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WILD MAGIC
***Page 1 of 2***
By Donald H Sullivan
As Carma gazed from her cottage window, she came to a decision. She would leave the village forever. Life in the village was becoming intolerable. She was no longer invited to parties and dances. Boys that used to flirt with her now shunned her, and the villagers treated her like an outcast.
Since the villagers learned that Carma was a mage--they called her a witch--they feared and mistrusted her. But the villagers did not know that the Royal Council of Wizards had forbidden Carma from using her magic powers, and she was too proud to tell them--even if it meant that the villagers might accept her again.
As she looked from the window, she saw a carriage approaching. Expecting the carriage to pass on by, she was surprised when it came to a stop in front of the cottage. She didn't notice the royal emblem displayed on the side until the carriage came to a complete halt. The dogs started barking as the passenger stepped down from the carriage and walked toward the gate.
Her mother's voice came from the kitchen. "What's all the fuss? Who's out there?"
"We have a visitor," replied Carma, "from the palace."
Her mother burst into the parlor, shedding her apron. "By the Seven Spirits, Carma, you haven't been trying to use your silly magic spells, have you? If you've..."
"No, Mum, I'm not so foolish."
The man reached the gate and stopped, held at bay by the two dogs.
"You keep out of sight," said her mother. "I'll see what he wants. Perhaps he merely seeks directions."
She watched as her mother approached the stranger and hushed the dogs. After a moment, her mother opened the gate and invited the man in.
Carma, dutifully keeping out of sight, hurried into the kitchen. A moment later, however, her mother called to her, and she returned to the parlor.
"Master Harvin, this is my daughter, Carma. Carma, Master Harvin wishes to speak with you."
"Thank you Madam Lea. Greetings, Maid Carma." He bowed. "I bring a message from the Most High Grand Wizard, Glistan. His Excellency wishes to discuss an urgent matter with you. I have been instructed to bring you back with me, with your consent, of course.”
Carma knew that she had no choice--this was a command. "I...of course. When must I be ready?"
"I and the driver will spend the night at the village inn. We will pick you up shortly after first light tomorrow morning. We should arrive at the palace by early afternoon."
Her mother spoke up. "She isn't suspected of disobeying..."
"No, Madam. I can assure you that His Excellency wishes to see her on another matter entirely."
That night Carma retired early. But sleep didn't come easily; her thoughts drifted back three years ago, to the first time she had appeared before Glistan and the Royal Council of Wizards. But at that time, it had been at her own request.
At age fifteen, when she first became aware of her emerging mage powers, she petitioned the council for formal mage training. Upon successful completion of the training program, she would be appointed as a probationary member of the council. But like all petitioners, she was required to pass a series of tests before being accepted for training.
After enduring a week of grueling testing, she was called before Glistan. His words still echoed in her mind.
"Carma Lea, your mage powers are strong--far above average, in fact. You are intelligent and rational. You show all the desired traits to become a council wizard. Although your showing was most impressive, you were found to have one failing: your magic is wild. Your spells are erratic. A spell to induce joy may induce sorrow or some other emotion. One of your spells to conjure an orange produced a deadly serpent. Quite unnerving. You also have difficulty in focusing your spells on a specific person or group; anyone near you may be affected.
"The council agrees that your wildness could be brought under control, but such training might demand more than threefold the normal period of one year. That is deemed simply too much to invest in a single neophyte."
Because her magic was wild, and potentially dangerous, she was fitted with a spell-nulling bracelet that neutralized her magic powers.
She drifted off to sleep wondering why on earth the Most High Grand Wizard wanted to see her--a reject.
Glistan peered at her from across the table. The other five members sat at the table; all eyes were on her.
Glistan cleared his throat. "Carma Lea, we have summoned you here to ask your service on a quest of rescue."
"But why..."
Glistan held up his hand. "Please wait until I have finished, then you may ask all the questions you wish. The object of rescue is none other than Prince Vado himself. Last week, the prince went hunting in Blackwood Forest. In pursuit of game, his party unwittingly crossed the border into Rhonian territory. They immediately encountered a Rhonian patrol. The rest of the party escaped and made it back to Ingrian territory, but the prince was knocked from his horse by a tree limb and was captured. The Rhonians have demanded the disputed island of Oor as ransom.
