The Magic Stone - 3 - Magic by Firelight

The flames leaped high into the night sky as Brannec told his wonderful tales. He was even more amazing than Avi had dreamed! The fire seemed to dance with his words; if Avi looked hard enough, she thought she could see images in the flames. Shapes of heroes and heroines dancing through time and space as Brannec's voice shepherded them through their amazing adventures!

The entire tribe had come out to hear Brannec's tales; storytellers always drew everyone together. Nearly a hundred people sat around the great fire-circle at the center of camp, all watching and listening with attention undivided. Brannec seemed to hold everyone in a trance; even the honored elders seemed just as eager to listen as the young children. Everyone stared at Brannec, hanging like loyal hounds on his every word.

Brannec was like nobody Avi had ever seen. His skin was lighter than anyone from the tribe, giving him an exotic allure. His voice wasn't yet deepened with years, yet it still managed to rumble like the inexorable turning of the ages. He danced wildly as he told his tales, mimicking the actions of the heroic adventurers of which he spoke. His greenish-brown cloak flew about as he danced through the story, coming dangerously close to the leaping tongues of flame, but always just pulling away in time. Even the wound on Brannec's arm, covered with a freshly blood-soaked bandage, couldn't hinder him!

It was magic! There was simply no other word to describe it!

Magic... like the stone.

Avi's thoughts drifted to the stone hidden in her skirt. Warily, she fished a hand into her skirt pouch and brushed her fingertips across its impossibly smooth surface. The feel of the stone sent shivers down her spine. No doubt the stone was also magic; but it was magic of a different sort. The dangerous sort. The powerful sort!

Slowly, Avi slouched a little lower and lifted the mouth of her skirt pouch to peer inside at the stone. Its pale blue glow filled the inside of the pouch, and the depths of it still flickered at the edge of sight. Avi had no idea how long the stone had lain hidden in the ground, but somehow there wasn't a speck of dirt still clinging to its surface. As though nature itself could not bare to marr such intoxicating beauty.

Someone bumped into Avi's shoulder, and she jumped! She pulled her hands away from her pouch, letting the stone drop back down into its hidden depths. Avi looked over at who had bumped her... The young woman sitting next to Avi was still watching Brannec; she hadn't seen anything.

Avi let out a relieved sigh; her magical gift being exposed at all would be bad enough, but a gathering of the whole tribe would be the absolute worst possible place for it. The tribe had killed a girl who had the gift of magic once; Maja had been her name. Avi had been very young at the time, but she would never forget that night. She could still hear Maja crying out for her father to save her, even as the tribe trussed her up with strong leather straps; her cries becoming screams as they tossed her onto the fire like a scrap of dry wood; her screams slowly fading to ragged coughs, and then to nothing as the fire consumed her life.

Meanwhile, Brannec's story swelled to a glorious conclusion and the crowd erupted into wild cheers. Avi joined in the cheering only half-heartedly; her heart still filled with fearful memories of Maja's death.

One voice rose above the cheers, "Another one! Another one!" It was Kit. Avi smiled. Of course it was Kit! Other young voices joined Kit in calling for another story. Avi added her voice to the chant, "Another one! Another one!"

Brannec slowly raised his hands and all at once, silence gripped the crowd. "So, you want to hear another story?" The crowd exploded in cheers.

"Alright then!" Brannec laughed, "One more story!" The crowd erupted in cheers, and Avi with them.

"This is an ancient story," Brannec began, "it goes back thousands of years to when the world was a very different place. It is a story about heroism, about betrayal, about dreams that never came true and wishes that should never have been granted." Brannec's eyes danced with reflected fire, "but most of all... it is a story about magic!"

A flurry of gasps rose up from the crowd, and Avi was among them. She had never actualy heard a story about magic before; even speaking about magic was taboo among the tribe.

"No," the chief said firmly, "Magic attracts dragons. It is not a thing that should be treated so lightly."

"But dad!" Avi could hear Kit groaning, "It's just a story!"

"My word is final," Kit's father said, "Besides, it is getting late, and we have a long journey ahead of us in the morning."

Murmurs of agreement floated up from the crowd, and the mass of people began to thin as everyone returned to their tents. Brannec shrugged and wandered off toward the edge of the camp. Avi followed after him, but not too quickly, so as not to draw notice. She needed to ask Brannec what he knew about magic, but not where someone could overhear and expose her.

"Wow!" Kit fell into step beside Avi, "Wasn't that great?"

"Yes," Avi smiled, "it was an amazing story!"

"I know!" Kit was almost jumping up and down with excitement, "I wonder what other stories he knows? I bet I could learn a few of them!"

Avi and Kit followed Brannec to the edge of camp where he sat down on the grass. "Hey mister Brannec!" Kit called as he and Avi caught up with Brannec.

Brannec turned his head back to look at Avi and Kit. The light of the nearly-full moon fell upon his face. He looked like he had seen a few more winters than Avi, but he was still reasonably handsome. His mouth curled into a smile, "Enjoy the show?"

"Oh yeah!" Kit stammered, "It was... It was just so... Wow!"

"It was wonderful," Avi said, in a much more composed manner.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Brannec said warmly, "...it's Kit, isn't it?"

"That's right," Kit managed to calm himself down, "And this is Avi."

"A pleasure to meet you both," Brannec said.

"Where do your stories from?" Kit asked, wasting no time in getting to the point.

"Well," Brannec said, motioning for the two of them to sit, "Stories come from all over the place. I do a lot of travelling from one place to another, and I meet a lot of different people along the way. Everyone has a story, if you're willing to listen."

"How far have you travelled?" Kit asked, "Have you been everywhere?"

"Everywhere?" Brannec chuckled, "Not yet, kid! But I have seen lots of amazing things!"

