Discovering Reality
by RikugouStandard Disclaimer: No part of this story may be reproduced anywhere else but here. The characters, plot, language, names and spells belong to the author. This is an original story people. All of the characters are MINE!
Notes: Thanks for some of the 'spells' Kit!
Chapter 3After Terry's, now Myterinth, unexpected transformation, Spartye and Alexius immediately broke into action. They could not stay in the meadow they landed in because the magick of the gate would surely have attracted the attention of weak and powerful mages in the vicinity. As fast as they could, they ran for the relative cover of the forest.
"Um, where are we going?" Myterinth asked.
"We're going to see a certain brother of mine. We can't go all the way to Narsis without attracting too much attention for my liking. I may be a rather formidable swordfighter, but even with the help of Spartye and yourself, my prince, we cannot face an army. Maybe when you are more trained in the magick arts, your highness," Alexius said.
"If you 'my prince and your highness' me again, I'm going to throttle you. It is bad enough that I find out that I'm an Elf and the heir to the entire kingdom full of them, I do not need people calling me 'your highness, majesty' so on and so forth," Myterinth said in an annoyed tone.
"As you wish, my liege," he said with a smirk.
Myterinth resisted the urge to stick his tongue out but eventually gave into it and pouted. "Why do we have to go to Narsis?"
"It's the capital of Feryngale. We have to establish you as the heir of this kingdom or else Jespheras will be able to claim it if there isn't anyone from the line of Seraph."
"Oh," still as clueless as ever. How am I going to adjust to this strange world? Myterinth thought.
***
Behind the pair, Spartye smiled to himself. It seemed that Alexius was falling for the prince. From the rumors he had heard around two decades ago, the silver haired Warrior-Mage had kept up a reputation of being a playboy. Then again, the reason the Elf was falling so hard for the red head could be easily seen by anyone his age and older. He was more attuned to the flow of living energy even though he was not a Healer because of his age and experience. The easiest thing to recognize for someone his age was the LifeBond.
The closest human equivalent would be something along the lines of 'love at first sight' but it was a far more intricate joining than that. It was a joining of spirit, mind and heart. It was also the reason why the population was kept in check and did not increase dramatically as the years went by. No habitant in the Elven World could love another like the one destined to be their Bonded. And it did not happen very often. In the span of a hundred years, only about 50 Life Bonds occurred. Meeting newly LifeBonded pairs were rare and he was more than honored to be witnessing the budding of a new Bond.
Spartye was happy that his student would find the one thing that would help him adapt to this new world. Maybe some day I will find my own LifeBonded, he thought wistfully.
***
"How far do we have to go until we meet this brother of yours?" Myterinth asked as he stepped over a tree root that was threatening to trip him.
"We are still quite a ways from where Brendon is but at this rate, we should be able to get to the village by tomorrow at sun down at the latest," Alexius said.
"Um, what will I have to do to train my powers?" the prince said softly.
"Well, since JespherASS is no where in the vicinity, I can teach you the basics of magick," Alexius grinned. Myterinth giggled. He cleared his throat and adopted a scholarly tone. "There are five elements of nature: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. But more often than not, we call it aether. And before you ask me anything, no, it has nothing to do with the series of organic chemical compounds nor of the hypothetical medium that permeates all of space.
"In this world, aether is the power of those who were and will be. Basically, every mage has an element of which they are the most attuned to, therefore they are more powerful in that area. That is called your major alignment. Most mages have only one major alignment with one element and a minor alignment with another. But there are others who have an equal attunement with all of them. But generally, they cannot equal the might of a mage who has only one major alignment."
"How can you test for these...alignments?" Myterinth interrupted.
"You have a trained mage have a look at you," Spartye unexpectedly said. "Or use Mage Sight and see how many elementals you can spot. Either way, you still need a mage."
"Oops, I forgot that the King's Champion is also a mage. Sorry," Alexius said contritely.
"No matter. Most do not live as long as I have so there is not many that know about my skills. I'm surprised that you were aware of that fact," Spartye said offhandedly.
"Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is a mage or healer. More than half of the population does not possess the Mage-Gift or any other powers. In fact, the normal outnumbers the gifted three to one. The only differences between them and the humans are their appearances, speed and strength," Alexius continued.
