Thanks to everyone who reviewed! YAY!!! I have now SIX reviews!!! (Ok, so
that's not a lot, but it makes ME feel SPECIAL!!!!!!)
Adi-Thanks so much! I've never been called "excellent" before. It brings a tear to the eye and a warmth to the soul. (Goddess, did I just say that?) Anyways, it makes me feel good. I read your story. It's SOOOO awesome!!!!! Keep it up! I wanna read more! You must be psychic!!! I'm not sayin' anythang yet, but.colors count.
Anita Blake-Thanks! COM is personally my fav series. I LUV 'EM!!!
Kate-I'll try to speed things up.the first couple chapters were just sorta the basis, or links, whatever you prefer.Thanks!
Oh, and I'm going to try to put something in about how Aphneal looks, if any of you have been wondering.
So here goes: the fifth chapter! I'm not positive WHEN Aphneal will meet the four mages, but it will be SOON-either in this chapter or the next. I like to add lotsa details.And if anybody has an idea for a nickname for our friend Aphneal, IT WILL BE WELCOME! I mean, seriously folks, who would go around saying, "APHNEAL, make your bed, APHNEAL clean your room, APHNEAL do the dishes, APHNEAL I just ADORE that dress, APHNEAL." You get the point. I though about "Aphie", but.*grimaces*.I dunno.
Disclaimer: I own Aphneal, the Laenpa, the plot, Aphneal's home, and maybe the magic-analyzer. Everything else so far is that goddess we call Tamora Pierce's work. But * evil cackle * it shall SOON be MINE! MWAHAHAHA!!!
The next day Aphneal was allowed to get out of bed and walk around her room, seeing that the salves had worked. Niko came in to visit her after midday, alone.
"Niko!" she greeted him, half-running up to see him. "Where did you go yesterday? I was worried." She fetched a tube from her bedside table drawer. "You left this."
She handed it to him. It was the magic-analyzer. "You didn't touch it, did you?" he asked wearily. He had hardly gotten any sleep the night before, having been up planning the release of the pirates and thinking about Aphneal and her hidden magic.
She shook her head no.
"Good girl." He slid the instrument into his purse. "Here, let's sit down. We need to talk." He gestured to the chair and bed and Aphneal obediently sat on the bed, smiling at Niko as he sat.
The man stared at her for a moment, realizing that this was the first time he had actually seen her up and running. Aphneal was about medium height, but very thin, from her time as a slave. She had the light tan skin of a westerner, but light brown textured hair pulled back in a low bun and brown eyes flecked with gold. Her arms and legs were muscular, from the sort of work she was used to, and her lips were tan and full. Niko recognized this as the typical appearance of the Laenpa people.
"What'd you wanna talk about?" the girl inquired.
Niko took a breath. "Remember yesterday, when I used the magic-analyzer on you?" the man asked. He decided to be blunt. She would understand things better this way. Aphneal nodded. "It looks inside you-not inside your body," he explained, "but inside your mind. Your soul. Your inner-being."
Aphneal raised an eyebrow. "You mean it looks for magic."
"To put it simply, yes. While I was looking in you, I found something. But it was hidden-I nearly had to go in all the way to find it. What I found-- it was magic."
There was an awkward silence between the two, for several tense minutes. Aphneal stared at Niko. Was he saying that she had magic? She, Aphneal Harashmir, galley slave, magical? It wasn't possible...was it? "M-me? Magic?"
"Yes. You have magic." He gave her a crooked smile. "Did you know?"
"No! I mean-well, things had happened, but-"
"So you suspected."
"Of course not! No regular Laenpa has it! Nobody!"
Niko sighed. "Just because most of your people don't have it, doesn't signify that you won't. Magic chooses the person. It's a gift from the gods. If you don't use your magic after awhile, it will break loose and possibly hurt you or others. It may be a gift, but it can be dangerous."
Aphneal swallowed hard. "So what should I do?"
"First things first. You need a teacher with the same magic as you. If one cannot be found, the mage who discovers your magic-that's me-needs to teach you. It's the law. You need to train your magic, be taught, or over time it will become frustrated."
