The Fifth Magic

Lin walked through a cascade of red, brown, orange and yellow with his wolf, Darkstalker. It was Autumn in the Northlands where he was traveling. It was a beautiful, if lonely, dirt road he strode on. The wolf would occasionally disappear in the woods and come back a little while later to check on Lin, mostly to make sure he hadn’t gotten into trouble. Lin had a tendency to do just that.

“Still alive?” came the gruff voice of his bondmate, uninvited, into Lin’s head. Lin rolled his eyes in the direction of the large black wolf and grinned ruefully. They were still getting to know each other. Bonding with Darkstalker was the last test he did on his journey to learn the Magicae Magnum. Animalum is the art of communicating and controlling animal life. HIs master, Bel, made sure he understood the responsibility such arts carried. His relationship with the wolf had to be a two way street.

“Apparently.” Lin said in his normal wry tone. He could feel the wolf snort before he actually did it. The bond connection was odd indeed but he enjoyed the company even if it was a stern and grumpy wolf. Lin watched as Darkstalker seemed to materialize out of the forest tree “wall”. He was always amazed at how a beast the size of a small horse could be so silent and seemingly able to disappear and reappear. It was almost like Magic in its way.

“That’s a surprise considering how scrawny you are.” Lin could feel the creature’s laugh. It was a frightful sound on its own. If Lin hadn’t had the Animalum bond intact he might very well fear for his life when he felt it. It sent shivers down his spine. And don’t get him started on when Darkstalker ate.

“Oh, come on, I have a certain athleticism.” Lin looked himself up and down.  Darkstalker’s thoughts exploded in laughter. That same shiver came again. He looked down on his wiry frame. Lin was 5’6 and thin as a whip. He wore a straw hat over jet black hair. His wiry frame was wrapped in a blue tunic with white trim on the sleeves and collar. Brown pants came just below his knees. He didn’t wear shoes after his experience learning Terrum. It helped to be close to the earth to employ that Magic.

“Where, exactly, are we going, Lin? We’ve traversed the whole of the Northlands. What is your aim here?” This wasn’t the first time they had this conversation. Darkstalker thought their endeavor was foolish. He hadn’t lost what Lin had lost. Not even close to it. Lin bristled, tired of the same conversation over and over again. His sharp features and black eyes grew dark. He stopped in the middle of the path. The wolf stopped with him and looked directly at him.

“You know where we are going and whom we seek. I must master the whole of the Magicae Magnum. I must defeat…” Lin trailed off, his mind drifting to dark times and even darker thoughts. Thoughts of a beautiful woman he knew and a monster that needed to be put down. Darkstalker whined a little in concern. Lin looked over and his darkness broke. As grumpy as the beast could be, and as new as their relationship was, he had become a good friend. He was currently the best friend Lin had.

“I know I am new to this whole consciousness thing but, as I recall, no one has ever learned all of the Great Magics before. That’s a lot of power. From what Bel said, I’m surprised you have mastered the first four.”  Darkstalker walked ahead of his bondmate. He knew when to leave Lin to his thoughts. He was right. Most magi only learned one of the disciplines, perhaps two at the most. He was smart and a very quick learner compared to most. It had only taken him ten years to master the other four Magics- Ignum, Terrum, Sensum and Animalum. A feat that surprised his other masters. Could he learn the last and final Magic?

He began to walk again. Bel, the master of Animalum, had told him the way. Darkstalker rolled his eyes when his master had explained how to get to the adept of the last Magic, Animum- The Magic of the Human Soul. Bel had told him that old Mat was the only living magus who could teach the boy Animum. He lived at the north most end of the Northlands. He and his Familiar had walked from the southern tip of the Southlands all the way here. What if Darkstalker was right. What if this task was impossible?  What if he could never have his revenge?

A loud noise pulled him out of his reverie. He looked up just in time to see a large arrow flying at him. He was shocked. It seemingly came out of nowhere. Suddenly a black blur came out of the forest surrounding him. It pulled the arrow out of the air and landed a few feet in front of Lin. Lin looked and saw three rough looking sorts on the road in front of him. He looked at Darkstalker.

“You ok?” the large wolf thought to him. Lin nodded a little shaken. If his friend had just been a little late… well, he didn’t really want to think about it. He turned to focus on three men in front of them on the road. They were tall, much taller than Lin. They wore black platemail and had long swords hanging from their waists. He saw that all three of them looked like they’d been in a few fights. They were missing at least a couple of teeth each. They wore open faced pith-styled helmets. Their armor was blank with no heraldry he could see.  Damn, he thought, probably thieves.

