Disclaimer: I do notown any characters from Tamora Pierce's books. Only OC's
Plant Mage:
Summary: When Briar Moss, PlantMageundertakes a journey, he learns more then just his craft. During a violent kidnapping, Briar is forced to learn about,war, loss, and his own mortality. Only he can decided where hisfate takes him. Emlean/Tortrallxover. R&R!
Somewhere in the Emerald Ocean:
Briar Moss closed his eyes, and tried to sink deep into meditation. The rolling motion of the boat made his stomach twist and turn. It took all of Briar's self control not to cut the roots of meditation and run over to the rail to empty his mutinous stomach. It had been several months since Briar and his teacher Rosethorn stopped a scheming noble and picked up a street girl with stone magic. Soon after they left, Rosethorn received a message from Winding Circle, calling her home. Envy, his former student, decided to leave with her, in hopes of finding a stone mage. Now Briar found himself on his own and to his growing horror, on a boat, heading to the distant land of Tortrall.
The boat dipped far to the right and Briar knew that he had lost the battle with his rebelling stomach. Opening his eyes, Briar quickly got up and ran a foot through his protective circle, causing the silvery circle to collapse. Then, trying to retain some of his dignity, Briar walked over to the rail; where he promptly threw up. As soon as he was finished, Briar fumbled for his water skin and washed the taste out of his mouth. 'And I had thought there was nothing left in my stomach', Briar shook his head ruefully and turned away from the rolling waves before he got sick again.
A deep throaty laugh made his look up to see Thor, a skilled sailor that Briar quickly befriended, shaking his blonde haired head, and smiling widely at him. Thor was a big man, with wide shoulders and blacksmith arms. The long years at sea had left him with no fat, only well toned muscle. He had a strong jaw and blue eyes that never seemed to lose their humorous sparkle.
Thor was the first crewmen to see past the awe and gossip that seemed to follow him everywhere. When Briar first came aboard the Rikash, He had been hounded with request for magical charms and solutions; as if magic solved everything. Thor quickly set his fellow crewmen straight and now most of them treated Briar as another passenger.
Briar glared at him.
"And here I thought there was nothing left in that little stomach of yours." Thor smiled, before popping a piece of cheese into his mouth. He was wise enough not to offer Briar any.
Briar couldn't help but grin, Thor's good mood was infectious. "Ya, I thought so too." Briar walked over to a barrel and jumped on it, for now his stomach seemed to have settled.
Thor followed the young mage, scratching his head. "You know, I don't get. You out of anyone should know that you can get a charmed bracelet to stop seasickness. Why don't you go get one, I'm sure that Kellen has some in stock." Kellen was the ship's healer.
Briar shook his head, "It would just be a waste, and anyways I'll be off this blasted ship in a few more days."
"I see it's true that men are as stubborn as they are proud." A feminine voice broke in.
Briar looked up to see Vera, the ships navigator, climbing down from the look out. Vera was the only female on board, the crew adopting her after her mother died when she was young. Her mother was a wave-speaker, and the gift was passed down to her. Vera was the crew's little sister and everyone was furiously protective of her. Briar was threatened more then once after he came aboard.
Briar shook his head, "I've told you already, it's a …"
"Waste of magic." All three chorused. Vera and Thor grinned at each other as Briar scowled.
"None of you respect me, none of you!" Briar threw his hands up in disgust.
"Well at least you got one thing right." Felix Becky commented snidely as the thin railed man walked past the trio carrying a case full of netting. Felix had a long pale face and a pointed nose rested in the middle; giving the impression of a peacock. From the moment Briar stepped aboard, the cabin boy disliked him greatly; claiming that all mages did nothing but take from hard working people and given nothing in return. From the start Briar had known that nothing was going to change this sour mans opinion; having seen many of the same reactions during his travels.
"Oh sod off Becky!" Thor leapt to defend Briar. "I don't remember asking for your opinion!"
Vera joined in, "Don't you have to swab the deck or something, cabin boy?" She asked, stressing the man's position. It was a well known fact Felix's position did not sit well with him.
The man gave them a dirty look before, he huffed and stalked off.
Briar shook his head. "That wasn't necessary." He said, though what he really wanted to do was teach the snobbish man a lesson, the street rat way.
"Don't worry about it kid," Thor advised. "No one likes him anyways. It was the Cap'n's only mistake; hiring that slimy eel."
Vera laughed and threw an arm over Briar's shoulder, "And don't listen to him! Of course we respect you, Oh great master of plants, but once we see you leaning over the rail like a bulimic fish…"
"…The awe kind of dies down." Thor finished, as he popped the last bit of cheese into his mouth. He stood up and dusted off his hands. "Well I better get back to work; don't want the Cap'n to start breathing done my neck." He lumbered off.
Briar and Vera watched the bear like man walk off in a comfortable silence. Briar and Vera had become friends almost as quickly as Thor and him. The exotic black haired navigator had a tongue sharper then any blade, reminding him of Tris, minus the lightning throwing, rain controlling aspect of course.
