Kenver

:Stats::Story::Search:
:Hatching::Weyrling::Adult:
:Ryslen::Tripaldi Weyr:

Kenver sighed and stared out the window. The sun was shining brightly and she would much rather be outside than cooped up indoors. But it was time for her weekly appointment with the magic-master and no one skipped a magic lesson. Her best friend nudged her with his elbow and flashed a smile when she turned her head to look at him. She returned the smile, but without any real pleasure, and immediately turned to look back out the window. No one skipped a magic lesson, but the magic-master was known for keeping students waiting for hours.

“Kenver,” whispered Farron, his voice barely audible in the silence of the room.

Kenver shot him a furious look; talking while waiting for the magic-master was strictly forbidden and she didn’t want to get in trouble because her talented best friend liked to test the rules. Talented was an understatement when it came to Farron. The young man was a far superior mage than any other person their age but had trouble following the rules. She knew it was just because he was more advanced than the pace of his lessons, but she didn’t appreciate him getting her in trouble with his antics.

At that moment the magic-master finally popped his head out of his office, one hand snaking out to crook a finger at Kenver. She shot Farron a warning look as she gathered her bag of magic books and followed the master’s retreating back into his office. Farron just smirked and then squeezed her hand encouragingly as she left. Kenver winced once her back was to him, not appreciating the physical contact he seemed determined to pursue recently.

Luckily she didn’t have time to dwell on such disturbing thoughts as she took her seat across from the magic-master and pulled out her books. Kenver was what some magic-users called a Rogue-mage because her powers were unstable and erratic. She had not once completed a spell properly and was constantly earning the disapproval of her master when her powers surged and she lost control of her spell. She had begged her parents to let her quit the lessons, but even she knew that leaving her powers uncontrolled would be disastrous for more than herself.

“Kenver, pay attention!” snapped the magic-master in his raspy voice and Kenver started. “You must focus if you expect to obtain control of your gift.”

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“Now, remember, the magic must be drawn from the earth and channeled properly. Try a warming spell on my mug.”

Kenver took a deep breath and nodded. She closed her eyes and focussed on the feel of the magic as she had been taught. She could feel it beneath her feet, lying idle in the ground below the building. She felt it respond to her pull and tentatively reach out for her. But that was as far as it got. The magic just would not come to her and try as she might she could not force it. Finally she opened her eyes and stifled a sigh of relief. Days like today were a relief in comparison to those days where the magic surged up into her and lashed out without control.

The magic-master squinted his eyes at her and shook his head. “You try too hard, and yet you do not try enough. You must learn to guide the magic, not force it to do your bidding. The magic is uncertain how to respond to you, Kenver. You must trust it or it will never trust you.”

Kenver merely nodded her head. She had heard the same before, but never understood it. At eighteen years of age she had little concept of trust and respect. Before she could respond the magic-master frowned and spoke again.

“You have built a block out of your distrust. I think we will discontinue our lessons until you learn to trust someone other than yourself. Go now.”

With that he turned away from her in dismissal. Kenver gathered up her books and left the room. In the waiting area Farron stood with a hopeful look on his face, but Kenver didn’t want to talk to her friend. She ducked her head in shame and rushed from the building. Farron wouldn’t follow her, he didn’t dare risk missing his own lesson to find out what was wrong with his friend and Kenver was glad of the chance to be alone. Much as she enjoyed her friend’s company in recent months his manner toward her had changed. He often initiated contact like his earlier hand-squeeze that made her uncomfortable and when he thought she wasn’t looking she caught him watching her with a strange look in his eyes that made her skin crawl.

Once outside Kenver slung her book bag over her shoulder and strode off. Running was impossible with the heavy bag but she walked quickly, trying to outrun such unpleasant thoughts. She didn’t want to think of how her only friend seemed to be changing, of her own failing magical gift, or all the things in her life that seemed to be falling apart.

Kenver soon found herself in a small glade of trees. She dropped her books in the center of the area and walked to one of the trees. She put her hand against a knob on the tree and focussed. Farron had taught her this trick, so simple that even her Rogue-gift could handle it. A tiny bolt of magic slid up through the tree to her hand and when she moved her hand away from the tree the glade began to change. She returned to the center where her books remained and sat down as the branches above her twisted and the trees moved in to create a small impenetrable space for her to be alone. She and Farron had spent hours like this as children, no one able to find them or bother them.

Kenver felt a tear threaten and gave in to her unhappiness here where no one would be able to see. Pulling her knees up under her chin, Kenver wrapped her arms around them and allowed her face to fall forward in misery.