“Hello there.” the one who was furthest from them spoke, sounding like the living embodiment of an eel. He clearly shot the bolt at Lin since he rested the stock of a crossbow on his right knee and held the pistol grip in his right hand. “Ya seems lost, boy Are ya lost there? We can helps ya out if ya needs it? For a reasonable price, that is.” He and his other brutish companions laughed how Lin imagined snakes would laugh. There was something slimy and vaguely threatening in it.

“Don’t trust him” Darkstalker thought. Lin looked over at him and rolled his eyes. He wasn’t an idiot. He had been around a lot longer than the wolf and had certainly been conscious for more of his life.

“Oh, really? I just thought I’d give him all of our worldly possessions and let him lead us off to kill us,” he thought back to his bondmate with no small amount of sarcasm. He could feel Darkstalker’s annoyance.  He hated when Lin got the best of him.  That did make Lin smile, even in the circumstances. Lin prepared himself. He was a thief in his days before his current quest. He knew how to talk to his own kind. Also he had a few new tricks up his sleeve. He began to let his fear seep out from a “dam” in his brain. He could feel it rush through him but only in the controlled manner that his masters had taught him. To effectively learn the Great Magics, a magi had to have complete control over his emotions. If there was one thing Lin knew how to do it was control himself. He could feel the elusive power of Sensum, the Magic over the five senses, slide through his veins. The feeling wasn’t unlike having a worm crawl through your brain or, at least, that’s how Lin imagined it. Darkstalker could feel the fear creeping through his friend’s body. Lin quickly sent him a reassurance that all was well.

“Well, while I appreciate the offer, I think all of us can find our own way. Thank you for the generosity though.” He could feel fear in every corner of his mind but under the tight reign of control his masters had taught him. He willed the three brigands to see hundreds of him and Darkstalker before them. He closed his eyes and breathed in. He felt like time stopped as he held that breath. It felt like an eternity and then he… let… the… breath…go. The three thieves stared and their faces fell. They screamed and ran in all directions even running into each other briefly. Finally, they stared all around them as though seeing an army and ran in the opposite direction of the two travelers.

“Effective.” was all Darkstalker had to say. The wolf padded his way forward on the trail. Lin just looked at him and shook his head. What would it take to impress the beast? An entire actually living and breathing army materialized out of thin air?

“That would be pretty amazing, Lin, but I don’t think the Magics do that sort of thing.” Darkstalker thought and laughed in Lin’s head. Lin stared at him in indignation. Darkstalker laughed even harder. Lin followed after him. He would find some way to impress his bondmate one day. He knew he would. 

After they had been walking for a while, they noticed the ground was becoming more stone covered and they were reaching a set of foothills. The trees surrounding this area were tall and all hardwood trees. Most of their limbs collected at the top of the trunk. These limbs had the most golden colored leaves sprouting from them. This gave the effect of a crown on the head of each trunk. They were further up and, at this height, they were surrounded by a dense greyish-green mist, giving the area an eerie feeling.  Darkstalker appeared from the forest making Lin jump a bit.

“In case we don’t make it out of this, I just want you to know it's your fault if we die.” The wolf moved on towards the mountainous area leaving Lin dumbfounded with his mouth gaping open. Lin could feel the husky chuckle from his bondmate in his head. He stared toward the wolf hoping he could feel his annoyance and then, after looking closely at his surroundings, moved along in the same trajectory. 

Soon they came upon more mountainous ground. There were more of those majestic trees surrounding them. There was also a curious sight. Just ahead of them was a house. It stood about 50 feet in the air on stilts. Between the stilts was a large wooden staircase that was impossibly ornate considering where it was. It led to the first story which hung about 25 feet in the air. The house, which seemed to be made entirely of wood, was a two story building with a door in the first story. The staircase opened out right in front of this door. There was a wrap-around porch on the first floor but, almost as unlikely, there was one on the second story too. These porches looked like they could fit a large party on them. There was a door on the second story, as well, leading to the porch. The roof of this impossible house was thatched and came to a point that looked like a witch’s hat.

Lin gawked with his mouth gaping open. He could never imagine a house just standing like that. The stilts didn’t look like they could hold one story let alone two, but here it was in the middle of nowhere. He looked over at Darkstalker, who was also gaping up at the house. He finally looked at least somewhat impressed.

