Mage Knights: Summer's Beginning

Late

“I can’t see why this ceremonial fodder is important.” Kashé grumbled, arrayed in a dress. Sage was leaning against the doorway, waiting on her. “It’s just an amalgamation of pomp and circumstance meant to make us feel good about our service to Aylodae. I don’t need some ceremony to tell me how much the region values its mage knights.”

“Most likely a traditional thing.” Sage said, bored. He was arrayed in a simple uniform and cloak, with his sword belted by his side. “I know you hate getting dressed up, so why do you put so much effort into it?”

Kashé glared at Sage. “Men look at me differently when I’m not in combat gear. It grates on my nerves that their impression of me changes with the clothes I wear.”

Sage raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t answer why you devote so much time to preening yourself.”

“I don’t preen myself.” Kashé huffed. “Whenever I do something, I do it to the best of my ability, whether it’s dressing for an occasion or cutting open an enemy.”

“Well, that’s certainly you down to a letter. As beautiful in a dress as you are in battle.” Sage complimented.

“Stop it.” Kashé muttered. “You and Deviån, all the time. . . you two never stop.” Finished with preparing, she looked around. “Why is it so quiet?”

Sage checked his timekeeper. “We may theoretically be late by several minutes.”

“What?!” Kashé gasped. “Why didn’t you say so earlier! Blast it all, Sage! If I don’t graduate because of you, you’ll be dead by the end of the day!”

“Hey, at least we’ll fail to graduate together, right?”

Kashé smacked Sage upside the head. “If we don’t graduate, there isn’t going to be a we for very long!”

“Right. You really want to graduate.” Sage said, brushing off his cloak. “Well, I guess I do too. I wasn’t really planning on spending another year here. Can’t you walk any faster?”

“Rrrr! This is why I hate dresses!” Kashé growled.

“I can help with that.” Sage said, picking Kashé up and walking faster. “Hey, you’re pretty light.”

Kashé folded her arms, scowling. “You would say that, with those weak little arms of yours.”

Sage frowned. “Just because I’m not buff like those blockheads from Durianor doesn’t mean I’m weak.”

“As if normal knights could ever match up to the mage knights of Aylodae.” Kashé assured him. “Just get us there in time, alright?”

Mage Knights: Summer's Beginning

Unease

Roughly a week later

Myrrdin searched the dressing rooms of the Instructory, eventually finding Crowlin arrayed in robes denoting his job as teaching assistant. “Crowlin! Stop daydreaming; the graduation ceremony has begun!”

Crowlin turned. “It’s gotten stronger, Myrrdin. The smell of strange things and malice. I woke up this morning and I could taste it in the morning wind coming in my window.”

“Well, it’s a bit late to warn anybody, isn’t it?” Myrrdin hissed, batting Crowlin’s legs. “Besides, nothing’s happened over the last week, except for Sage and Deviån getting in a fight over Kashé. Now get! Go!”

“I sit at the back anyway.” Crowlin mused. “I’m only a teaching assistant. I don’t participate in any of the ceremonies; I’m just there for the sake of being there. Maybe I should keep watch around the Instructory’s perimeter, just in case something does happen.”

“You’ll go because your job demands that you be there, and unless you have a good, solid reason for not being there, the headmaster will fire you!” Myrrdin said, jumping onto Crowlin’s shoulder. “And I, for one, will not depart the Instructory in disgrace because you didn’t attend the graduation ceremony. Now go, or I’ll start biting your head!”

“Alright, alright, I’m going.” Crowlin said, straightening his robe. “How far into the graduation are they?”

“The band is still playing the opening song. Now go! Nimarae! Nimarae! Faster, faster!”

Mage Knights: Summer's Beginning

Hungover

“Come on, get up. You’re wasting sunlight.” Myrrdin yowled right into Sage’s ear.

“Sweet sycamore, go away!” Sage grumbled. “Blasted cat! D’you have to yell right into my ear?”

“A pounding headache is what you get for your vices.” Myrrdin said, looking to the curtains. His eyes glowed, and the curtains yanked themselves open of their own accord, allowing light to flood into the room. Sage groaned and burrowed under his covers.

Myrrdin jumped off the bed, his eyes glowing as he did so. The covers followed him off the bed, exposing Sage once more. “Rise, soon-to-be-mage-knight. You graduate in a week. You need to prepare for leaving the Instructory.”

“Five years of learning magic and combat wasn’t enough?” Sage muttered, curling into a ball.