"But-how will I know what kind of magic I have?"
"Well, different magics show themselves in different ways. The one that you possess will choose how it appears. You said that 'things had happened'. What did you mean by that?"
Aphneal bit her lip and thought a moment. "I guess things started happening about two years after I became a slave. Once I saw Runog's Fire, and it came to me." She glanced at Niko, but he just nodded for her to continue. "About a year or so later, after the pirates had come back from a raid, a drunk one started to"-she paused and blushed-"to kinda, you know, kick me around, and then suddenly, his pants leg was on fire! I didn't set it, I swear, and we were the only ones-"
Niko raised a hand. "It's okay," he said soothingly, and the girl quieted.
"I guess that's when I first thought I had some kind of magic, but nothing else ever happened, so I kinda forgot about it." She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.
"Then your magic must have something to do with fire," predicted Niko.
Aphneal nodded tiredly.
"I better let you go," Niko said, seeing the sudden drop to Aphneal's delicate form. "I'll need to check around for any available fire mages." Getting up, he announced, "Oh, and you can be released tomorrow-you're well enough."
With a last smile and a wave, the mage hurried out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Of course she can stay here, Niko, we'd be glad to have her," Lark said kindly. "She'd have to share a room with one of the girls though."
Niko nodded. "It would be perfect-I even found her a teacher. She's a new dedicate, from Karang. Her name is Lightfire, and she specializes in fire magic. I would've asked Frostpine, but I didn't want to burden him with two students, and besides, he's more of a smith than I think Aphneal is."
Rosethorn, who sat next to Lark, asked, "When is the girl coming? Are we going to meet Lightfire?"
"I was hoping she could arrive tomorrow, seeing that you are ready. And as for Lightfire, I will try to introduce you within the next day or so-she has been working with Moonstream for some project."
"Sounds good to me," Lark agreed.
Rosethorn smiled crookedly. "I'll go tell the others."
Hmmm...sorry for it moving so slow, but I PROMISE that next chapter she'll meet the Circle gang. I'm not sure if this chapter is as good as the rest; when I wrote it I was sort of in a daze.anyways, REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!!
Adi-Thanks so much! I've never been called "excellent" before. It brings a tear to the eye and a warmth to the soul. (Goddess, did I just say that?) Anyways, it makes me feel good. I read your story. It's SOOOO awesome!!!!! Keep it up! I wanna read more! You must be psychic!!! I'm not sayin' anythang yet, but.colors count.
Anita Blake-Thanks! COM is personally my fav series. I LUV 'EM!!!
Kate-I'll try to speed things up.the first couple chapters were just sorta the basis, or links, whatever you prefer.Thanks!
Oh, and I'm going to try to put something in about how Aphneal looks, if any of you have been wondering.
So here goes: the fifth chapter! I'm not positive WHEN Aphneal will meet the four mages, but it will be SOON-either in this chapter or the next. I like to add lotsa details.And if anybody has an idea for a nickname for our friend Aphneal, IT WILL BE WELCOME! I mean, seriously folks, who would go around saying, "APHNEAL, make your bed, APHNEAL clean your room, APHNEAL do the dishes, APHNEAL I just ADORE that dress, APHNEAL." You get the point. I though about "Aphie", but.*grimaces*.I dunno.
Disclaimer: I own Aphneal, the Laenpa, the plot, Aphneal's home, and maybe the magic-analyzer. Everything else so far is that goddess we call Tamora Pierce's work. But * evil cackle * it shall SOON be MINE! MWAHAHAHA!!!
The next day Aphneal was allowed to get out of bed and walk around her room, seeing that the salves had worked. Niko came in to visit her after midday, alone.
"Niko!" she greeted him, half-running up to see him. "Where did you go yesterday? I was worried." She fetched a tube from her bedside table drawer. "You left this."
She handed it to him. It was the magic-analyzer. "You didn't touch it, did you?" he asked wearily. He had hardly gotten any sleep the night before, having been up planning the release of the pirates and thinking about Aphneal and her hidden magic.
She shook her head no.
