Millennial Mage

Tala passed the following two weeks much as she had planned.

She spent time with her siblings, showing them Kit and actually discussing quite a bit of the random theories of magic with them, well, with the older ones at least.

They never delved too deeply into the topic as no one but Latna had any foundation to speak of.

Tala played with her little siblings and chatted with the older ones about their lives. The Zuccat children and Terry joined in the fun much of the time, and Tala often simply let groups of her siblings into Kit to play with the new playmates available in the sanctum.

When absolutely required, she exchanged words in passing with her parents, but neither her mother nor father attempted to force conversation.

For that, Tala was infinitely grateful. Though, not grateful enough to approach them for anything further.

Aside from the time with her family, she trained, hard.

Her body was fully recovered.

She had a clean bill of health.

The only thing she didn’t have was a physical sparring partner.

In every other regard, she dove into her full suite of exercises and training routines.

She had asked Terry if he wanted to spar, but he had indicated that he wanted to wait, for some reason or other. So, she hadn’t pressed him.

He’ll let me know when he’s ready.

Knowing him, he was probably watching her train to learn how to most efficiently defeat her.

That was alright. Tala preferred competent opponents to spar with.

She could learn from defeat, and she was excited to do so as soon as he was ready.

Tala contemplated finding sparring partners in the city, but that seemed… too permanent to her.

Maybe I can convince Master Leighis? Or maybe he knows someone that it wouldn’t be too awkward for me to fight?

She’d have to ask when they spoke, and they would be speaking.

Master Leighis and Latna were coming for dinner that night, and Tala found that she was almost as nervous and awkward about it as she had been when she hosted the Zuccats.

But now, Mistress Petra is cooking for us and setting everything up, so I don’t have to worry about it myself.

That really was a weight off.

She did have to take Kit to the market district to let Mistress Petra and Master Simon do some shopping for all the meals, but that wasn’t too difficult either.

She could have simply let the pair walk on their own there and back, but that felt rude, somehow.

I’ll get used to having people help me.

Even so, all of that was secondary to what she was currently doing.

She sat under an older tree, talking with Dagan and Alva.

“And I can’t wait to rain lightning down on arcanous creatures! That will be soooo cool.”

Normally over the past week, Segis would have joined in the older boy’s imagination, over-awed by another so dedicated to play-fighting, but Tala had gotten time with just her two siblings, today.

Are all little boys like this?

-Evidence suggests yes, but I doubt it’s really all of them.-

That’s true, I suppose. There are always outliers.

-What was that saying? There is more variation within a group than between groups? I do wish you had paid better attention in some of your classes.-

We can grab a book to refresh if necessary. The crux was an injunction to not toss something out of a category simply because it differed radically in ways other than the defining characteristics.

-Yes, yes. I am aware of the crux.-

So then… why were you asking?

-You were speaking about outliers, and I was irritated that I should have a perfect response, but you don’t remember it perfectly.-

Tala groaned internally. Please let me focus. I want to give my siblings my attention.

-Fine, fine. I’ll get something else done.-

Thank you.

Tala turned her concentration back to her two young siblings.

Alva was sipping her tea as Dagan continued to wax on about his dreams of conquest and glory.

“And then, I’ll turn into lightning and streak through the hordes of attackers to wreak even more devastation.”

Alva set down her cup and interjected, “What if someone you care about gets hurt?”

That gave Dagan pause for a moment, then he shrugged. “I’ll fry the wound closed or shock them back alive.”

Tala opened her mouth to correct him but frowned as she considered that what he said was close to accurate in what could be done. In the end, it wasn’t worth trying to divert him.

Alva seemed to have a similar view as she gave Tala an exasperated look without interjecting further at that moment.

Their brother had been enthusiastically explaining all that he would do once he had access to his magic for most of the morning.

Alva had joined in occasionally, and while she spoke less, her interjections were often more… interesting.

The first time had been especially notable.

Dagan had been describing how he would deal with a rogue group of City Guards—without bothering to explain why they were rogue of course—when Alva had seized the moment.

“Yes, and once your lightning is bouncing between the armor of all the evil men, I will grab hold and amplify it! You supply the spark, and I will bring the thunder.”

Dagan and Tala had turned to her, Tala surprised, Dagan elated. “YES! We will bring them down, together!”

Alva didn’t add more as Dagan then altered his tales to include his sister’s enhancement of his own power.

The young girl had smiled happily, content to listen.

You know, they could probably make that work.

