For the next few years there was not much that happened in Mark's life. Mark never really used his magic except for the occasional prank on his friends or the girls. So life passed, relatively, quietly by until Mark was eighteen years old. It was at that point that he decided that he needed his own place, one where he could have privacy to do the things he wanted, especially practice his magic.

He had decided that he was going to make his home in a forest between his village and the village to the north of his. This forest was almost never passed through, due to the pack of wolves that claimed it as their territory, so people that traveled between the two had to go around on one of two paths, to the east through a mountain pass, or to the west through the ravine pass. This left the forest as the perfect location for his new home.

After Mark had packed the few possessions he had, he said goodbye to his grandfather, promised to visit, and left on his way. Of course, he did not tell his grandfather that he was going to be living in the forest. He didn't want anyone to know where he would be. He walked for several miles and eventually came to where the road turned east toward the mountain pass. He continued straight, leaving the road behind him and continued walking for several more miles.

One of the things he had learned over the years was how to communicate with animals. He was not afraid of the wolves, in fact, he had a plan to keep them from bothering him in the long term. He just had to make sure he worded things correctly. He had grown very fond of animals, but he knew there was a possibility that the wolves would not take him up on his offer. If that were to happen then he would have no choice but to kill the wolves. So he hoped very fervently that they would accept his offer.

Upon reaching the edge of the forest, he prepared himself, this is now or never he thought. He then began walking through the forest. He had not even gone half a mile before he was approached by the wolves. "What is this doing in the pack's land?" the alpha wolf asked. The other wolves were making comments about killing him or what he might taste like. Mark knew he had to be careful how he phrased his words.

"This one is not here for harm." he said, doing his best to follow after their manner of speech. All of the wolves became completely silent. He could tell they were more than a bit shaken by this as he heard some of them ask each other if he had heard them or what they would do.

"Silence!" said the alpha. The other wolves were immediately quiet. "So this understands one's language then?" there was some surprise in the alpha's tone, even though he spoke with the firmness of a leader. It was understandable as humans never had conversations with the wolves before that point.

"Yes, this one does."

"So what is this doing?"

"This one desires to live among the pack's land without harm." At that one of the wolves in the back began growling. It was probably much lower in the pack, this was proven when it yelped as it was bitten by one of the others and a "know your place" could be heard.

"This does not know that the pack has had this land for many generations? And this thinks that it can live here while the pack still lives?"

"This one does not ask for nothing, this one offers a gift."

"A gift?" The alpha was glaring at Mark. "What is this gift"

"This one does not have the gift now, as this one cannot carry it." at that the wolves began to growl. "But the gift is a food source." Mark did his best to look completely calm, but he knew it all hung on this moment.

"What food source?" The alpha ceased growling, but still kept his stance.

"This one desires a field in the middle of the land, and it will bring deer to live in it. These deer can be hunted freely by the pack."

The alpha was silent for a moment, then said, "There is a field in the land, but it is not big enough for deer to live and feed the whole pack."

"This one can make it bigger. Big enough to hold herds of deer and even many families of rabbits."

"How long will it take this to make the field that big?"

Mark closed his eyes and breathed in. "Days." he said. He heard the wolves whispering among one another. He heard many of them say things like days and how before the alpha silenced them once again.

"These can take days to clear trees with many of them, how can this clear in days?"

"This one is not like others of its kind."

The alpha was silent for a few moments. Finally he said, "Very well, this may have the field. The pack will show it the way." and with that, the pack turned around and began walking deeper into the forest. With a great weight now off his shoulders, Mark followed the wolves at a respectable distance.

After following the wolves for several miles in the forest, the trees began to become less dense. They then opened up to a small clearing in the heart of the forest. It was definitely not big enough for herds of deer. It was barely even big enough for a pair of deer. The alpha stood in the center of the clearing and looked straight at Mark. "Here is the field." he said. Mark could tell that the alpha was not quite sure what to think of him.

"This one thanks the pack. It will begin in the morning, now it will sleep."

With that the pack of wolves left the clearing, but not before each member got one final glimpse of him, then they disappeared into the forest. Mark then began building magical barriers around the field. It wasn't that he didn't trust the wolves, he was just making sure that he kept all of the animals out so they would be safe. Standing in the center of the field, he created a circular barrier to push out all animal life, then extended it. He extended it until it had a diameter of four miles. With the barrier in place, he unpacked a blanket and laid down to sleep.

The next morning the sky was clear. Mark got up, had some of the food from his bag, then began to work. Using his magic, he began pulling out trees and setting them in a pile in the field. Once he had a decent pile of trees, he then began simply knocking over the rest of the trees. Once all of the trees in his circle were down he then used his time control spell and contained the trees he had only knocked over. He then accelerated their time so they would decay in a few days. Knowing that it could sit without his supervision, he left the forest and went to the mountain in search of granite.

By the time he reached the base of the mountain, on which the forest still grew, it had become late afternoon. He then followed his magic until he found a large section of the mountain that was made of granite. Once he found it, he opened a portal to his field. He went back to his field and began preparations for his house. Using his magic, he dug out a large area where he would be putting the foundation. Using the dirt, he filled in the holes that remained from when he had pulled out trees, then used the rest to start covering his decaying trees.

After digging out the hole to the size he needed, he went back to the mountain through his portal and began cutting out blocks of granite. Block by block he began laying the foundation, then after completing the foundation he began laying blocks on top of that to start forming the basement. Using parts of some of his trees, he made reinforcements so he could lay the first floor. He repeated the same process until the end of the day came and he had the basement and three floors completed.

