bag, they were really helpful in a pinch. He could grow them into trees to block the path in the cave, trap someone in the tree. But none of that matter as the dark forces around them looked to be like mist!

But then Merric heard the princess yell out, and a blinding white light filled the cave. The shadowy mist let out a painful "HISSSSS", as if the light was burning it. But more important it made the dark mist fade away... Slowly but surely the area cleared up. And thanks to the spell and the new glowing vines on the wall the whole section of that cave was lit up and it was very easy to see.

Which in return the two could see some one standing where the most had been. It was a tall sender figure, completely covered in a black robes with purple lines on it. A good covered the figures face and only a pointy nose and a toothy smile, the teeth stained yellow. The skin that was visable was a purple color. Seeing all of this made Merric flinch, not expecting that at all. Though to be fair he wasn't sure what to expect... But hlit definitely wasn't that.

"Bah what a cheap trick." The voice said with a hiss, "Apparently he was right... My magic is strong enough yet!" He said as he held up a book. The book looked old and heavy, at least a 5,000 page book! Merric couldn't imagine reading that book or ever finishing it. But the figure held it with one hand like it was nothing.

Merric held his flute out, ready to blow another note if the figure tried to do something. But then Merric froze as a light behind the figure started to grow.

"T-t-t..." Was the only thing the boy could stammer out at the moment as misty white light filled the boy, "The shrine!" He cried as the light died and the figured lowered the book, the cover now radiating with a soft brown light.
 
Princess Catria watched in both relief and awe as the dispelling magic wore through the creeping shadows and blotted out the orange eyes. Everything that was behind them and toward the entrance was clear, which meant perhaps that the source of the magic was in the other direction. She was right. The caster was before her and Merric, a grossly worrisome sight just by his appearance alone. And that book . . . that was too big to wield as a grimoire or spellbook for any normal mage. What and who was this strange man, and why was he after her?

Inspired by Merric's bravery she stood with her staff before her with one hand, the other ready to direct a spell toward either Merric or herself. Healing magic was not altogether useful for trying to restrain someone, but she could keep Merric going long enough to cause the man to surrender or be brought to his knees. However, what happened next was beyond either of their expectations. Did the man tap into the power of the shrine? Then again, what was that aura, and why did it hover over his grimoire? Did it somehow pool around the source of his magic? Is that what the shrines do, or was this a special case? Either way, this was bad. To contend against shadow magic and earth magic together was really bad.

"Merric, I think we should go and get help. I have a bad feeling about this," she voiced, legs aquiver as she looked on. Perhaps a warding would be able to keep him at bay, a barrier to protect allies and to block enemies and their attacks. A quick warding might not last well enough, but a fully recited one might. She mumbled a mantra, starting off with "Bless this staff and protect this space, making it hallowed ground . . ."
 
Merric grinded his teeth once more. He hated the idea of having to abandon the shrine. He had no idea what the hooded man wanted or why he was even here, but he had drawn power from the shrine. A feat only a few people in the world could do! So he knew that they were at a disadvantage.

"Oh yes," The man hissed as he flicked his hand and the black mist appeared, "Try and run, get help, and stop me." He laughed and snapped his fingers. As he snapped the mist started to seperarte into pile... But not just that... The piles started to take shape and surrounding them were six large snakes. Pitch black snakes with glowing orange eyes. "You see with the power of Earth my shadows can now take a physical form." The man said with a chuckle.

With a twitch of his hand on of the snakes launched up and bit the top of the princesses staff and pulled it from her hands.

"Oh let's not try that again princess Catria." The man said with a sneer.

"H-hey!" Merric growled, his knees shaking a bit... Things were going down hill fast but he wasn't going to let this guy just boss the princess around, "Why don't you... You go pick on someone else?!" He growled at the man and blew into the flute once more, this time it was a loud smooth note. This made the vines on the walls shoot out and immediately wrapped themselves around the snacks and the man.

"Oh?" The dark figure said, looking like a mummy as he was wrapped up in all the vines. His orange eyes, glowing just like his shadow creatures, glanced at Merric. Making him gulp and shutter. The man stayed still for second. Had they won, was this a trap, was the man really trapped.

"Nice trick flute boy." The man hiss, the sound muffled from the vines covering his mouth. But with little effort the man pulled his arm free and snapped his fingers, "But it will take a bit more then that to defeat me!" He said, tearing the vines away from his mouth and let out a skin crawling laugh. The snakes turning to shadow mist once more and then returning to a solid form, then quickly wrapping around the two.

"Ah!" Merric yelped as he was wrapped up in lightning speed, quickly losing his balance and falling to the hard ground, getting a face full of dirt
 
Princess Catria's heart sank as the staff was pulled from her hands, the spell having finished the initial stages but failing to reach the final castings. The shadows . . . they took corporeal form! Not only that, but there were so many of them. Was this really a battle they can win?

She looked at Merric as he snarled at the man in black and unleashed a spell foreign to her, of vines and entanglement. This skill was something else, binding the man and his pet shadows in place . . . or so she thought. With the snap of a finger and the quick ripping away from strong green vines he overpowered the spell and sought to take them on again! She looked about in great haste and, finding the staff, was going to retrieve it from its great distance away if she could. Alas! though, that the man's shadows were too quick. Not only did they wrap around Merric, but they started to wrap around her as well!

