In the Beginning
Part I
It was just past dawn; the bright sun had just passed the horizon and welcomed the new day. A young girl stood in the ocean's surf as the sun rose, enjoying the morning's calm. Her golden hair shimmered with the sun's rays and her turquoise eyes glittered with thought. She had just seen her father off to sea for the day's catch. If one looked out to the Southeast, her father's boat could just be made out along the horizon.
Kali let a sigh escaper her lips. She longed to go out to sea one day with her father, but he was too afraid that a storm would hit while she was out in the open and that he would lose her. He had already lost the love of his life, her mother, from the Sweating Sickness that hit when Kali was just an infant.
With a deep, calming breath, Kali took a few more steps into the ocean until the water was to her ankles. She stood up straight and closed he eyes, sinking into herself and her magic. It was always there, her magic. Whenever she closed her eyes she could see it. It shined with brilliance and power; it was the exact same color as her eyes, green-turquoise.
A smile graced her lips, lighting up her sun kissed face. She could remember the first time she found out she had magic. It was a day much like today. A beautiful spring day about seven years ago…
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Seven years ago through the eyes of NumairSalamin
An exasperated sigh escaped the mage as he rode his horse alongside his friend's horse. Alanna, the Lioness, the King's Champion, and the first Lady knight in over 100 years, glanced over at her tall, lanky friend folded up into a saddle. The sight brought a smile to her face. Numair Salamin, the greatest sorcerer known to man, a horse man he was not.
"Alanna, please tell me why you are making me make this journey with you? You know I don't like horseback riding."
"Well, Araam,"
"Don't call me that. You know I changed my name." Numair snapped at his friend. His tone caused Alanna's mare, Dark Moon to start fidgeting.
Alanna ran a soothing hand over Dark Moon's neck. She had forgotten how cranky her friend got when he had to travel. "Numair, calm down, if you hadn't complained like a school boy I wouldn't of had to use your childhood name." The red-haired fired at her Gifted friend. "I'm having you make this journey because, for one, Thom won't stop complaining until he can talk to you about some experiments he's been working on. But the other reason is because I think my daughter's friend is a mage."
"Alanna, you have the Gift too. You could have tested Alianne's friend as well as I can."
"But it's not the Gift she has" whined Alanna.
Numair looked over at his frustrated friend. "You mean you think she has Wild Magic? Like Daine?" questioned the excited mage. To think, another Wild mage. To have the Gift is pretty common, especially among the nobles. The lower classes' Gifts usually were more connected to healing. But Wild Magic? That's a totally different area. Where the Gift can use changes and spells and years of studying to be able to comprehend everything, Wild Magic is of the land and its creatures.
Daine, or Verladidaine, is the only known Wild mage. She can talk to all types of animals, heal them, and even shape shift; though she found out that her father was a lesser god, Wyener, the god of the hunt. There are various branches of Wild Magic, such as the horse masters at the Palace stables. Those that are horse masters are able to understand the "People of the herd" such as horses and cows.
"No, I don't think she's like your wife. But she does have some sort of magic." Alanna replied thoughtfully, snapping Numair from his thoughts.
"What do you mean? Alanna, what makes you think she has a form of magic, whether it be the Gift, Wild Magic, or a form of Wild Magic?" Numair questioned his friend. This whole idea of there being a possiblility for another Wild mage put him on edge.
Alanna softly smiled, she could hear the eagerness in her old friend's voice. Numair always loved a good mystery. "Well, what makes me think this girl has a form of magic is the stories that Ali tells us about her friend. She's always going on about how her friend brought her to visit the sea lions. One day they swam with dolphins. Another day they played with the otters. I think there is something different about this girl."
Alanna glanced over at her traveling partner. He was deep in thought looking at his gelding's mane. A silence fell over the pair as they made their way to Pirates Swoop, home to the Lioness and her family.
After a few moments had passed in silence, Numair broke it. "It reminds me of when Daine first came to Pirates Swoop with the training camp."
"Hmm," was all that Alanna could supply as they drew closer to their destination.
To Be Continued...