"Another difference is the way we age. We stop aging after a time, usually just after we reach the appearance of someone a bit past their twenties or mid-twenties at most," Spartye added.
"How old are you then, Alexius?" Myterinth asked.
"Oh, just under two hundred. I'm not that old by our standards," Alexius shrugged.
Myterinth's eyes widened before he looked down at his feet. He must think I'm a child, he thought dejectedly. "How long do Elves normally live anyway?" he asked.
"Most of us tend to be uncomfortable about our age, the older the more uncomfortable. Once you reach five hundred years of age, people start treating you like a king since an Elf that old is rather rare. We are eternally young and immortal but Elves generally do not live past five hundred because of wars, unexpected incidents, so on and so forth. Actually, Spartye would only be considered to be in his prime and I a teenager," Alexius answered.
"So I can live until I'm--
"Ah-ah, no more changing topics. We're supposed to be training you as we head over to Mitemp. Where were we? Oh, yes. Elements. For every element, there is an elemental. Only those who have a major or minor alignment with the element can see the elemental. The elementals of the elements that you're not attuned to merely look like wavering clouds of white. Elementals are cute little creatures and you can only see them using Mage Sight. That is merely a simple spell that opens your supernatural eye," Alexius said. He looked around for a bit and brightened. "Here's magick lesson number one. Try spotting the little air elementals using Mage Sight. Most mages have a major or minor alignment of air so you might be able to see them. But don't worry if you don't see them at first."
Alexius then began to tell him how to activate the spell. He told him that after some time, he would be able to go right into Mage Sight without saying the words. The trio stopped for a moment to let Myterinth attempt to use Mage Sight to locate the elementals. The braided boy closed his eyes and breathed in deeply as he said the words that would activate the ability.
"Oh Great Goddess of Sun and Light,
Give to me the Second Sight,
Fire for vision,
Light for power,
Aid me now within this hour."Opening his eyes, Myterinth almost had a heart attack.
Everything in the forest seemed to light up in its own golden glow. The light grew stronger and lighter at regular intervals like a heart beat. The entire woodland looked as if it was alive. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Cloud like creatures with a pair of eyes floated around. He could find five distinct shapes out of the crowd.
All of them were different colors. There was one that was green with brown eyes. Another was light blue with a pair of dark blue eyes. The third was red orange in color with gold eyes. Yet another one was blue with green eyes. The last different one he saw was multicolored and always changing in appearance. One moment, it would appear violet and then the next yellow. Its eyes though, stayed the same and looked like the night sky with shimmering stars.
"W-What do air elementals l-look like?" he asked, not wanting to take his eyes off the elementals.
"You see them?" Alexius asked, a bit worried at the stricken expression on Myterinth's face. The Elf prince just nodded dumbly. "They're light blue clouds with dark blue eyes."
"What do the other elementals look like?" Myterinth said, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"The earth elemental is green with brown eyes. The fire elemental is red orange and has gold colored eyes. Water elementals are blue with green eyes. The spirit or aether elementals are multicolored. They're eyes are rather...peculiar. They look like the clear night sky with shining stars. Why? D-Do you see all of them?!" Alexius said, his silver-blue eyes widening. Myterinth nodded again.
Spartye merely snorted. "I am not surprised. Hyrule-sama did say that his son was powerful."
"But how about the golden glow?"
"What golden glow?" Alexius frowned. He searched through his memory for something similar to what Myterinth described.
"Around the plants, animals, rocks. There's a glow surrounding them and it's fluctuating at regular intervals, like a heart. It's almost blinding but warm somehow," Myterinth said.
"He is talking about the golden aura of nature, youngling," Spartye reminded.
"Oh, eh, forgot about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I only have basic Healer training. My brother, Brendon, is a fully trained Warrior-Healer so he should be able to answer most of your questions about that side of your abilities. All Healers can see the glow. It's how they are able to Heal serious wounds and set nature back onto its correct course. My Healing Gift is not so powerful that I can see the golden aura. All I see is a slight illumination but that's about it. Often times, I forget about it," Alexius shrugged. "Hey, what can I say. I'm a Warrior-Mage not a Healer."
"It is beginning to get dark so we might as well turn in. Even with our enhanced sight and strength, I do not want to intervene in the hunt of the creatures that roam in this forest," Spartye said, untying the leather pouch at his waist.