It felt like no time at all, and yet Kenver knew a great deal of time had passed when she heard the soft crunch of boots in dried leaves and sat up. Wiping the tears from her cheeks Kenver blinked rapidly trying to clear the redness from her eyes. Her eyes still felt puffy and sore but at least she hoped her friend wouldn’t notice. Just then the trees parted a tiny bit and Farron crawled into the tight space. Being this close to her friend made her uncomfortable, but Kenver forced herself to relax, reassuring herself that Farron would never hurt her. Farron smiled and Kenver forced a smile onto her own lips.

“How’d your lesson go?” she asked, trying to keep the mood light and untroubled.

“Oh, you know, same old same old,” replied Farron with a grin. “That old bat thinks I’ll make a good magic-master someday and keeps trying to test me with problems I might face in that role.”

“Do you want to be a magic-master?” asked Kenver, surprised, as Farron had never mentioned that before.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Farron shrugged and picked up a twig to stir up the leaves beneath them. “I probably would be good at it.”

“What makes you say that?”

Farron grinned and looked around, then shook his head as he realized there was no way anyone could be watching or listening. He sat up on his knees and looked at Kenver, a little sparkle in his eyes. “I think I thought of a way to solve your problem.”

“What problem?”

“Your magic problem,” he replied, a little exasperated by Kenver’s evasiveness recently.

“I’ve blocked myself, only I can solve that.”

“But I can help you. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time now, and I think I’ve finally gotten it all fine-tuned. Can I try?”

Kenver looked dubious, but slowly nodded her head. “I guess it never hurts to try.”

“Great! Now sit like I am.” Farron shifted so he was sitting cross-legged on the leaves and took a deep breath. Once Kenver was seated the same way he began to focus on the spell he’d been working on for weeks now.

Kenver sighed as she tried to relax. She had no idea what Farron was going to do, but she trusted his abilities enough to go along with it. She closed her eyes in an attempt to sense what he was doing but could not. Even when she tried to focus on the magic beneath her she sensed nothing. Then, all of a sudden, she felt it. She could feel the magic closing in around her and gasped as tendrils of it probed her. She sensed her own block for the first time then as the magic wound itself around the block. She found herself getting dizzy and lightheaded. She tried to open her eyes to anchor herself to something through sight, but the dizziness was too much.

The next thing Kenver knew she was being shaken. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Farron from a slumped position on the ground.

“Kenver! Are you alright? I had no idea it would work like that or I would have warned you to keep your eyes open.” Genuine concern flooded Farron’s tone, but Kenver found the concern annoying. She was obviously fine; he needn’t keep worrying like that.

“I’m fine,” she replied testily, sitting up and shaking off the hand he still had on her shoulder from shaking her awake. “What did you do to me?”

Now Farron smiled triumphantly, his little seen ego shining through. “I did it. I removed your block.”

“You did?”

“See for yourself, try something simple.”

Kenver cast him a fearful glance before settling herself once again in a cross-legged position and closing her eyes. Her sense of the magic was much stronger now and she gasped as the magic came rushing into her in a flood. Not prepared for that rush, as she’d doubted her friend’s success she had nowhere to channel it and cried out as it rushed from her unchecked. Kenver opened her eyes in a flash and let out a little shriek as she found herself surrounded by a pillar of flame.

“Kenver! What did you do?” yelled Farron from outside the pillar.

“I don’t know! I don’t know how to stop it!” she cried, truly afraid that the magic-induced fire would devour her.

But then she felt the air around her cool and slowly the fire began to lessen. Eventually she could see over the flames to Farron, sitting with his eyes closed and his face screwed up in concentration. Finally the flames died completely and Farron sagged as his eyes fluttered open. Kenver knew he needed a supporting hand but even though he had saved her she couldn’t force herself to reach out to him. Her friend barely caught himself from falling over and slowly lowered himself to lie on his back in the dried leaves. He breathed slowly and eventually sat back up. When Kenver found her voice again all she could say was “Thank you.”

Farron nodded as he stood on shaky legs and gestured for her to get up as well. “Come on. We need to go back to the magic-master. The walk will do me good, and you need some serious lessons now that that block is gone.”

Kenver just nodded as she stood. Farron put an arm across her shoulder before she could protest and they walked along together. Though Kenver had more important things to worry about right now she found herself wondering why Farron kept insisting on physical contact when it obviously made her so uncomfortable. Couldn’t he feel the tension in her shoulders through the arm he’d draped across her?

“What’s wrong?” asked Farron, his voice sounding less taxed now. Kenver started and shook her head, not sure how to respond. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”

Kenver nodded her head but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t her magic she was worried about, but how could she tell her best friend, her only friend, that she didn’t feel comfortable around him anymore?

Continue...