-Of course they could, but it would tie them together.-

Yes and no. A lightning-creating Mage has the potential to be very powerful, and even a guide of lightning is never truly powerless. Then she paused. No, I’m falling into a flawed way of thinking. They can all do the same things, just in different ways.

-Fair enough, yeah. If they follow through, it will be pretty interesting to watch their careers.-

Tala did try to ensure the two knew that Mage work was dangerous and usually not as glamorous as many stories made it seem.

Even so, Tala would say that her preference was for them to pursue magic. So, she probably didn’t try as hard as she could have.

-And if you can go against your father’s wishes at the same time…-

Hush, you. That has nothing to do with it.

-Oh, of course not. It’s just a side benefit.-

Alat…

-Fine, fine. I’ll stop. Your reasons are your own and have nothing to do with your father.-

And they actually were.

While Tala’s own induction into the world of magic as a student had been… unideal, that didn’t change the fact that Mages were required for humanity, and those who took up the mantle had a far greater control over their fate.

There was more danger, but also more freedom, and humanity needed all the help it could get.

She had contemplated her own reasoning over the last couple of weeks, and she had come to the conclusion that it was better to be a player in the game than a pawn on the board.

After all, when she played tafl with Rane, the pieces never won or lost, only the players did. Even so, they were moved by others, their fate entirely outside of their own hands.

By the nature of the game many of the pieces didn’t get eliminated for full games. It was an odd, brutal game when more than half of either side’s pieces were removed, so it was relatively safe to be a piece on the board. Even so, the pieces had no agency, no ability to affect the board.

She wouldn’t let her siblings be subject to the whims of others if she could help it.

Alat had helped her reason through her thinking, so the alternate interface was mostly poking at her, attempting to tease her into further reflection.

Even so, Tala didn’t allow herself to be drawn in, instead focusing on her siblings and what they wanted to share with her, now that they had finished a midmorning snack with tea.

Funnily enough, Alva quite enjoyed cross-stitch, and Tala barely held herself back from commenting on the nature of fusing or the Doman-Imithe while looking at the few pieces the girl had brought with her.

Dagan on the other hand, had brought a wooden box almost too big for him to carry.

Once Alva broke the ice with crafts, Dagan was practically bouncing in his seat.

When Tala indicated that she’d like to see what he brought, he began pulling out… glass?

She was surprised at first, but in the end, it turned out that he had a passion both for blown and stained glass.

He wasn’t that good yet, but from what little Tala understood of the crafts, he showed promise.

And he has the most important characteristic for such things.

Alat grunted in assent. -The desire to continue.-

Their crafts made Tala consider her own lack of a pastime.

She read.

She trained.

She ate.

She explored ideas.

That was pretty much it.

Well, she also enjoyed the theatre and tafl, but those just weren’t the same alone.

I’ll do more of that when I get to Alefast. I’m sure Rane will be up for it.

-I don’t think there will be too many plays put on in a Waning city.-

Huh, I hadn’t considered that… We’ll find something to do.

She was considering what she could do on her own. Plays required performers and tafl required a competent opponent.

I could take up automata crafting…

-Tala…-

Kidding! I’m kidding.

Though, truth be told, both she and Alat were quite interested in the now completely grown body that Io had left behind. There was just an empty socket for a soul-connection, waiting within the thing’s head.

A bloodstar could fit in there so neatly…

-Tala!-

Right! Right. They needed to do more research before taking such a step.

-And if we can figure out how to make it work, a magic-bound golem of that power would be exquisitely useful.-

Excited for all the possibilities, eh? Tala couldn’t help but project her amusement along with the question.

-Of course, but only if we can manage it without undue risk.-

Tala nodded to herself, returning her focus to her siblings.

They had been playfully bickering about whether a guide or a creator was a more powerful Mage.

Apparently, Master Leighis had been giving some basic instruction to all the kids who were interested. It was nothing forbidden or anything that would unduly influence their growth.

It was just some good background that most adults would know, regardless of whether they were mundane or Mage.

Tala shook her head and smiled, interjecting, “That is a misconception.”

They both stopped, turned toward her and asked at nearly the same time, “What is?”

They then turned to each other and glared.

Tala laughed. “There is no inherent power difference between guides and creators. There are some situational limitations, but even between material and immaterial Mages their abilities are not so easy to classify. The quadrants mainly address how a thing is done, rather than what can or can’t be done.”

Dagan hunched, crossing his arms.