"I'll gather wood to make the fire to ward off the hunters of the night," Alexius offered. Turning, he began walking deeper into the forest to look for stray branches to make the fire.
"W-What can I do?" Myterinth asked shyly.
"You can go help Alexius find some firewood. He might as well teach you some more about your new abilities," Spartye said absently.
Myterinth nodded and quickly scampered off in the direction Alexius went in. The green haired Elf smiled. "May Ashia let your love bloom."
***
Alexius smiled slightly when he sensed Myterinth following him. Spartye must have sent him. I should thank him for doing so and getting his blessing to court the young prince, he thought. From the moment he met the Elf prince, he knew that he was the one he had been waiting for since he was born.
Alexius had grown up listening to stories of the meeting of one's Life Bond and already two of his friends had found their fated. Not that he was obsessed with finding his destined. He knew that eventually, when the time was right, Ashia would send him on his path to find his intended.
And how! Myterinth was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid his eyes upon and he should know, he knew many an exquisite person in his life and the prince stood at the top of that list. Wide green eyes tipped with long lashes that he knew most Elves would envy and the softest skin he had ever had the privilege to touch.
He was amazed that the Feryngale heir did not have a line a suitors a mile long! And that hair! He only had a fleeting touch but he knew that it was as silky as it looked from afar. Myterinth also had a lithe build that belied the strength he possessed.
"Alexius! Wait up!" said a slightly breathless Myterinth.
The silver haired Elf stood in place and waited patiently for the prince to catch up. "Spartye sent you?"
"Yea. I didn't want to feel useless so Spartye told me to help you find firewood," he answered. Myterinth finally noticed that it was dark and he could still see everything with crystal clarity. "Do all Elves have night vision or am I seeing things?" he asked.
"Elves are much stronger and faster than humans. Add on top of that a longer stamina and eyes that are more sensitive than humans. In other words, to them, we are supernatural. Here, there is always someone that's stronger physically but magickwise and psychicwise, that's another thing all together," Alexius said, looking up at the star filled sky.
"There's so much I don't know or understand. How will I be able to go against Jespheras if I don't know how to handle my magick? And now you tell me that there are also psychic powers as well?" Myterinth sighed as he kneeled to pick up some branches. They worked in companionable silence for a moment before Alexius decided to break it.
"We should go back now. I think we have enough firewood to last us two days!" Alexius laughed. Then he took on a more serious demeanor. "Magick is not something to be studied and dissected. After you learn the basics, it's instinctive. magick is merely a weapon like any other except you always have it around unlike your sword. You did say that you are a fast learner. Well, outside of a few rather important spells that you should learn, everything else you can just make it up as you go along. Ashia has been known to guide her followers that are worthy."
"How do I know I'm worthy then?"
"You ask hard questions, elfling. Well, that question does not have an answer, unfortunately. Only Ashia can judge an Elf's worthiness and I am not her," Alexius shrugged. "To answer your second question, psychic powers are not all that hard to get down. It depends upon your self-control and will. They are generally called Mind-magick."
Myterinth sighed. "Do we have to walk all the way to Mitemp?" he asked.
"It's easier than taking the bulky hovercrafts. They are extremely loud and it's costly. Besides, we could get there faster on foot than in those machines. Elves have a natural love for nature. We keep our villages as close to the appearance of the forest as we can. That's why there are so many trees and flowers. Cars pollute the air we breathe and need flat land to run smoothly. The hovercrafts use sunlight and powerful fans to move. All they do is blow away some grass and flowers instead of crushing them," Alexius explained. "And believe me, we will get to Mitemp and you will not feel tired at all. We have already exceeded the distance I wished to travel for the day."
When they went back to the small clearing they had stopped previously, they found a small tent pitched next to a circle of rocks meant for the fire. Spartye walked out of the tent. "What took you younglings so long?"
"Alexius was explaining something to me," Myterinth chirped as he dumped his pile of firewood into the circle of stones. The silver haired Elf did the same.
"Here's magick lesson number two. Light our campfire," Alexius smirked, showing his fangs. "Since you can see all the elementals, one of your alignments has to be fire. You can also ask the fire elementals to help you, but it's very annoying trying to coax them into burning something for you. They might be rather simple minded but they're rather greedy for magick which is what they use to bargain for their skills."
