Stranded Mage by D.W. Jackson

met with the dwarves Thad had researched the other magical races though he had to sift through myth and truth. The dwarves knew much about their brethren but were reluctant to share any information about the other magical races, even to a mage who they considered a friend. Even with his limited knowledge, Thad could easily tell the man in front of him was an elf. Over seven feet tall, bright emerald eyes, flowing sliver hair, and light golden skin, the only thing that was missing was the pointy ears.
    “Where am I?” The question stumbled out of his mouth awkwardly.
    “You are in Tremeir,” the elf said blandly. “Now that you are awake the master has requested an audience with you.” The elf gave Thad no chance to respond, he simply turned and left the room.
    With little choice Thad followed the elf through the winding halls. Along the way Thad noticed a few other elves, they all looked as handsomely elegant as the one he followed but what grabbed Thad’s attention was the way they behaved. Being raised to be a slave Thad could easily recognize servants when he saw them. The lowered head, blank visage, all the sings were there. Just who was the master that they had subjected and degraded the elves to a position of servitude?
    The anger that still burned in Thad’s chest began to rise again. His hand went for where his sword should have been, but he found nothing. Thad didn’t know where his weapon might be and he lamented its loss. Countless fortnights had been spent on crafting the sword. It had served him well, even for the short time it had been in his care.
    Thad reached out with his mind and found that though the connection with his staff was faint it was still there. He knew that should he call his staff would be there no matter how far away it may lay. Even if it now rested on the bottom of the deep sea it would heed his call. That one thought comforted him as he marched blindly to meet with a person he already had a great distaste for.
    Thad was led into a decent sized open chamber that resembled one of the Farlan Palace’s smaller audience rooms meant for the more inauspicious meetings.
    Inside the chamber sitting in an elegant looking chair carved to look like a tree sat an elf. Unlike the others Thad had seen his hair seemed to have more luster, his eyes seemed to shine brighter, and most noticeably his ears came to a slight point.
    “You called for me?” Thad asked, trying his best to keep his voice polite. He hadn’t expected to find an elf as the master of the house, but even that fact did not seem to diminish his anger. He knew that he had little place to condemn how others lived, especially when he knew so very little about them, but rationality seemed to flee from a man who was nursing anger and revenge within his heart.
    “Silence,” the elf shouted, his voice demanding and full of authority. “When and if I wish you to speak I will command it of you human.” The contempt in the elf’s voice made Thad take a step back. “I do not know why the miramer brought you to our shores, and I do not rightly care. We will prepare for you a small ship and tomorrow at first light you shall leave our isle. Now you are dismissed.”
    Thad called for his staff as he began gathering the elemental energy around him, being careful not to overextend his limits again. There was an abundance of nature energy around but Thad also found a large quantity of the other magical energies as well. It was almost as if he was standing in an epicenter of the magical currents that surrounded the world.
    The elf lord’s eyes widened as Thad’s staff appeared in the mage’s hand. Thad watched the elf stand his face contorted in anger. He knew the elf was shouting something but the words never reached his ears. Thad did hear the elf’s scream of terror as a large stream of blue energy streamed from his staff, launching the lithe elf into the air and through the far wall.
    Thad didn’t wait to see if the elf would return,