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Pflugzeit 17th ,2488 IC
"I don't know… I'm far too old to take on an apprentice. And certainly not one so… troubleso," said the old man with a tired smile.
"Troubleso? You barely know ," I replied, staring at him seriously.
"You're too young to understand," he murmured as he removed the dallion hidden beneath his robe and, without asking, placed it around my neck.
The reaction was imdiate. I felt an unbearable pressure in my chest, as if sothing inside had been violently released. A heavy pressure weighing down on my chest. Deeply unpleasant.
"What… did you do to …?" I asked with difficulty, the air barely leaving my lips.
"You can't understand it yet," said the mage, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The winds of Chamon swirl around you like a vortex. I've never seen such intense affinity—maybe in a White Tower elf… but you attract them more than even my own amulet can conceal. Even now, you're still releasing magic, like an apprentice who has only just awakened."
I tried to say sothing, but the old man continued, limping slowly as he spoke.
"I felt you the mont you approached the city. It was like a tide of magic centered in one place. I thought a cataclysm was coming… and I wasn't entirely wrong. What puzzles is sothing else: why haven't daemons found you yet? A soul like yours should attract them like flies to a corpse. Perhaps… soone is protecting you. So god."
He stopped in front of and took a deep breath before continuing.
"If I'm to consider you my apprentice, you must know I don't have much ti left. I could only teach you the basics—just enough to keep you from destroying yourself. That's why I have to ask you sothing essential: when did your sensitivity first manifest?"
"Two weeks and a few days ago," I answered honestly. "The sensations were unbearable… they forced to shut myself in. Going outside was overwhelming."
"Even more surprising," said the mage with a mix of awe and concern. "Such affinity in so little ti, and no daemon chasing you. Soone is definitely protecting you… could it be Sigmar, perhaps? He protects those who fight Chaos. Or do you follow Ulric?"
"I'm a Sigmarite, like my father," I replied firmly. "He fought against mutants and Chaos worshippers wherever they hid."
"That might explain it," murmured the old man. "You never know who's watching from the other side. Well, I see you've managed so control over your sensitivity. But tell … can you channel the winds to search for specific things, or do they just overwhelm you?"
I shook my head.
"I can't. Either I lose control, or I feel nothing."
The old man clicked his tongue, grimacing slightly.
"You're wearing thick clothes… that ans you fear oxidizing or lting the tal you touch. Can you control that too?"
"Yes," I replied with more confidence. "I figured it out while working in my lab. I can choose when to oxidize sothing… or remove rust."
"Really? That's unusual. That ability usually erges much later, after years of study. But it makes sense… you developed it to keep fulfilling your noble duties, didn't you?" the old man asked, reading with unsettling ease.
"That's right," I answered bluntly.
"And tell … can you lt tals at will?"
"That's how I made steel. I lted iron and combined it with charcoal while it was still liquid," I explained.
"Impressive…" the old man murmured, crossing his arms. "You have more talent than I thought. And you progress fast. Very fast…"
He turned to his table, pushing aside books and jars.
"Let's try this…" the mage said as he picked up a vial and showed it to . Inside was a small dull ingot. "This is lead. One of Chamon's favorite tals. Close your eyes, try to channel the winds. Sense its presence… observe it without looking, get to know it… touch it to feel its texture," he added with a smile.
He let go of the ingot, and I dropped it imdiately as I moved my hand. "Lead is dangerous if mishandled. It's toxic," I replied naturally.
"Too much knowledge for soone so young," the old man said, bending down with difficulty to pick the tal back up.
"Then use your other senses. Try it. I'll stabilize you if you lose control," he said, raising a finger.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As I had done when creating steel, I forced the energy to move within . This ti, I guided it toward my ears and nose.
"You're releasing too much. Try to limit it more, or you'll lose control," the mage warned, limping in circles around .
I nodded silently and obeyed. I imagined lowering the voltage in a circuit, controlling the energy flow. I imdiately felt the magic inside begin to calm… to settle.
"Good… perfect. Continue. You're stabilizing on your own," the mage said, sounding pleased.
Then I began to feel it. First my chainmail, then the sword at my side, the coins in my pocket, the rivets in my boots. One by one, the tals around began to vibrate in my senses. Then I felt the lead. It was duller, denser, but it was there… in the mage's hand. I recognized it by the way it conveyed its weight and density in my mind.
Slowly, I began to see the shapes. With my eyes closed, I could make out the contours of my armor. I could see the lead ingot in his hand. And beyond that, more. Everything tal in the room beca perceptible. But the brightest, the most intense of all, was the pignt on the table. It pulsed like an encapsulated sun, drawing attention even among the sea of tallic objects.
"Perfect… you learn quickly," said the mage, pleased. "Perhaps there's hope that I'll leave a good wizard behind before Morr cos to take ."
Then his expression grew more serious.
"But my amulet is nowhere near enough to conceal all the winds you attract. So I recomnd you avoid Sigmar's temples. Avoid other licensed mages. Not even the Gold College. At least… not for a few years. Not until you learn how to hide what you carry inside."
That instantly made tense. I frowned.
"That's going to be a big problem… in three months I have to go to court. In Altdorf. Right next to Sigmar's Cathedral and all the damned Colleges of Magic," I muttered through clenched teeth, feeling the weight return to my chest.
