modified in the busy summer of last year, Sebastian found it one of his favorites. The air shield often drove his students crazy since no other battle mage had deciphered how to produce it yet and even many full wizards couldn’t tap into the air mage magic causing more friction between him and their ilk. With his protective shield locked in place, the battle mage proceeded to the local smith of Falcon’s Keep to procure some supplies for his newest experiment.
It was still early in the morning, but the man was already starting to build his first fires for the forge work in his plans. Winter kept the smithy busy since it was hard on the horses’ hooves and shoes. A mare was stalled nearby and Sebastian knew that it wasn’t one of Halthor’s since he had only seen the stockier wagon teams in the man’s personal stables. Halthor greeted him as he entered the main work room. Though not exactly a regular customer since the mage didn’t actually own Stormy, the horse he had been riding for most of the last year, Sebastian had still made a few visits for weapons and had brought horses out for a favor to the stable master.
“Good morning, Master Halthor,” the young mage greeted the large smith with a polite smile. Though graying and having a prematurely aging face from the constant life exposed to the fires, the smith was probably strong enough to break Sebastian in half were he of a mind. “I was wondering if I could borrow a few materials. I just need them for a brief experiment and will bring them back after unused.” Unless something strange happened during the experiment, he thought to himself, but figured not to push his luck as he explained his need.
Raising an eyebrow in slight confusion and appraisal, the smith replied, “I suppose I can hardly say no to something like that. What is it that you need exactly?”
“I was thinking of a couple different types of metal rods: iron, steel, tin and maybe bronze. Also if you might have a branch length piece of wood or as long as I can find so I don’t have to ride off to the woods and waste a morning on a horse ride, it would be appreciated,” he requested.
The man shrugged, “Stock’s over there. Take what you need. You might try the wood box out back to look for a piece of wood that long. Sometimes Caleb waits to cut pieces down for me until I will need them.”
Checking the stock rods, the mage was pleasantly surprised to find each kind of metal in approximately four foot lengths. Using a leather carrier usually used to hauls logs; Sebastian loaded the four rods and went out the back door with a brief thanks and goodbye to the smith. He even lucked into finding a decent piece of wood when he inspected the wood box. Nearly five feet in length and two to three inches thick, the lumber could make a decent walking staff if he were in need.
Thus supplied, the man went looking for an open courtyard. There were yards for training soldiers and even others for wizards testing their magic that were often strengthened against many of their potentially dangerous spells. Even though the dislike between wizards and mages was a matter of fact, Sebastian went looking for one of the warded mage yards. He figured both the time of day and the cold of the year made it unlikely that any wizards would be there to complain anyway.
Unpacking the materials onto a stone bench in the yard, the battle mage prepared himself. First, he wanted to tap into the energy he noted from trying Ashleen’s finger sparks. It was simply the beginning of where his research would start, but Sebastian was positive that it was the right way to proceed.
“Dance,” he ordered letting the flow of electricity begin to play in the palm of his hand and out through
It was still early in the morning, but the man was already starting to build his first fires for the forge work in his plans. Winter kept the smithy busy since it was hard on the horses’ hooves and shoes. A mare was stalled nearby and Sebastian knew that it wasn’t one of Halthor’s since he had only seen the stockier wagon teams in the man’s personal stables. Halthor greeted him as he entered the main work room. Though not exactly a regular customer since the mage didn’t actually own Stormy, the horse he had been riding for most of the last year, Sebastian had still made a few visits for weapons and had brought horses out for a favor to the stable master.
“Good morning, Master Halthor,” the young mage greeted the large smith with a polite smile. Though graying and having a prematurely aging face from the constant life exposed to the fires, the smith was probably strong enough to break Sebastian in half were he of a mind. “I was wondering if I could borrow a few materials. I just need them for a brief experiment and will bring them back after unused.” Unless something strange happened during the experiment, he thought to himself, but figured not to push his luck as he explained his need.
Raising an eyebrow in slight confusion and appraisal, the smith replied, “I suppose I can hardly say no to something like that. What is it that you need exactly?”
“I was thinking of a couple different types of metal rods: iron, steel, tin and maybe bronze. Also if you might have a branch length piece of wood or as long as I can find so I don’t have to ride off to the woods and waste a morning on a horse ride, it would be appreciated,” he requested.
The man shrugged, “Stock’s over there. Take what you need. You might try the wood box out back to look for a piece of wood that long. Sometimes Caleb waits to cut pieces down for me until I will need them.”
Checking the stock rods, the mage was pleasantly surprised to find each kind of metal in approximately four foot lengths. Using a leather carrier usually used to hauls logs; Sebastian loaded the four rods and went out the back door with a brief thanks and goodbye to the smith. He even lucked into finding a decent piece of wood when he inspected the wood box. Nearly five feet in length and two to three inches thick, the lumber could make a decent walking staff if he were in need.
Thus supplied, the man went looking for an open courtyard. There were yards for training soldiers and even others for wizards testing their magic that were often strengthened against many of their potentially dangerous spells. Even though the dislike between wizards and mages was a matter of fact, Sebastian went looking for one of the warded mage yards. He figured both the time of day and the cold of the year made it unlikely that any wizards would be there to complain anyway.
Unpacking the materials onto a stone bench in the yard, the battle mage prepared himself. First, he wanted to tap into the energy he noted from trying Ashleen’s finger sparks. It was simply the beginning of where his research would start, but Sebastian was positive that it was the right way to proceed.
“Dance,” he ordered letting the flow of electricity begin to play in the palm of his hand and out through
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