Alva rolled her eyes. “We know that. Master Leighis tells us all the time.”

“And you think he’s wrong?”

“Of course not. He says that it depends on how you think about things. My argument is that it is both more efficient and more effective to think about guiding things where you want them to go than simply creating things whole cloth all the time.”

Tala gave a half-smile and shook her head. “As I said, it’s a matter of method, not capacity.”

“Oh, I completely agree, and guiding is the better method.”

Tala opened her mouth to argue, but then just huffed a laugh. “You’re going to have fun.”

Dagan perked up at that, latching onto the change of topic, “Is it fun? It’s not just boring lectures, is it?”

“Not at all.” Tala smiled.

“Good…” He looked a bit nervous. “We’re leaving in three days, and… I’m a bit nervous.”

Alva glanced at her brother then slowly nodded. “Me too. What if Illie and Nalac were lying? What if it’s awful, or we don’t make any friends?”

Tala leaned forward. “Even if that’s the case, you’ll have each other, and you’ll come out Mages.” She hesitated. “Well, as magelings.”

They considered that for a moment.

“More importantly, everyone else is going to be feeling the same. Be a good friend, and you’ll find some. Don’t let people take advantage of you, but err on the side of kindness as much as you can.”

Dagan punched his own palm. “And sometimes the kindest thing you can do for a bully is teach them that that isn’t a good way to act.”

Tala blinked a couple of times. “While, yes, I suppose that I agree... Have you been having to deal with bullies?”

He sat up straighter. “No.”

Alva rolled her eyes again. “He’s never let anyone in our class become a real bully. He puts them down too fast.”

Tala didn’t honestly know what to say to that.

Dagan was looking away sheepishly, glancing back sporadically, likely trying to see how she would react.

“Well… I suppose it’s good that you’re protecting others. What happens to these kids afterwards?”

He shrugged. “Nothing really. They’re just like everyone else. The issue was that they didn’t think they were. Now they do.”

Alva smiled, giving a deeper explanation for her brother, “He’s friends with some, and none were really left out. They are fine, now. He even has enforced this on the years behind us, though not as much.”

He shook his head, frowning. “It’s hard to give a proper lesson to someone smaller than you. They just see it as you being mean.”

Tala honestly had no idea how to respond to that either. Even so, she took Alva’s offered way out, and segued into discussing their friends.

All told, it was a very pleasant way to spend the morning.

Dagan and Alva left for lunch and to rejoin school in the afternoon.

They weren’t really participating in class at this point, as they would be leaving for the Academy so soon.

Instead, they were saying their goodbyes and generally being a disruption to their class.

It was a funny thing, really, and something that Tala hadn’t experienced given her odd departure, but she could understand it.

There was basically a celebration whenever a kid went off to the Academy, and that drew others to consider it more strongly, if they were able to make that choice.

Tala felt like it was a reasonable middle ground.

Humanity needed Mages, desperately. Given the circumstances, it would have been perfectly understandable if every child with any chance at Magehood was gathered up and shipped out to the Academy.

Some would fail out, but more would probably succeed than did under the current system.

Even so, that would take away so much agency from both the children and their families. It would be a tyranny, and Tala was grateful that humanity was not so desperate that such was necessary.

And it never will be, if I can help it.

That idea was a bit shocking as she considered it.

She was immortal unless she was killed. She very likely would help keep humanity in a state where more choice could be offered.

It was easy to argue for freedom or death, but as she’d experienced in the arcane lands, the practical implications had her choosing servitude with a hope for future freedom.

That is a choice that no one should have to make, not with their lives. Debt? That made a sort of sense, as much as she hated to admit it.

As she sat, considering the idea, she had a realization.

If her death could have changed the arcane society, could have brought more freedom to those living there, she would have chosen death. At the very least she hoped that she would have made that choice.

But it should always be my choice. She frowned. It was an odd contradiction.

Society was best when it didn’t enslave the individuals, and individuals, overall, were best off when they each, individually, willingly chose to serve society.

It can’t be enforced, or that ruins the point. It must be chosen freely, or it’s meaningless.

She felt something shift within her, and Alat confirmed her suspicion before she could check. -Another miniscule tick towards Paragon? Nicely done!-

Tala felt herself smiling. Just considering the nature of reality, and the wider implications of individual actions. You know, as I usually do.

Alat chuckled.

Now, let’s go play with an automaton.

-Tala…-

Kidding! I’m only kidding.