"Then don't go. Seems like a simple solution," the wizard said, shrugging as he turned his attention back to the pignt vial with clear interest.
"That's not an option. I have a legal dispute with the Margrave of Helmgart. He claims I'm his ward, and therefore that he should be the regent of my lands. If I don't show up to the hearing, I'll automatically lose the case for defying the magistrates. Or… I'd have to pay bribes so large I can't possibly gather the money in ti. Which would leave in the sa position as if I were locked away in the College of Magic."
"Not so simple, I see…" he muttered, eyeing my pignt. "But sothing cos to mind… I have people who owe favors. I might be able to get you sothing useful. Useless to most wizards, but perfect for you," he said at last, sealing the vial and heading for the door.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To see a very old friend," the mage replied.
He didn't speak further, and I simply followed. The old man climbed into one of my carriages and just pointed in the direction we should go. After a few blocks, I realized we were nearing Elftown.
"We're going to see an elf?" I asked as we approached the entrance.
"Yes, a very old friend," said the mage. "Have your guards stay outside. We won't be well received if you go in with ard escort."
I nodded, and once we reached the gate, I ordered almost all my escort to remain there, letting only two guards follow us, and even they left their swords behind.
We began entering Elftown, and I could feel the piercing stares of the local elves fall upon us. I noticed guards watching from rooftops and walls, and even residents pausing to observe.
We walked for a few minutes until we reached a shop beautifully adorned, with a noticeable concentration of magic lingering in the air.
"Here we are… help down… I'm not made for this anymore," said the mage.
I helped him down, making sure he kept the vial with him. He hobbled with effort, and I followed close behind, straightening my cloak.
"Well, if it isn't young Hieronymus. To what do I owe the pleasure today?" said an elf with a smile, speaking in Reikspiel as he looked at the old mage.
"Young… yesterday I almost had to convince Morr not to take with him," Hieronymus replied with a cheerful tone.
"You mortals… so fleeting… and yet you always seem to forget that," the elf said, and then turned to . "Ah… I see you've taken on a mortal apprentice. He's quite talented… but he's wearing your—" the elf narrowed his eyes as he studied .
"You felt it, didn't you?" said Hieronymus. "Here he is. We need your expertise to hide this," he added, pointing at . "Take off the amulet."
I nodded and removed the dallion, instantly feeling the weight in my chest vanish. It was difficult to keep control of my powers.
"Impressive… and dangerous," the elf said, watching .
I noticed glances from outside—several elf guards were peeking in to watch .
I put the dallion back on, and the pressure returned.
"I need one of your dallions… one of the elven kind, from Ulthuan. A proper one. I need it to suppress all his resonance while I train him. Consider it repaynt for that ti I saved your life," said Hieronymus.
"I could've saved myself…" the elf muttered in another language I couldn't understand. "With this, our debt is settled," he said before stepping into the back of his shop. I heard noises coming from the workshop for several minutes.
Eventually, the elf returned with a dallion stored inside what looked like an expensive container.
"Here you have the finest creation I've ever crafted. It's forged from pure ithilmar, extracted from the deep veins of Lothern. I worked it during the equinox, in a workshop lent to by a colleague in Saphery, under the indirect supervision of a librarian from the White Tower of Hoeth. May his na remain unspoken, as he requested."
He passed his finger over the spiral engraved on the surface.
"The spiral isn't decoration. It's a dissolution glyph, etched in silver during the full moon's rise. It doesn't block magic… it redirects it. Folds it inward."
He turned the dallion with two fingers, revealing the back.
"The crystal you see here is a Star Crystal from Cothique. Very old. It fell from the sky—or so my people say. It captures and disperses the Winds around it. It doesn't eliminate them, but it makes them… confused. Unsteady. Diffuse like fog over an open sea. Anyone unable to see past the surface will notice nothing," the elf concluded.
"Go on, try it," said the mage, placing the pignt vial on the elf's table. The elf examined it with intense curiosity.
I changed dallions and imdiately noticed a difference. The massive pressure in my chest faded, replaced by a faint, nearly imperceptible one.
"Much better…" said Hieronymus. "I can barely sense you now. A bit more training and you'll be ready."
I looked at the elf, who had opened my vial and was doing sothing with his hand, visibly amazed by the pignt.
"Could this serve for ink in enchantnts…? Very fine material. The best thing you've ever made," he said to the mage.
But the old man only shook his head and pointed at . "I teach him magic, and he teaches alchemy… an equivalent exchange," he said with a smile.
"The Chamon resonance is strong… it will be useful for many fine enchantnts," said the elf, still marveling at my creation.
"Master elf…" I said respectfully, "could I acquire so of your goods… like those—?"
"NO… mortal," the elf cut off. "My dealings with Hieronymus are because he saved from a daemon during an elven rune expedition. But I would never sell Ulthuan magic items to a human," he said, crossing his arms.
"Well, I must go now… I need to pick up a few more things," said the mage, stepping out of the shop, and I followed, silently cursing the elf.
"Well… one more stop and we return to my lab," said Hieronymus.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Back to Guilderveld. I need tools," the old mage replied, limping ahead.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let know.
Leave a comnt; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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