As he was thinking about this, suddenly his bondmate yelped and disappeared. Lin’s eyes darted everywhere at once trying to find the beast. They darted all over the ground where he was standing but he saw nothing.

“Darkstalker!” he yelled. “Darkstalker!” he yelled even louder this time. He started to spin around his location looking for the wolf. “Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to get into trouble, not you!” Suddenly the ground opened below him and he fell… and landed on his feet. The ground closed over his head. He was alone in the darkness.

“Lin?” Darkstalkers voice cut through his fear. Thank all the gods, named and unnamed! Lin had no idea what had happened to his bondmate. Now. at least he knew he was alive.

“Darkstalker? Where are you?” Lin thought to him.  As he waited for a reply he started fumbling around the area. He was in a small room that was just large enough for him to sit comfortably. Lin felt the walls and they were made of stone. 

“In a small chamber. I can’t really move. Please get us out of this.” Lin could hear fear in the wolf’s thoughts. Real fear like he had never felt from his bondmate before. Lin knew he was well and truly trapped. He could feel the lack of room around Darkstalker. He could feel the panic rising in Darkstalker’s mind. Lin had to help him keep calm.

“Alright, Darkstalker. I know that this is frightening but we have to keep our heads about us.” Lin felt along the wall of his cell and he found… Yes! He found a torch. He could feel a slight amount of pitch on the top of the torch. Immediately he reached deep into his mind for his anger. Ignum was the easiest Magic for him to master. He had a lot of anger. He let the dam holding his anger back open and he directed it toward the torch. It shot through his mind like a river of lava. He drew his breath and held it in. He focused on the torch and… the top of it erupted in flames.

“I’ve got a light now. Let me see how we can get out of here.”, Lin looked around his newly lit surroundings. He saw a door that was sealed. To the right of the door was a dial with numbers circling around it from 10 to 100. It sat at the 60 mark. The door had no hinges or knobs on it. It was smooth. Lin puzzled over the dial by the door. This must have some bearing on the door but what? Suddenly a voice erupted in his head but this was not Darkstalker’s. It was decidedly human.

“And what can dials be used for, boy?” the voice sounded old, impossibly old. Lin thought about it. He thought about why he was here and where he had come. A realization sparked in his brain. He reached for his rage again. This time opening the dam just a little more. He let the lava stream flow through him longer as he focused on the ambient temperature in the room. He took a deep breath. When he let it go, the temperature in the room rose.  It took a few moments. He felt like he was swimming in a warm bath. He watched the dial tick up slowly until it reached halfway between 60 and 70. At that moment, the door before him opened into a larger dark space lit by torches. He looked around hoping. His hopes were solidified when he saw Darkstalker loping over to him. He couldn’t suppress the relief. Nor could the wolf, no matter how hard he tried.

“Thank you, Lin.” The wolf thought to him. He was thankful. He just didn’t like feeling helpless. Lin smiled and ruffled his bondmate’s fur. Darkstalker stared up at him like he was considering what condiments he might use to eat the young man, but he let his friend pet him all the same.

“Yes, well done, indeed, boy.” The ancient voice boomed around them. It seemed to put an odd emphasis on the last word but Lin didn’t understand the significance of it. The voice seemed disgusted by that word but the young magus had no idea why. “You have done well and clearly have a mastery over the first Magic. Let’s see what you do with this.” Darts shot out of the shadowed area around them. One hit Lin in the throat and the other in between his ribs into his lungs. Immediately Lin could feel his internal temperature rise. His legs gave out as he became terribly dizzy. He fell hard to the earthen ground beneath him.

“Lin!” Darkstalker yell-thought as he leaned over the boy. He began to lick his face. Lin could feel the wolf’s need to help him. Lin could also feel sweat forming all over his body as his temperature rose to a deep fever. He could barely keep awake.

“Unfortunately, that won’t help, wolf. Only one thing can save your friend now and he knows what that is.” That impossibly ancient voice boomed around him. Lin realized exactly what he meant. Lin reached for the “dam” in his brain where he kept his willpower. He knew the only way to continue his quest to survive and, curse all the gods, he planned to do just that. He opened that dam and let his willpower grow within his mind like a mighty root system. Terrum was the art of using the earth to augment the body and, yes, it could heal it from almost any wound or illness. He directed the “roots” of his willpower to the earth below him and like any good roots they sucked up the energy latent within the earth. He directed that power through his blood stream and could feel it choking the disease in his body until it was completely destroyed. He sat up a few moments later. He could feel the relief in his bondmates thoughts. Darkstalker left behind any feigned indifference and rammed his considerable head into Lin’s chest.