"One of my major alignments is fire so if you do not mind, I shall lead the prince through this exercise," Spartye said.
"As you wish, King's Champion," Alexius said, bowing dramatically. Spartye mentally rolled his eyes.
"You remember your meditation exercises, am I correct?" Spartye asked. Myterinth nodded. "Before we begin, sit in a lotus position."
The braided boy gracefully sunk to his knees and crossed them while he awaited his teacher's instruction. "The first time you try this is always the hardest. So relax and take deep even breaths. Close your eyes and keep the picture of the woodpile in your mind. Do you have it?"
"Yes Spartye," Myterinth acknowledged.
"Ground and center. Imagine a tiny flame on one of the pieces of wood. See it grow bigger as the wood feeds the fire."
Alexius looked on in a mixture of a tiny bit of astonishment and appreciation when he saw the tiny flame appear just as Spartye told Myterinth to imagine it.
Spartye smiled triumphantly when he saw they now had a small fire now. "That's good enough. Clear the image from your mind by letting it gradually become darker in your mind's eye. When it is gone, you may open your eyes again."
Cat-like green eyes fluttered open and twinkled when he saw the cheery flame going. He pumped a triumphant fist into the air and shouted a loud 'Whoo-hoo!' Myterinth sweatdropped when an entire flock of birds and various wildlife started to run away.
"I think you just cleared out the animals within a one mile radius of this area," Alexius quipped.
"They'll come back. Just for reference, do not do that again. You're lucky that there are no animals hunting for food in the vicinity," Spartye said flatly. The prince turned red with embarrassment.
"Sorry, Spartye," he said, looking down at his hands.
"Just make sure you don't do it again," Spartye sighed. "If you practice, it will not take as long as this first try did. It is a skill that is very important. Also, never just wipe it out of your mind. More often than not for beginners, the fire goes out with the image. You have to darken the image in your mind to make sure it stays."
Since no one was feeling hungry at all, they decided to turn in for the night. Alexius built a barrier around the fire, allowing air to flow freely in and out but nothing else. He had no wish to see the forest burn down around them.
Then he relaxed to examine his surroundings. Absently, he wondered where Spartye had gotten his hands on a sub-space tent. The objects were ridiculously expensive even though they saved a lot of space while packing. Subspace tents were extremely spacious even though the outside looked really small. It was an opening into another space of unlimited room. Rather useful when you wanted to pack light.
Alexius then wondered where Spartye had bought a dimensional bag. Somewhat like the tents, you could put as many things as you wanted into it and it would never get full. The draw back was that if you forgot what you put in it, you never got it back. It depended on you calling the object to yourself, whether imagining it or saying the name.
He found Myterinth standing in the middle of the tent, looking in wonder at the impossibly large accommodations Spartye had secured. Alexius deliberately made noise so as to not surprise the young prince.
"What...How?"
"It's a sub-space tent. It's a room out of existence from our world. Time runs its course here but nobody can come in here unless they go into the tent. The weather outside also affects those who are in the tent," Alexius explained.
Spartye came back from a closet with two objects that looked like sleeping bags. "I am sorry for the rather Spartan furnishings but this was all I had time to acquire. I could not pack any futons and I only managed to grab two sleeping bags. Luckily, one of them is larger than the other. You and Myterinth can pair up for the night. We shall have better accommodations once we reach Mitemp," he said.
The prince fought to keep his blush down and from resembling a ripe tomato. He stuttered an affirmative and stepped forward to take the sleeping bag from Spartye's hands. Alexius grinned wolfishly at him as he laid the item down onto the floor.
"Shall we rest now?" Alexius said.
"Th-That would be f-fine," Myterinth stuttered. He cursed himself for acting like a shy schoolgirl and forced himself to act normal. After all, Alexius was over a hundred years older than him. It wasn't as if he never shared a sleeping bag with another male. Jasen and he did that a lot during camping trips when they were young. Calming himself, he stripped himself of the armor, scabbard and tunic under it and was pleasantly surprised to find a loose white shirt under all the trimmings.