"I don't suppose you'd want to stick around longer?"Vera asked her voice quiet.
Briar shook his head. He needed to get off this boat and onto dry ground. He missed the feeling of the ground underneath him and the song of the plants in his head. He felt like a tree with out any roots to ground and nourish him. As much as he liked the crew of Rikash, being unable to lay down his roots of his own was killing him.
Vera nodded sadly, "I thought as much, anyone with two eyes on their face can see that you belong on solid ground." She stopped and suddenly leaned forwarded and kissed Briar lightly on the lips. "But that doesn't mean you can forget me." She whispered her face red with embarrassment. But Before Briar could say anything, Vera ran off nimbly to work.
The next couple days went by uneventfully. Briar didn't think it was possible to avoid someone on a ship, but Vera had somehow managed to accomplish it. It seemed that whenever he walked into a room, she was walking out. Even during supper, Vera was nowhere to be seen in the mess hall. Briar didn't know if this was a good thing or not. He still didn't know what to do about, what he like to think of it as, The Kiss. He knew that it would be wrong to start anything with the navigator; after all, he would be off the ship in a few more days. But he didn't want the pretty black haired girl to think that the feelings were only one-sided. Briar was pretty sure they weren't.
Briar sighed, even after living with girls for years they still were so complicated. He went back to trimming his loyal Shakkan tree. No he scowled as it pleaded to keep one new growth, I'm not going to let you keep that twig, you should know by now that it's just weakening you. Inwardly Briar could feel it sigh in defeat. With no more complaints, Briar finished trimming the century old tree in peace. This process always reminded him of mediation, the feeling of being everywhere but nowhere.
Suddenly his peace was shattered as Vera came running into his room. Her brown eyes were wide and she was breathing heavily. "We're – under – attack."
Briar dropped his shears and with out a word headed over to his mage kit. Quickly he opened it, and grabbed a handful of brown cloth balls. Closing his eyes, he loosened the hemp that ties two knives, a gift from Daja, onto his forearm. Vera's eyes widened when she saw the two beautiful knives, and despite the circumstances she grinned.
"Someone has been keeping something from me."
Briar smiled crookedly, "Wait until you see these," he held up one of the cloth balls, "in action."
The two raced up the stairs and up to the surface. The deck, normally bustling with activity, was ten times more active as the crew raced to get ready for the battle ahead. The Captain was a surprisingly thin, small man. He shouted out orders to his crew, his presences and energy making up for his small stature. Men rolled cannons into position, as other's saw to it that everyone was armed and ready.
Briar scanned the crew, trying to locate Thor. Finding him on the east side, Briar raced over to him, nimbly moving through the crowd, calling his name.
Thor turned around, and smiled, though it was more tense and grim then ever. "Bout time you got here, I thought for a moment you were going to miss all of the fun." His normally sparkling blue eyes were hard as stones as he turned to look out at sea. Briar followed his gaze, and swallowed, as he saw two Scanran ships headed towards them.
He would give anything to have Tris here.
Thor patted Briar on the shoulder, "Don't you worry bout nothing kid, and we'll get out of this one."
The whole boat seemed to watch in silence as the Scanran boats came closer. Then time seemed to speed up again and the Scanran attacked. The canon fire filled the air, and the sound of canons screamed through the air. Through it all, the Captain was yelling orders; his deep throaty voice was clear over the yells of the crew.
"INCOMING!"
Briar felt himself pushed down onto the deck, Thor's heavily body on top of him. Seconds later an explosion went off, and wood splinters rained down onto his face. His ears were ringing and he could barely catch his breath. Finally, as if Thor had been lying on him forever, the heavily weight on his chest decreased and he was pulled to his feet.
"Are you alright there kid?" Thor's face, acquiring a new scratch, came into view; the blue eyes shone with concern.
Briar nodded, "Ya, – I just – got to – catch – my – breathe."
"Well you better hurry, we're about to be boarded." Thor's voice was as hard as steal.
Briar nodded and quickly searched for his green vein of magic. Finding it, he grasped it tightly, and with the delicate skill of a surgeon, he gentle allowed the green fire to seep into the cloth balls. As soon as he gave the word, the packages of seedlings inside will burst into frantic growth.
With that done and out of the way, Briar gripped his knifes grimly and stood ready to face thefirst onslaught. His seasickness was forgotten.
The first wave of Scanran soldier's came quickly, whirling their gleaming swords as they tried to swing onto the deck of the Rikash. They never made it, Rikash's archers quickly and efficiently picking them off before their feet even touched the deck. But the archer's couldn't stop all of them, and before Briar knew was happening, the second wave of soldiers came aboard, and then the real fighting began.
Briar looked up to see a blond haired solider running to engage him. The soldier grinned ruthlessly at the Briar, thinking the sixteen year old to be an easy kill. Briar's grey-green eyes narrowed, and he smirked. We'll see how easy I am!