Another glow of Myrrdin’s eyes sent water from Sage’s washbasin flying through the air and dousing him. Sage yelped accordingly, finally getting up.

“Five years in training and learning do not make you ready for duty. Nothing every readies you for the duty of being a mage knight. Only experience can grant you the wisdom and maturity to do your job as a defender of Aylodae. You are twenty years of age, Sage, and about to become a representative of one of the most cultured and advanced regions on the continent. Bear that in mind as you make your decisions.” Myrrdin advised.

Sage grunted, holding his head. “How old are you again? Because you sound like you have way more wisdom than a cat could ever garner in its short lifetime.”

“I am no ordinary cat. I am a mage’s cat, and have no defined lifespan. But if you must know, cats in general are born with an innate wisdom lacking in all other creatures. . . humans especially.”

Mage Knights: Summer's Beginning

Winds of Change

“Sage, Coriko, and Kashé nearly got into a bar fight last night.” Myrrdin informed Crowlin. The two of them were in the Instructory’s Great Library, and Crowlin was scouring through ancient tomes in search of new wind spells to practice.

“I hardly find that surprising; they got into a bar fight at the beginning of last summer.” Crowlin replied. “I take it you intervened?”

“It was necessary. Those lugs from Durianor were disrespecting Kashé.” Myrrdin answered. “Do tell, what are you searching for? You’ve been restless.”

Crowlin paused from perusing the tomes. “The day prior, Sage told me he felt restless. That something was off. I thought it was just him, but last night the wind changed. It smells different. Laden with a different scent, with faint undertones of malice. I don’t know what it is, but it’s putting me at unease. I’m beginning to think there’s more to Sage’s restlessness than just a mood shift.”

“Have you considered informing the elders?” Myrrdin asked.

“I have, but why would they listen to me? I’m but a teaching assistant, aged only twenty-one years, barely graduated from the Instructory. I still sleep in the apprentice dorms, for heaven’s sake! Besides, this time of year is always busy for the elders, with the grading of performance tests and the graduation of the newest generation of mage knights. Why would they listen to me?”

“It is better to be forewarned than uninformed.” Myrrdin cautioned. “If the wind has changed, then the elders should know.”

“I’ll think about telling them.” Crowlin answered, going back to searching for wind spells. “Also, is Sage still sleeping? He’s dozed half the day away.”

“Ah, that reminds me. Thank you, Crowlin. I think I’ll go wake him up.” Myrrdin said, turning and slipping back through the library.

Mage Knights: Summer's Beginning

Part Elf

“Right, we should probably get you back to your dorm, Kashé.” Coriko said, noticing that Kashé and Sage were starting to nod off. “The night grows late.”

“Eh, if you say so.” Sage mumbled. “C’mon, girly. Up and at ‘em.” Sliding off his stool, he nudged Kashé out of her doze. Kashé perked up, blinking.

“Mm? Yeah?” she mumbled.

“Got’s to go home, so sleep for to go thing do. . .” Sage yawned. “Ack. That dragon whiskey will twist your head around.”

“Sure.” Kashé said, slipping off her stool. Coriko steadied her as she tilted upon hitting the floor.

Mutterings and whispers tripped through the air as the trio put their cloaks on and readied themselves for departure. As she secured her cloak about her neck, Kashé caught wind of the mutterings floating over from the table occupied by the knights visiting from Durianor.

“These Aylodeans are queer folk, aye? Lookit ‘em. They let their women fight; those two over there are wearing the armor of knights.”

“Aye, and the redhead looks quaint; I’d almost say she was elvish, or at least part elf.”

In a sudden flash of temper, Kashé whirled on the knights. “Aye, I’m part elf, and all the stronger in magic for it! You blockheads want to find out the hard way?”

“You remember your place here, elf girl!” one of the knights snapped, standing and drawing his sword.

“No.” said a cold, chilling voice. The sword in the knight’s hand glowed red, heated to high temperature, and the knight yelped and dropped his sword. The tavern went silent as Myrrdin padded in silently, glaring at the Durianor knights. “You will remember your place. You observe our customs, obey our laws, abide by our traditions, while you are in Aylodae. You will afford our mage knights, be they male or female, all the respect a knight in any region deserves.” Myrrdin flicked his tail. “Are we understood?”

The offending knight simply rubbed his seared hand and sat back down again, glaring. Myrrdin turned to the three mage-knights-in-training. “Let us go, before your addled heads get you into any further trouble.”

Following the mage cat, the trio left the tavern.