Rhonian wizards now have the prince completely hidden with their screening spells. but we were fortunate to locate the prince with our gazing crystal before they tightened their spell. They thought it clever to hide him in Grenwyl Castle, an unimportant castle in the village of Grenwyl.
"We know where he is," Glistan continued, "but rescue will be a problem. The queen will not send warriors for fear that the Rhonians might harm the prince. Her Highness wisely favors a less obtrusive rescue attempt. I considered sending a team of my wizards. I have twenty-nine wizards on the council--five in the palace and twenty-four in outlying castles, but I can send none of them."
Carma said nothing, but Glistan read the disbelief in her eyes. "Yes, I know that may be hard for you to believe, but let me explain," he said. "Rhonian wizards know our wizards as well as we know theirs. They would detect the residual spell-vibes resonating from our wizards from a mile away. This might also endanger the prince. You can see that sending a wizard would be unwise, except in your case, Carma."
Carma started to protest, but held her tongue.
Glistan continued. "You have not used your powers enough to have developed spell-vibes yet. You could walk among the Rhonian wizards without being detected. I suspect that another advantage might lie in your wild magic; they might have difficulty in dealing with that." He chuckled. "Some of our wizards found themselves a little disquieted at times during your brief stay here."
Glistan glanced around at the other members. "Carma, you were rejected by those of us sitting here, and therefore it would be unseemly of me to command you to risk your life on such a dangerous quest. But if you agree to go of your own free will, I will forthwith accept you as a neophyte council member. If you are successful in your quest, we will train you for as long as it takes to bring your wildness under control." He paused to let that sink in. "Do you have any questions?"
"What chance could I possibly have against the powerful wizards of Rhonia? I haven't learned to control my powers and have no formal training at all?"
"I thought I made it clear that those are the very reasons we believe that you have a chance to succeed. But if you refuse, that is your right."
Carma had failed once in her bid for formal mage training. She would not lose this chance, even if it meant risking her life. "I accept," she said. "I will go on the quest."
Glistan nodded, smiled, and mumbled an incantation. The spell-nulling bracelet slipped from her wrist and fell to the floor. She felt her power returning.
Carma drove her carriage across the border into Rhonia, immediately attracting the attention of three mounted border sentries. As they drew near, she summoned a spell to induce confusion. The spell worked on but one of the sentries; he frowned, dismounted, and began wandering around aimlessly. The other two sentries suddenly found themselves overcome with fear. They spurred their horses, running away from some nameless terror. Her magic was still wild, but effective nonetheless.
She knew that her spell would last long enough to put several hours behind her before the sentries recovered. They would probably be unwilling to raise an alarm, for fear of ridicule. Once she was far enough inside Rhonia, she would appear to be an ordinary traveler.
Glistan had told her that Grenwyl Castle was a full day's ride from the border. The road she traveled crossed open country; only an occasional farmhouse could be seen from the road.
The sun was sinking as she approached the village of Grenwyl. She pulled over to the side of the road, trying to give the appearance of a weary traveler stopping to rest. She allowed her horse to drink from a shallow stream running beside the road and then fed the animal.
She ate a light meal of jerky and dried fruit, and then opened a valise containing a dance costume. She decided to wait until after dark to carry out her plan. The night would give her an advantage--like most mages she could see in the dark. The sky was overcast, and that should make for a dark night.
If her plan went well, she should gain entry to the castle without using a spell. True, she had no residual spell-vibes that could be detected by Rhonian wizards, but this close to the castle a spell of any kind might be detected by them. She would use magic only as a last resort. Glistan had said that there was only one wizard assigned to Grenwyl, but cautioned her to expect at least one more to help guard the prince.
It was just past nightfall when she pulled up to the gate. A lone, grizzled old sentry greeted her. The Rhonians had not increased the guard--probably fearing that it would attract attention to the castle. The guard held up his lamp and peered into the wagon.
"Now what brings a pretty young thing to the castle at this hour, may I ask?"
She gave him a smile. "I am to dance at a dinner party for Lord..." She grimaced. "How stupid of me. I can't remember His Lordship's name."
He chuckled. "That would be ol' Lord Bolan. Loves parties. He left no word of entertainers...but then, he often forgets to notify the sentries of his activities." He shrugged, raised the bar, and waved her through.
She found her way to the tower. She dismounted from the carriage and walked through the tower entrance. She surprised the door sentry, who had apparently been dozing. He jumped up from his chair.
"You there! Where do you think you're going?"
Conclusion on page 2
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