Bending down, Briar shifted his weight the balls of his feet. Waiting patiently, he watched as the Scanran swiped at him with the sword. At the last second he stepped to the side and brought his knife down onto the man's wrist, causing the solider to cry out in pain and drop his sword. With out wasting a beat, he grabbed the man's wrist, shifted his weight and twisted him over his shoulder, using the man's momentum as leverage. Letting go, the man went flying. Briar loosened the hemp ties and a knife slide down into his grip. As soon as he felt the familiar weight land in his palms, Briar flicked his wrist and embedded the knife in the Scanran's gut.
The whole fight took only seconds.
Briar did not stop to contemplate the man's fate. Instead he moved on to the next, keeping an eye out for Vera and Thor. Twice he saved Vera from a man coming up from behind with the flick of his wrist; once by hitting a man in the eye, and once by hitting a solider directly in the throat.
Briar threw his cloth balls into the fray, giving them careful instructions not to trap the Rikash crew. Then he poured green fire into the packages, causing the seeds to burst with sudden growth. He created images of the bodies of the Rikash crew, of Scanran laughing as they burned the ship and fed them to the plants, fueling the rage and desire to fight. They sprung up from the deck, green tentacles grabbing ankles and forearms with an iron grip. The plants cried out in battle glee, begging Briar to give them more power to punish those that dare attack the plant mage.
The Scanran's cried out in surprise and fear as the plants continued to attack and trap them. Soon many Scanran's hacked at the plants, using their swords like machetes.
The crew of Rikash fought long and hard, almost with wild desperateness, but against two full Scanran war cruisers, they were soon overwhelmed by shear numbers. Briar felt like days had past and fighting all blurred into one, when finally the Captain gave the order to surrender, hoping to save at least some of his crew.
The surviving members of the crew were tied up, Briar heart warmed to see that Thor and Vera were still among the living. Both looked worse for wear, and Briar suspected that he did not look much better, if not worse. He growled as the Scanran tying his hands, pulled extra tight. They did not know who they were messing with.
Soon the entire crew was tied and waiting to see what fate had in store with them.
A big man, inches taller then Thor, and just as wide walked in front of the crew. His nose was crooked after being broken so many times and a long white scar decorated his face from his temple to his chin. The man was blessed with a strong jaw, and if it was not for many worn down scars that covered his face, he could have been handsome. As it was, the man looked upon the defeated crew, his mouth twisted into a cruel and unwelcoming smile.
"Well, well, what should we do with you?" He asked rhetorically, his voice deep and grating. He walked up to Vera and traced one large chubby finger along her cheek. "I see that not everyone has been worn down by the sea air." He leered, his ice cold blue eyes taking her in hungrily.
The crew instantly roared, tugging at their binds. The man just turned to them and laughed the sound harsh. He stopped when he met Briar's hard gray-green eyes. Fury burned deep inside Briar as he looked upon the Scanran. His face curved into an unwilling smirk, knowing his cool and unperturbed attitude was sure to annoy the man.
The Scanran walked straight up to the boy, and bent down, his face mere inches away from Briar's. "Pray tell what you find so amusing."
Briar wrinkled his face, "Well your breath for one thing. You know they have charms to ward of bad breath?"
The silence was deafening as the tension raised ten folds. Thor was helpless as he watched his young friend, praying that the young mage did not get himself killed. Vera's eyes widened with fright and disbelief.
Finally the Scanran laughed.
"So you must be Briar Moss, the boy who can control nature itself."
Briar blinked, surprised that the Scanran knew who he was.
"Don't look so surprised Master Moss, after all you are well known for you skill and rebellious attitude. But I'm sure I can change that." He stood up, and turned to address his own crew. "Time to pack up," he gave Briar a smirk. "We got what we came for." With a shake of his head, he motioned two soldiers to untie Briar.
That was the break Briar had been waiting for.
With a flash, he struck out, hitting the soldier on the right with the heel of his hand; breaking his nose. At the same time he dropped to the ground swinging his leg, taking the soldier on the left legs from beneath him. With out stopping he hit the man in the temple, knocking him out.
As fast as Briar was, he wasn't fast enough to duck the first that was aimed at his head. Pain erupted within his eyes, and darkness quickly came up to swallow him. The Scanran leader shook his head and swung Briar limp body onto his shoulders like a bag of potato.
"Um sir, what should we do about the rest of the crew?" A nearby soldier sputtered nervously.
The Scanran leader turned back to look at the silent, defeated crew. "Toss their food and water over board, and then leave them." He smiled cruelly. "Let them starve to death." With a mock a salute he tuned and walked back to his own ship, Briar in tow.
Well thats the first chapter. What do you think? I was wondering if the charactering for Briar is off or anything? Please any feed back would help alot! And don't worry you'll see more Tortall characters soon enough. I didn't make Briar seem way to powerful or anything did I? Because after all, hes only sixteen, he has to have some room to grow right?
Sry, I was blabbering.
Hope you like it, and any feed back, good or bad is welcome. I need all the help i can get!
Mercedes Sandhya