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Alurra scanned the never ending simplicity of the desert scene outside of her carriage. She had always wondered how the Magicians of the guild had managed to create the wasteland. She turned back to her companion who was lightly dozing on the opposite side of the carriage. Her grandmother was tired from her constant travelling through the wasteland, and the fear of the Ichani kept her on high alert.
'They would be fools to try and take on two magicians.' Alurra thought as she rearranged her outfit. Her grandmother had trained her from a very young age, ever since Alurra first used her magic accidently. Instead of going to the guild like her grandmother had she had been taught in secret. All the knowledge the Guild had been hers. The reason why she had never been admitted to the guild, she had learnt later in her life. Finding her gifts at the age of 11, she was far too young to start using magic according to Guild guidelines, and that would have meant them blocking her powers until she came to be of the normal entrance age. Her grandmother had refused to let her powers be blocked and so took on her training in secret. Thankfully Alurra had turned out to be a quick learner, and was able to keep her powers a secret from all. The blocking of her powers had not been the only reason for her grandmother not allowing her to be admitted into the Guild. Her powers being released by themselves they were not under her control, and her mother had been the sacrifice for her early discharge of powers.
Alurra shook her head to try and make the memory go back to the dark place in her mind. Remembering her breathing exercise's she concentrated on her inhalation. She hadn't had to do these exercises for over 7 years, but found that when she thought of the death of her mother and the releasing of her powers, the breathing helped. Focusing on her surroundings she heard a shift on the chair opposite her and opened her eyes to see her grandmother watching her.
"You are thinking of your mother again?" it was a question she knew the answer to but stated it none the less. "It was not your fault. You could not help your powers surfacing at that precise moment." Alurra bowed her head and a tear was about to free itself from when her grandmother stroked her hair. Alurra looked up and smiled. Her grandmother always knew what to do when she was upset. Alurra straightened and peaked out of the curtain. From nowhere a sprawling city was laid out in front of the carriage. Alurra gasped and shoved the curtain fully to the side, letting her grandmother get a full view. She chuckled at Alurra's obvious excitement.
"That's Arvice?" The Sachakan capital was nearly three times the size of Imardin, the capital of the country that bordered her home country, Elyne. She had been dismayed to leave but her grandmother had suspicions that a Magician that had moved into our street may one day see me practising or using magic. So her idea had been to move to Shakaria, where Alurra's grandfather had originated from. He had died when Alurra was young but he was a kind and gentle soul, or so her grandmother had told her. He was Sachakan and her grandmother was Elynian. That made Alurra a quarter Sachakan, which her dark long straight hair symbolised. Alurra's family still owned a house and grounds in the capital Arvice, her grandfather hoping to return in his older life time. Now the house had fallen to Alurra and her grandmother, with no other living family member.
"It is. But remember society here is far different than what we are used to. Firstly a female magician is extremely rare." Alurra raised an eyebrow but let her elder continue. "Also Slavery is not outlawed here. Actually it is a major part of their culture." A gasp escaped from Alurra's lips.
"How barbaric!"
"We think so but they do not. So you must think of them like the servants we had a home. Just they are not paid and have the lowest of statuses. I have warned you before." It was true but it still shocked Alurra at how openly accepted it was in Shakaria.
"Will we have slaves?" Her grandmother smiled.
"Your grandfathers are probably still there, to keep the house running but we will have to have more eventually. I could not imagine you living without people to serve you." She laughed. "We will settle first." She stopped talking as they passed into the shadows of the houses that sprawled all over the place. Out of nowhere her grandmother spoke in a near whisper. "There is something here that the Guild in Kyrilia do not.... appreciate. It is outlawed, like slavery, but this is strictly kept secret from all but the highest of magicians." She sighed. "To survive here your grandfather taught me 'Higher Magic', something every magician here knows. In Kyrilia it is called Black Magic. The magicians here take power from others using this 'Higher Magic'." Alurra watched her grandmother carefully as she rooted around in a bag next to her and took out a small leather book. "This was your grandfathers. I at first refused to learn it, so he wrote it down in case anything happened to him. This is the final piece of magic you must master to be able to compete in Sachakan society. Without it both you and I are targets and have no chance of defending our home, or ourselves." Alurra looked down at the book and peeled back the cover. Inside was a neat script and pictures. "If something does not make sense ask me to explain. Getting this magic wrong can be very deadly."
The carriage stopped abruptly and the door swung open. Alurra placed the book in her cloak and exited after her elder. Her first step on Sachakan land made her feel like she was of both an alien and that she belonged.