"Ward!" she yelled, interlocking chains of light forming from her hand and wrapping around her as if to shield her, but the spell was easily crushed by the wrapping coils and dissipated. They tightened further, and she saw the last of the light fade from view as the snake covered her gaze and mouth, preventing her spellcasting. Was this . . . the end? Tears stung at her face as recognition settled in. Was she going to die?
 
Merric was frozen as he laid there on the dusty floor of the cave, his wooden flute laying right in front of him. But with the shadow serpents wrapped around him, making it impossible to move his arms, he couldn't do anything! Hope was right in his face, but he couldn't do anything to save them. But that didn't mean he was just going to lie there and let the man in front of them kill them. "Let m-me out of this!" He demanded, the young mage squirming trying to get free from the grasp of the snakes, "Fight me one on one you coward!" He spat at the man, who just chuckled and walked up and kicked him in the gut. His foot going right through the serpent and connecting with Merric's stomch.

Merric's eyes went wide as he instantly started to cough and wheeze, the air having been kicked right out of him, and he started trying to gasp for air. But with the snakes slowly getting tighter it was a very difficult process. But the man got on one knee and hissed right in Merric's ear, "I could kill you right here, but I'm not a monster... Well not fully anyways. I need the princess alive so she... So she... What's that noise?!" The man turned towards the way to the exit of the cave. the sound of a harp could be heard. That couldn't be right, why would harp music be played right now of all times. But no that's all it could be, Merric recognized the distinct tung tung tung sound of harp strings being pulled. The song that was being played made the man look uncomfortable, and even the shadow snakes hissed in discomfort.

The music made the man stand up, but as he did a small white object flew out of the shadow of the cave, nearly piercing the man's ear. But dodging his head to the side the object flew right by his head. "What the?!" He growled, but before he could a high pitch voice from in the shadows yelled, "Release!" Causing a powerful gust of wind to explode in the cave, sending the man flying to the ground. The wind also spun Merric around on the ground like a top and he was able to see two people running their way. One was a girl with light blue hair, dressed in a white tunic, with a blue chest plate on it, and a skirt that ran to just above her knees... Though her leather boots that stretch up to right under her knees were the easiest thing for him to see. She held a lance in her hand, the metal sharp pointy part snow-white in color. Then there was a man with her... And Merric could just describe him as a stereotypical bard. Large blue hat with a large feather on it, blue cotton jacket neatly buttoned up with golden buttons. tan wool pants and leather shoes. In his hands was a golden harp that was sparkling even in the dim light.

"Looks like we were almost to late Miss Lana." The man said, his voice the pitch of a tenor, but smooth and rich. Him talking sounded like a swindler trying to sell you a piece of junk you don't need. It was so elagent and alluring!

"No, and you were right, the princess needed our help." She said as she pointed her lance at the man, "Unbind the princess and her associate this instant!" The girl named Lana demanded the man. But he just stared up at her with a smile.

"Careful he's a shadow mage!" Merric tried to call out, but the man was to quick, With another snap of his fingers a shadowy hand reached up from the ground and grabbed Lana's spear and pulled her down to the ground, were serpent wrapped her up. Which meant it was just the shadow mage and the man with the harp, who hadn't stopped playing. But the man in blue gave a little grin as he continued to play and the harp started to glow brighter in the dark, and the shadows entraping everyone started to glow turning from a deep dark black color, to a white color, and then to a golden color. Then the creatures exploded with a burst of light, becoming golden butterflies and flew around the cave.

"W-What?!" Merric asked as he was freed and looked at the man... Was he another Music-craft mage?! He had to be, the way he was playing the harp and using magic at the same time! But that didn't matter at the moment, as they were all free. Him, the princess, even Lana! Leaving the shadow mage just glaring at them all. He tried throwing his hand back. But the man in blue intervened.

"I don't think so." He said with a smile, as he ran his fingers arose the harp and then thrusted it forward, making the butterflies dive at the man, and once he was encased in them the man in blue closed his fist and the butterflies turned into a set of gloden chains.
 
Catria struggled within the binds, her frail form twisting around inside the binds of the snake. She had some success of pulling her hand free from one of the shadowy coils and afterwards pulling the one in front of her face to breath. Casting was a bit of a struggle, and she heard the muffled sounds of injury and coughing. Merric! How dare he injure the poor boy! She fought a little more to little to no avail, but managed to speak a few lines of incantation for a fully fledged Dispel.

As time pulsed on, the snakes slackened their grip and hissed, but not towards her. It was toward some sort of string instrument, but she could not see what it was, nor what was happenjng until the snakes exploded into light and . . . were these butterflies? What kind of spell was this? Light magic?

She did not wait to discern what was happening for long. This man had to go down, and she had a role to fulfill. Finding her bearings and her staff, she lunged forward as fast as she was able to run after being bound and ensnared her staff. A few extra words strung on to empower it led to everyone being encased in Ward except for the man in black. Golden bands wrapped around her and others (if not blown away by the bard or any of the others, really), giving a layer of protection just in case.

Looking over to the man in black and realising his being in chains, she headed over to Merric with all haste, hoping to cure him of whatever he suffered from.

"Merric! Are you all right? Are you hurt?" she voiced to him, eyeing him all over in search of an injury, her healing staff at the ready.
 

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