On the morning of the next day, he found that the trees in his time spell that were closest to him had finished decaying, being the ones he had covered, and moved the new dirt to cover more trees. Now having more space to work with, he then dug out six smaller holes around his main building. He then repeated his process on these holes. By the end of the third day he had completed the structures of his main tower, having seven floors and a basement, and his six smaller towers with six floors and a basement each.

On the morning of the fourth day all of the trees in his time spell had finished decaying. He leveled out the ground and started the process of the grass growing. By the time the end of the fourth day came, his seven towers were complete, and the field around was filled with tall green grass. He then released the animal barrier, and soon animals began wandering in. He went to sleep that night knowing that he would be able to begin his studies the next day.

When he woke the next day, he was ready to begin studying each of the elements of magic. He ate, then began preparing each tower for the study of each element. Soon after he had received his pendant, he had discovered that on the back was his family symbol. This symbol was part of what inspired the organization of his towers. The symbol was that of an uppercase N, but it was divided into five parts. In the bottom left, it looked like flowing water, above that it looked like a flame, in the bottom right, it looked like rough and broken rocks, and above that it looked like a swirling mass of clouds. In the center was nothing. Around the N shape was a border, the top half of the border looked like rays of sunlight, and the bottom half looked like a tangle of thorny vines.

Each of the parts of that symbol represented one of the magical elements; Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light, Darkness, and Void. He had arranged his towers for the study of each individual element. He had three towers on the northern side for Fire, Light, and Air, and three on the southern end for Water, Darkness, and Earth. Finally there was his main tower, the top of which would be where he would study Void.

He spent a whole week in study, one day per element. He started with Void, then moved to Light, then continued counterclockwise from there. He studied all of the spells he could find that dealt with each individual element, How each element worked, how it affected the physical world, then moved on to combinations of two.

He was about to start working on combinations of three, when he realized he had been there for over a month. He decided, as much as part of him didn't want to, that he would back to the village and visit his grandfather. He placed a note for himself where he knew he would find it, gathered his things, and left.

As he made his way back to the village, he began thinking about what he might say to his grandfather. As each mile passed, he began thinking of possible outcomes of the things he would say. He finally determined that it didn't matter what he talked to him about, because one way or another it would lead to him and his grandfather having an argument about magic. He never understood why his grandfather was so bullheaded when it came to his use of magic. One thing he knew was for sure, he would not be visiting him again after this. He still had his other spell combinations to study, and after that he needed to begin working on how to break the grip of the Outerlans.

After hours of walking, he finally made it to the village. He made his way to his grandfather's house and knocked at the door. His grandfather answered it, a look of surprise evident on his face. "Mark!" he said, "I wasn't expecting you to come by for a few more months."

"Yes," said Mark, "but I figured that I lived close enough that I could let what I was working on sit for a day."

"Well, its good to see you. I'm glad you were able to set aside your plans to visit. Come on in and I'll get you something to eat."

Mark went in and sat down in the main room. Immediately memories started coming back to him. Was it really only ten years ago since I got this pendant? As he thought this, he began remembering that day as he looked around the room. It feels like it has been longer. Although, he thought, it has been longer for me since I have used the time control spell so many times. He was about to calculate the time he might have added to his life when his grandfather entered the room.

"Here you are," said his grandfather, handing him a plate with bread, cheese, and a piece of meat, "so how have you been?"

"I have been doing really well, and I've gotten settled into my home. Since when have you been able to afford meat?" As he said this, he popped a chunk of the bread into his mouth. He always liked the taste of the village bread.

"Ever since I haven't had to feed two grown men in this house." he said with a chuckle. "Have you been working?"

"Yes, and my work has kept me busy for the past month or so. Luckily, I was able to put things on hold and come down to visit." He ate some more of the bread and some of the cheese. He decided to save the rest for his trip back.

"That's nice to hear." then his face grew somber and he asked, "Are you still reading that book?"

Mark flinched internally. He was hoping that the conversation wouldn't go there. "Yes, I am." he said, equally somber. The room was quiet and Mark wanted to look away from his grandfather, but knew he must stay firm on his ground no matter how awkward the silence got.

Finally his grandfather closed his eyes and sighed."Well, there is nothing I can do to stop you, but may I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

His grandfather looked at him sternly, then said, "You need to get a wife."

Mark's mind went blank as his train of thought was completely derailed. "What?"

A grin slowly spread across his grandfather's face, then he began to laugh. "Yea, a wife is just what you need."

"Are you being serious or are you just joking around?"

"Oh I'm being completely serious. If you learn anything from this visit, it's that you need a wife. It would make your life so much more worth living"

Mark smiled, "Perhaps."

After chatting for a few more hours Mark left for his tower. All the way back he kept thinking about what his grandfather had said. Until that point, the idea of getting married had never occurred to him. He began getting the feeling he couldn't shake that his grandfather was right. He needed to get married, but that would have to wait until he dealt with the Outerlans. He wouldn't have the leisure to get married until then, as things would be too dangerous for him to have a wife just yet. And before he could worry about his plans for the Outerlans, he wanted to finish his study of magic.

He decided that the rest of his day would best be spent preparing for the other combinations of magic, so when he returned to his tower he began lining the walls with protective spells. Then the next day he continued his studies. He spent a little over three months until he had studied all one hundred and twenty seven combinations of elements. But each day he had worked, the thought of a wife was always somewhere in the back of his mind.


There was a challenge here where the winner could suggest a world/ story for Mark to visit, but since no one responded it will be gone for a while. It might come back later though.