"Like what?" Kit asked, and then quickly added in a lower voice, "Have you ever seen a dragon?"

"Of course," Brannec said, as though it was the most ordinary thing in the world, "I've seen all of the four peoples."

"...The four peoples?" Kit was confused.

Brannec's gray eyes twinkled with knowing, "Shall I tell you the tale?"

"Oh yes!" Kit could barely sit still with anticipation!

"Yes please," Avi said, fighting to contain her own excitement.

"Alright then," Brannec began, "Do you know the four elemental substances?"

"Earth, fire, wind, and water," Kit said without missing a beat.

"Yes," Brannec said, a slightly theatrical lilt creeping into his voice, "Earth, fire, wind, and water. All things in the world are made of these four substances. The four peoples are similar in their nature; each race representing one of these four elements."

"For the earth," Brannec gestured toward the ground, "The Kobold. They inhabit caves, deep forests, and other hidden places. They gather into highly structured groups, and live by a rigid code of honor. They are strong, steadfast, and enduring, like the earth."

"For fire," Brannec spread his arms out wide, mimicking a pair of wings, "Dragons. From the air, they scour the land with their burning breath. They travel in groups called storms looking for creatures to eat, or for things that glitter which they carry back to their mountain lairs. They are powerful and dangerous, and they consume everything in their path, like a raging fire."

"For the air," Brannec pointed up to the cloudless night sky, "Harpies. These winged hunters snatch their prey and carry them off to their roosts. They share the sky with the dragons, mocking the earthbound creatures below, while they remain free and unbounded as the air."

"And finally, for the water," Brannec concluded, "The Naia. Those whom some call mermaids. Flitting gracefully from the sparkling shallows to the hidden depths, they feed on fish and seaweed. Their lives are simple and free in the bosom of the water."

Avi giggled at that last one. There was no such thing as mermaids; everybody knew that.

"Oh! I know what you're thinking!" Brannec laughed, "What about us? What about poor ordinary human beings? We can't soar through the sky like harpies, or spit fire like dragons, or breathe below the surface of the water like naia. We must seem pretty pathetic compared to creatures like those."

"But," Brannec said, "There is one thing that sets human being above all the other peoples. And do you know what that is?"

"What is it?" Kit asked.

"I'll show you," Brannec said in a low voice. He held out an open palm, and Avi and Kit leaned forward to look, but there was nothing in it. For a moment the world was still...

Then all of a sudden, a single blue flame burst into being! Avi yelped and quickly pulled away. The flame flickered just above Brannec's palm, fed by unseen energies. Brannec grinned as the flame cast a pale blue light across his face, "...Magic!"

Avi gaped at Brannec and the flame he held in the palm of his hand. Brannec could use magic too! Avi had never met anyone else who could use magic besides poor Maja. Avi had so many questions she wanted to ask! How did he learn to use magic? Could anyone learn it? Was she using her magic the right way? How strong would she become? Could he teach her?

Avi glanced at Kit; the boy was staring at the flame in Brannec's palm. Illuminated by the flame, his face was unreadable. He bit his lip with concentration. "You should probably... put that away or something," he said finally. Brannec chuckled lightly and the flame winked out.

"Mister Brannec?" Avi began, but paused to look at Kit. The boy might accept Brannec's magic because he was a foreigner, and foreigners did things differently, but Avi was of the same tribe. If she wanted to ask any questions of Brannec with Kit sitting right beside her, she would need to ask them in such a way as not to reveal her own gift.

"...Yes?" Brannec said.

Avi nodded and asked her first question, "does magic attract dragons?"

Brannec shrugged, "Eh... yes and no. If there's enough power, they can usually tell where it's coming from, but it's not like they're drawn to it exactly. It's not like the scent of blood or anything like that."

Avi nodded, "I see." It wasn't the most reassuring of answers, but it was still something.

Brannec smiled, "Don't worry about it. You won't be strong enough for it to be an issue for a good long while."

Avi blinked, "...w-what?"

"How old are you?" Brannec asked, "Sixteen? Seventeen?"

"S-sixteen," Avi answered uneasily.

"Oh yeah," Brannec continued, "You've got plenty of time before your magic becomes strong enough for dragons to notice, and by that time of course, you could probably just run them off with your magic anyways."

Avi's blood turned to ice in her veins! This was exactly what she had hoped to avoid! Her secret was out!

"...I said something wrong, didn't I?" Brannec said sheepishly.

"Avi?" Kit was staring at her with eyes wide, "You... you can do magic?"

Avi's face was burning and tears were gathering in her eyes. How? How had Brannec known? And how could he have revealed it so carelessly? Didn't he have any idea how important it was for Avi to keep her gift a secret?

"...Avi?" Kit said "You alright?"

All at once, Avi stood up and took off running. She kept running, even as Kit shouted after her. It wasn't supposed to be like this! Her secret wasn't supposed to be revealed like this! It wasn't supposed to be revealed at all! And Brannec had just given it all away as though it were nothing at all! How could someone like him be so stupid?!?

Avi reached the edge of the forest and leaned against a thick tree trunk to catch her breath. Kit wouldn't tell on her to the rest of the tribe, would he? No, Kit was smarter than that. Besides, they were very good friends; Kit would understand.

What about the rest of the tribe? Kit might not tell them about her ability outright, but what if they found out some other way? Brannec had found out somehow; what if someone else in the tribe could find out the same way? Would she ever be safe among the tribe ever again?

A shrill cry split the night air, and Avi looked up. It was a sound she had never heard before, like the call of a hunting mountain bird, but deeper and harsher. A few moments later, a dark shape swept across the moon. Then another... Three more... A dozen shapes forms, all growing nearer with each passing second...

"No." Avi whispered with horror as the horde of winged nightmares descended from the sky.