Myterinth pulled off his boots and wiggled his toes appreciatively when they were released from their confinement. Deeming what he had left on appropriate for sleep, he flopped over to the very end of the sleeping bag and turned so that his back was facing Alexius. The redheaded boy clenched his eyes shut, promising himself that he was not going to react when the handsome Elf got in as well.
"Good night," Spartye murmured before his breathing automatically fell into a rhythmic beat. Briefly, Myterinth envied his mentor's ability to fall straight into sleep.
Mumbling a 'good night' to Alexius, Myterinth clenched his eyes shut and hoped that he would not do anything awfully embarrassing while asleep. Grabbing his braid for security, he curled up into a comfortable ball and willed his breathing to slow.
The silver haired Elf chuckled at the endearing image Myterinth made curled up like that under the sleeping bag. He crawled in after the green eyed Elf and put out all the mage lights with a simple command. In mere moments, he fell into sleep as well.
***
Spartye made the jump from unconsciousness to full awareness in less than a minute, a remnant of his days of constant fighting back Jespheras' Dark Army. He braced himself for the lashing of the colder air in the subspace tent and got ready to shake the last two Elves in his entourage. He blinked and blinked again when he saw the picture Alexius and Myterinth made.
Sometime during the night, the red haired boy must have turned in his sleep. Now, he laid ensconced within the embrace of the larger Elf, his face pressed between the juncture of the other's neck and shoulder. Spartye could not help but let a smile cross his face and decided to let the pair sleep some more. Gathering his clothes silently, he walked out of the tent.
***
In the distance, Alexius thought he heard the small sound of the tent flap closing. Vaguely, he wondered if he had stolen Myterinth's pillow during the night. When his 'pillow' moved, his eyes shot open in alarm to find himself pressing his cheek against a head of soft red hair.
With a goofy smile, he closed his eyes and savored the feeling of having his Life Bonded in his arms. He saw Myterinth's nose scrunch up cutely and russet tipped lashes flutter open to reveal a pair of sleepy emeralds.
Myterinth smiled up at him sleepily and closed his eyes to catch some more sleep. Alexius frowned. Consulting his internal clock, he estimated it to be around seven in the morning. They had to get going if they wanted to reach Mitemp before sun down.
"It's time to wake up, Teri," he whispered into his ear.
"Just five more minutes, Jase," the green eyed boy mumbled.
"We have to start on our trek to Mitemp," Alexius said softly.
"School doesn't start in another hour," Myterinth grumbled before snuggling deeper into Alexius' arms.
"You don't want me to kick you up do you?"
"Too comfortable," Myterinth said as his arms snaked around Alexius' slender neck. When the prince encountered the silver haired Elf's ponytail, he frowned. "Why does your pillow have hair?" he asked as he opened bleary eyes. As they adjusted to the light, the blurry images became clear. He blinked up at silver-blue eyes and then shot out of the sleeping bag as if the hounds of hell were after him with a loud shout of surprise.
Alexius looked on in amusement at the heavily breathing Myterinth as he leaned against one of the tent walls. Spartye looked in to check if there was anything wrong.
"Is there something the matter?" he asked.
"Nothing at all, Spartye. Is there, Teri?" Alexius smiled.
"U-Um, no. Alexius," he stuttered. Spartye narrowed his eyes suspiciously but left the tent anyway.
"Get dressed and then we shall be off," Alexius said as he gathered the outer garments he had dropped the night before. Smiling yet again, he sauntered out the opening of the tent.
Myterinth let out the breath that he had been unconsciously holding and ran his fingers through his hair. Frowning when he saw the frayed end of his braid, he sighed, knowing that it was going to be forever until he got the snarls out. Long hair was such a bother.
The red haired prince put his black tunic on over his white shirt. He strapped himself back into his armor, a bit surprised that he managed to get it on right. He felt like some actor putting on medieval clothing. Last night seemed so surreal that he could barely believe it but the evidence was right there in front of his face so he could not possibly deny it. Throwing the shoulder strap of his sword over an arm, he sprinted out of the tent. He just spent his first night in Feryngale! Breathing in the crisp air of the morning, he found Spartye and Alexius hunched over something on the forest floor.
Half-skipping (something he had not done since he was six), half-running to the pair, he looked over their shoulder to see what was so interesting and almost got his head cut off by two swords at his throat. Myterinth turned wide-fearful eyes to the two Elves.
