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Bradley Alan Beers / Text 2 of 5 / Thalamas, Chapter 2: Leaving Home
"Thalamas, Chapter 2: Leaving Home" by Bradley Alan Beers
SF&F Picture 2 out of 5 by Bradley Alan Beers
| The second chapter in my 'novel in progress' about a half-elf mage named Thalamas. This is when he swears allegiance to an order of mages, then leaves home. |
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Thalamas, Chapter 2: Leaving Home
Appearing in his tower once more, Thalamas sat in an old chair. Simple, not overstuffed, yet with a well-used and comfortable air to it. The kind you drag out onto the porch on warm summer days and tell tales sitting in. He sat there, staring at a pleasant tapestry of all the dragons of Mythos, for several hours, chin propped on his hand and a thoughtful look on his face. He sighed softly and sat back in the chair. "Yes, I suppose so… This is foolish to stay here in my tower." Standing gracefully, he began trying to commune with the Goddess he was devoted to.
"Father! You can't let them! I-don't-want-to-leave!" The already unusually tall and slender teen said, biting off each word as he spoke. Thanalassa glanced over at his wife, and exchanged looks. Lady Silitaria curtseyed to her lord, a little stiffly, and left without a word. Thalamas and his father could feel the tension draining out of the room. Over the last three years, relations between Thanalassa and his wife had worn thin, mostly due to their child. Although this had been carefully hidden from the aspiring mage, Thalamas had known for the past two years. Very little slipped past the boy, who's intelligence was enough that very few even bothered disputing with him when he told them what was what. Far wiser than his thirteen years, Thalamas was a valued advisor to his father, and when he suggested something, it was more often than not done.
"There's nothing I can do, you know…" Thanalassa, ruler of Kalisye and slayer of the shadow dragon, said in a quiet voice, nearly breaking with grief. He sat down heavily on his throne of oak and sighed, resting his chin of a hand. Thalamas nodded slightly in response, watching his father. Not only had his father aged in mind due to his Lady Silitaria's anger with him at his quandary of a half-elf child, but his body had aged as well. No longer the powerful man he'd been three years ago, the battle he'd won with the rampaging shadow dragon in his lands had left him scarred for life. One arm mangled beyond use, it was nearly limp at his side. He could move it, oh yes, but the fingers and hand were dead. Numb. His hair, once black as midnight, had streaks of gray in it now. No… Thanalassa was no longer the man he'd been three years ago.
"Feltan says your to be given the robes of a mage soon." Startled from his reverie by these words, the voice deep and rumbling as it had ever been, and yet still musical in it's elven speech. Perhaps he'd misjudged his father. Nodding, the boy replied, "Yes… I am to wear the red robes."
The ruler nodded, sitting ramrod straight on his throne once more. "A good choice, Thalamas my son. A good choice indeed… Where will you go?" The man raised an eyebrow slightly, smiling. Obviously proud of his son, who was going to be the youngest in nearly a hundred years to be given the rank of mage.
"The mountain range, to the east. I want to find out what's there, I think. Perhaps I'll settle down in some town." He shrugged. Thalamas actually planned on leaving earlier than the three years he could stay, not wishing his parents any more discomfort over him. He had pride in his skills, and once he had his robes, that would be enough. He could make a living in any town he wished with the robes of a true mage. So he believed. He skill with the daggers had gotten better along with his skill with the magic.
"No one with elf blood in them has ever crossed it before, they say." Thanalassa watched his son with the piercing gaze he'd developed over the years. The boy was far to quiet lately, and often alone in the forests. He swept the dark thoughts away with ease, knowing his fears were probably unfounded. Thalamas shrugged, fidgeting under the stare.
"So? I'll be fine, father. I'm better with daggers than even Seela'tam now, and as you said, I'm getting the mage robes in a few days. I can take care of myself." He said, with barely concealed anger. He had much pride in his skills. Thanalassa nodded distractedly at his son.
"I know son, I know…"
The wizened elf nodded and stood up from his battered old chair, wide brimmed hat flopping to the ground. "Blasted cap! Stay where you're told!" He snatched it up off the ground and gave a surreptitious wink to his pupil, then shared a heartfelt laugh. "Come on then," he said gruffly, "The ceremony starts any moment now." Suddenly somber, Thalamas stood and followed his tutor to the dome of glittering crystal, constructed of pure magic, that he would receive what he'd worked for all these years.
Thalamas stood in a loincloth before the elven Council of Mages. "I do swear mine allegiance to the Order of Neutrality." The black robed figure stepped back into the shadows silently, and another figure stepped forward to take his place. This one thinner, graceful as a cat, and wearing a robe of blood red edged in black. A pleasant tenor rang through the dome. "You understand what this means, correct apprentice?" He moved not, but spoke.
"I understand." The figure nodded and disappeared into the shadows that seems to gather in the back of the room. A man in shining white stepped forward, glowing very softly. "Are you worthy of this, apprentice?"
"I am not, but I shall live my life trying to be so." The man nodded.
"It is done. Thalamas, this day you are born again, not as apprentice, but as mage. Step forward." The slender man in a loincloth stepped forward and stood still once more, this time below the awe inspiring creature in white robes. It handed him robes of soft red cloth with trim of black. "This robe shall be your proof. Wear it well, mage." Thalamas bowed and took the bundle in his arms, then unfolded and slipped it on. Tying the sash, he bowed once more, receiving a small nod in return, and walked out of the hall without a sound.
Lilis smiled slightly as he left. "That one has a destiny before him not a one of us can face, yet we cast him out into the world unprepared as a butterfly for an early winter. This is not right, Palaya." Palaya cast his white hood back and sat on the air lightly.
"I have a feeling someone watches over him. I know not who, or what, but he'll survive… for now." The black robed one watched them both with eyes of molten silver, warmed by an inner fire any who'd tried to come near had flinched away from.
"And what is your council?" No one called him by name, for it's meaning was 'dark one'. He was a dark elf, who had given up the ways of his brethren and come to the mages council with a plea for knowledge.
"The path he will walk is treacherous, dark, and he will be walking it with eyes closed for a time. But… once he opens them, he will find he walks it with a kindred spirit, and they shall keep each other from harm." With that, the drow elf fell silent once more, watchful eyes glancing around the room. The two figures of red and white bowed very slightly to the other and to the leader of the dark path, and left to their studies. Templis lounged thoughtfully on a chair of shadows. "He will be a great power… But not yet, not now… Something will find him. Someone."
Thalamas looked up the faintly glowing daggers, though the other seems to absorb the light like a vortex, and finished penning the letter. Pinning it to the top of his mirror, he shouldered the stuffed pack and set out to meet his destiny. He was sixteen.
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Lynsey
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About 'Thalamas, Chapter 2: Leaving Home':
• Status: OK
• Created by:
Bradley Alan Beers• Copyright: ©Bradley Alan Beers. All rights reserved!
• Keywords: Thalamas, Half-elf, Elf, Warrior, Mage, Wizard
• Categories: Magic and Sorcery, Spells, etc.
• Views: 87
More by 'Bradley Alan Beers':
| Thalamas, Chapter 5: The Insider | Thalamas, Chapter 3: Wanderlust | Thalamas, Chapter 4: Ambush |
| Thalamas, Chapter 1: Making Of A Mage |
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