The Odyssey of the Star Mage

The Truth of Magick

Skylar was what you would call an early riser.  She was up before the sunrise, and often had her whole house tidied up before it as well.  Granted, her house was small.  She always made a pot of tea before sitting down on her front porch to watch the sunrise.  It was one of the few forms of entertainment she had.  The earth's natural magick.

On one particular morning, as she was heading to her porch with a cup of tea in hand, a piece of paper caught her attention.  It was just as she opened the door; a piece of paper fluttered to the floor and almost was blown away in the slight breeze.  Sky used her magick to grab the paper and pull it back to her hand.  She didn't use her magick often, just for a few household chores or for a little entertainment in the evenings.  But she didn't want to lose this piece of paper.  She sat her tea down on the table and reclined in her chair.

Where could this paper possibly have come from?  Not many people came out this far away from town.  Even the postman had insisted she come into town to collect any mail.  Not that she got much.  Occasionally her little sister would send her a letter or a package, but it was once a moon, at the most.  She unfolded it and tried to read the contents.  She squinted at the scribbled ink, but admitted defeat as she could see barely anything in the dim light before dawn.  The sun still had a few more minutes before it was to rise.  Skylar was much too curious to wait, so she summoned a ball of light in her hand and placed it just above the letter.  She read it once, twice, and then another time just for good measure.

 What was this?  A place to learn magick?  Officially?  What else would she be able to do beside lifting brooms and making light shows?  This was really the chance of a lifetime.  Her life was a simple one, she lived off the land but didn't have much to live for, much to strive for in life.  This was her chance to make something out of herself.  And not in the joining the guard sort of way.  She could devote herself to her studies, like she used to do.  Except this time, the subject would be much more exciting.  It never crossed her mind that this could be a scam.

Skylar grasped the note tightly as she retreated into her house. She was going to need to pack what little she had for this journey.  Rope, flint, water, food, books in the form of scrolls--All the essentials--she grabbed some clothes and paused.  Witha flash of realization she picked the note up again and sighed loudly.  The sea.  This destination was across the sea.  With a groan of frustraion, she read the note over again.  She absolutely hated public transportation.  She prayed to the higher beings that she misread the note.  Unfortunately she did not.  Illatrune was her destination and it laid far across the black sea.

This was just her luck.  She swore it ran in the famliy.  Her parents never had much to live off, although it certainly didn't help that they gave 70% of everything away!  And her Grandmama....The stories she told of during the war, when a famine spread across the land without enough people staying behind to work the land.  Oh the luck that was in the Uhane family.  Speaking of her family, there was this story her mother used to tell her.  Oh it semed like a silly story, told all those years aho when Skylar would stay up late waiting for her parents to come home.  There used to be other magic wielders, wise men who lived in the tall towers around Freole.  Maybe one of them still lived?  I mean if magick was real, if more people besides her had it, then who was to say that these wise men weren't real as well.  

With that thought, Skylar hurriedly packed away some soap, some money, and a few other essentials into her backpack.  She strapped her dagger to her right side, like she always did when venturing far from her house, and set out.  She saw the sun finish its ascent over the trees as she stepped out of her house, paper in hand.  She started north.  The nearest torrent was just outside of town, albeit in the opposite direction of her house.  From her house it was easily 30 miles from her house--a day's walk.