"Never sneak up on an Elf, especially during times of war. It is dangerous and you are too silent for your own good," Spartye admonished lightly.
"Sorry to do that to you Teri. Bad habit. War does it to everyone. I nearly got my head cut off in a place I had thought myself safe but fortunately, I reacted fast enough to get out of the blade's path. You are never perfectly safe in any place when your kingdom's currently involved in a war," Alexius apologized.
"I-I'll remember that," he stuttered. Accident averted, his curiosity took over. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the drawing spread out on the ground.
"It's a map of Feryngale with the location of the regions where Jespheras has taken over. We have to pass through at least three of those cities in order to get to Narsis and collect the other three warriors assigned as your protectors," Spartye said.
"I don't need that many bodyguards do I? I can protect myself well enough!" he shouted.
"I doubt anyone can face an entire army and live to tell about it," Spartye said flatly. Resigned to his fate, Myterinth sat down on the ground.
"Do you have a...," Myterinth began but stopped when there was a brush in front of his face. Thanking Alexius, he stood up and began to unravel the long red mass. It was starting to get annoying because he didn't have hands long enough to reach the very end of it. When he reached Mitemp, he was going to cut it. His hair was much too long to be convenient.
After finishing combing his long tresses, he separated his hair into three equal sections and began the long process of braiding. Myterinth nearly jumped ten feet into the air when he felt a pair of hands stop him. A low voice whispered, "Let me," into his ear. Recognizing the voice as Alexius, he put his hair in his hands.
"If you two are finished flirting with each other, shall we go on our way?" Spartye said, crossing his arms over his chest. The pair looked at him with deer-in-the-headlights-eyes just as Alexius threw the end of the braid over Myterinth's shoulder.
Stuttering an apology, they immediately backed away from each other and followed the green haired Elf's lead.
Walking some distance deeper into the forest, the embarrassment surrounding Alexius and Myterinth diminished. Spartye took that moment to remind the silver haired Elf that he should continue teaching the prince.
"Oh, yes. Let's go through the basics of psychic powers shall we? There's not much that you have to know. There are not that many kinds. The strongest powers exist within a family. All you need to understand is the making of a mental wall. However, when one finds their Life Bonded, new abilities may turn up," Alexius shrugged.
"What kind of psychic powers can Life Bonded pairs have?" Myterinth asked, tone curious.
"Usually, it's telepathy and empathy. Those are the most mild abilities that appear and they only appear and work with your Life Bonded," Alexius explained. "The more powerful abilities include telekinesis and teleportation although those powers are rather rare. There are only about three or four Life Bonded out of two hundred which have those abilities. The power depends on how close your Life Bonded is but if you have strong bond, it works anywhere. However, having your fated close by magnifies it."
"Aa," Myterinth nodded in understanding.
"The skill you inherit when you have a solid Life Bond usually comes with 'instructions', if you can call them that. You know how to use it when you encounter the ability, I'm told. Those who have it out of a linked pair would have to seek out an teacher," Alexius sighed. "I already told you the basics of magecraft and psychic powers so you get to rise halfway to Journeyman status if you understand what I've told you so far."
"I understand," the prince replied.
"Good. I'll make sure that you are absolutely sure about that later on. We're still two or three hours away from Mitemp and it's only late morning. We're making good time. We should get there just in time for lunch," Alexius said, licking his lips hungrily.
"Do you think with your stomach? You really don't need the nourishment from the food," Spartye said, rolling his eyes.
"Are you saying that he's over-nourished?" Myterinth asked in confusion.
"One fact about Elf physiology, we don't need to eat food to sustain bodily normalcy. We just like the taste of it," Alexius said, licking his lips again.
"Oh, I was wondering why I didn't feel hungry last night," Myterinth said to himself.
An ever increasing rustling sound in a cluster of nearby bushes caught the attention of the two more experienced warriors. Alexius pushed Myterinth behind them by backing into him. They couldn't lose their future ruler when so much was still hanging on the line. The red haired boy was the last member of the royal family aside from the king and queen. If Jespheras decided to kill them off and Myterinth died on the journey, the entirety of Feryngale would most likely be put under the iron fist of the dark Warrior-Mage advisor since he was the next in line after the prince.
Chapter 4