“I thought you were gone, bondmate.” Darkstalker’s thoughts dripped with relief. Lin smiled at his friend wearily. He was exhausted. He stood up by bracing on the large wolf’s frame. He looked directly into the roof of the underground room.

“Not yet, friend,” Lin said, as much to the voice of their tormentor as to his bondmate. He stared in the direction he imagined the voice to come from, daring it to challenge him again.

“Don’t be so quick, boy!” the voice shot back. He realized the emphasis was disgust at his age at that moment. Clearly the voice believed Lin to be too young, but for what Lin had no idea. “There is one final task. I have seen how you wield the first two Great Magics directly. I have also seen how you handled my hired brigands with Sensum. Let’s see what you do with this. Gaze upon the shub’ghul!” The last word sent a chill up Lin’s spine.

Suddenly, he heard a creak sound from directly in front of him. He looked and saw a large stone wall there. He watched as it slowly lifted like it hadn’t opened in generations. As the stone wall opened, he could see green tentacles peeking from beneath the door. As the door opened, more of the creature revealed itself. It had innumerable tentacles, each moving and twitching in grotesque fashion along the floor and walls of the room. They were attached to a single spherical shaped object at the center. In this slimy ball, a single red eye opened and closed. It had two sets of eyelids, one exterior and another as a second layer below the outer lids. It opened a slit-like mouth with rows of pointed, yellow teeth. It opened vertically below the eye and drool spilled out as it opened. The eye fixed upon Darkstalker and the creature’s tentacles moved at blinding speed. They snatch the large wolf off the ground in an instant. This creature was so massive it made the wolf look like a small cat in its grip.

Darkstalker wasn’t afraid like before. He started biting and scratching at the monstrosity but his teeth and claws seemed to have little effect on this beast. Lin looked for a moment. He knew what he had to do. He reached into his mind. He focused it toward the monster and felt… a conscious mind. He began to think about this creature. He understood how it must be imprisoned when not being used by its master, how it longed to hunt and feed on its own instead of taking the scraps its master gave to it. And there it was, the little bit of empathy he needed. He imagined his empathy created a spider's web between him and the shub’ghul. He could sense its fear, rage and hunger. Gods, it was hungry. A hunger like he had never felt before. A hunger so keen it almost overwhelmed the young man before he could do anything.

Lin refocused his mind. He poured all of the empathy he had just developed for the creature into this web bonding he developed. He sent feelings of calm and understanding into the primal brain. It took everything he had to hold the web in place. He bled his empathy dry. He could feel exhaustion and hunger threaten to overwhelm him but he held fast knowing he was the only thing that could save his bondmate and himself. Finally, after minutes of Magical exertion, he felt the shub’ghoul calm.  He had successfully formed a temporary Animalum bond with it. Lin willed the creature to put down his bondmate. The wolf ran over to Lin, relieved they were both still alive. Lin smiled at Darkstalker. Both were breathing heavy and Lin was covered in a sheen of sweat from the effort of the Magic he had used. He looked at the creature with a new understanding and though he was glad to survive, Lin was sad at the plight of the beast.

As he thought this, an old man walked out from behind the shub’ghul. This man looked old; older than the earth on which they stood. He looked impossibly ancient. He was a little taller than Lin and also thin. He wore a red robe and grey pants. He walked with a stick that looked like it was made from one of the majestic trees he saw earlier. The old man looked at the shub’ghul. The beast began to retreat back through the door it came as though he had been willed to by some unseen master and the stone wall began to close again. The older man watched the creature and, once the wall was closed, looked at Lin and smiled.

“So, you are the one my brothers told me about. The young man who mastered four of the Magicae Magnum. I am impressed, young one.” His voice was the same voice of their tormentor. Instead of dripping with disgust and condescension, it was more kind and fatherly. “Bel has informed me of your quest and your abilities. After your performance here today, I will be honored to teach you.”  He beamed at Lin. “Come, let’s get you inside so you can eat and rest. Tomorrow is a big day and you will need your rest, that I promise you. Your world has just gotten a lot larger, boy.”

The older man, who Lin surmised was Mat, walked to a smaller door near the large wall where the shub’ghul had come out. He opened the door and beckoned Lin and Darkstalker to join him. The wolf loped after him. Lin looked around himself, thinking about his quest. He followed his bondmate after the ancient magus. He shook his head as he walked. And he couldn’t help but smile as he moved up the stairs to his next adventure.

Larger World, indeed.