"Good girl." He slid the instrument into his purse. "Here, let's sit down. We need to talk." He gestured to the chair and bed and Aphneal obediently sat on the bed, smiling at Niko as he sat.
The man stared at her for a moment, realizing that this was the first time he had actually seen her up and running. Aphneal was about medium height, but very thin, from her time as a slave. She had the light tan skin of a westerner, but light brown textured hair pulled back in a low bun and brown eyes flecked with gold. Her arms and legs were muscular, from the sort of work she was used to, and her lips were tan and full. Niko recognized this as the typical appearance of the Laenpa people.
"What'd you wanna talk about?" the girl inquired.
Niko took a breath. "Remember yesterday, when I used the magic-analyzer on you?" the man asked. He decided to be blunt. She would understand things better this way. Aphneal nodded. "It looks inside you-not inside your body," he explained, "but inside your mind. Your soul. Your inner-being."
Aphneal raised an eyebrow. "You mean it looks for magic."
"To put it simply, yes. While I was looking in you, I found something. But it was hidden-I nearly had to go in all the way to find it. What I found-- it was magic."
There was an awkward silence between the two, for several tense minutes. Aphneal stared at Niko. Was he saying that she had magic? She, Aphneal Harashmir, galley slave, magical? It wasn't possible...was it? "M-me? Magic?"
"Yes. You have magic." He gave her a crooked smile. "Did you know?"
"No! I mean-well, things had happened, but-"
"So you suspected."
"Of course not! No regular Laenpa has it! Nobody!"
Niko sighed. "Just because most of your people don't have it, doesn't signify that you won't. Magic chooses the person. It's a gift from the gods. If you don't use your magic after awhile, it will break loose and possibly hurt you or others. It may be a gift, but it can be dangerous."
Aphneal swallowed hard. "So what should I do?"
"First things first. You need a teacher with the same magic as you. If one cannot be found, the mage who discovers your magic-that's me-needs to teach you. It's the law. You need to train your magic, be taught, or over time it will become frustrated."
"But-how will I know what kind of magic I have?"
"Well, different magics show themselves in different ways. The one that you possess will choose how it appears. You said that 'things had happened'. What did you mean by that?"
Aphneal bit her lip and thought a moment. "I guess things started happening about two years after I became a slave. Once I saw Runog's Fire, and it came to me." She glanced at Niko, but he just nodded for her to continue. "About a year or so later, after the pirates had come back from a raid, a drunk one started to"-she paused and blushed-"to kinda, you know, kick me around, and then suddenly, his pants leg was on fire! I didn't set it, I swear, and we were the only ones-"
Niko raised a hand. "It's okay," he said soothingly, and the girl quieted.
"I guess that's when I first thought I had some kind of magic, but nothing else ever happened, so I kinda forgot about it." She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.
"Then your magic must have something to do with fire," predicted Niko.
Aphneal nodded tiredly.
"I better let you go," Niko said, seeing the sudden drop to Aphneal's delicate form. "I'll need to check around for any available fire mages." Getting up, he announced, "Oh, and you can be released tomorrow-you're well enough."
With a last smile and a wave, the mage hurried out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Of course she can stay here, Niko, we'd be glad to have her," Lark said kindly. "She'd have to share a room with one of the girls though."
Niko nodded. "It would be perfect-I even found her a teacher. She's a new dedicate, from Karang. Her name is Lightfire, and she specializes in fire magic. I would've asked Frostpine, but I didn't want to burden him with two students, and besides, he's more of a smith than I think Aphneal is."
Rosethorn, who sat next to Lark, asked, "When is the girl coming? Are we going to meet Lightfire?"
"I was hoping she could arrive tomorrow, seeing that you are ready. And as for Lightfire, I will try to introduce you within the next day or so-she has been working with Moonstream for some project."
"Sounds good to me," Lark agreed.
Rosethorn smiled crookedly. "I'll go tell the others."
Hmmm...sorry for it moving so slow, but I PROMISE that next chapter she'll meet the Circle gang. I'm not sure if this chapter is as good as the rest; when I wrote it I was sort of in a daze.anyways, REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!!