🧙 A Sorcerer's Calling

Based on Prompt #13 from my newly-released digital workbook, 101 Writing Prompts!

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Regis hissed as the bubbling cauldron sent droplets of scalding liquid onto his hand. Curses! Blowing on it lightly, he continued to stir. Why had he taken this post again?

Ah, yes - because he had failed the single most important assessment in his entire life, and now he had been relegated to mixing potions for a miserly old man who paid him ten gold coins a month for his troubles. He frowned bitterly into his cauldron, and added another pinch of powdered bat hair into the mix.

He'd had to pluck the hair from the bat himself - a time-consuming and unrewarding task, which was then followed-up with the equally distasteful task of grinding the hairs into powder. Why the old geezer, who had a beard down to his chest, needed a nocturnal beard-growing spell wasn't of any importance to Regis. He simply did as he had been tasked, earning his measly wage of ten gold coins each month. 

Who knows? Maybe it's yet another ridiculous prank he'll play on his wife. Regis realized that that would mean he'd need to create a reversal potion. Still, he sighed as he continued to stir - like a fancy sauce, this potion required constant attention - it's a shame to be wasting my talents on something like this.

If he had passed the Grand Magician Exam, he could be in the midst of a stimulating apprenticeship under one of the great sorcerers of their kingdom, learning trade secrets and training to continue on their line of magic. Each magician had their own style, their own recipe-book, so to speak, and every single one of them excelled in one particular element. 

Dala the Warrior Mage was talented in the magical arts of war. Nieb the Shield was the leader in protective spells. Gnim the Gold had created magical systems that held together the commerce and economy of the kingdom. Florian the Green was accomplished in the support of earthly life. Ruolt the Falcon almost single-handedly led the kingdom reform on postal communications. And these were only a few of the dozens Regis admired.

Some might have occupied more powerful seats in government than others, but all were vital to the maintenance and development of the kingdom. And he had sorely wanted to work under one of them - any one of them - in hopes of making a contribution in his own way. He had ideas, of course, and all of them worth exploring, but required the guidance to do so.

None of it mattered anymore, though. Not now that he'd failed the Exam.

The potion had become quite thick, and Regis grabbed a cloth to protect his hands from the heat, pulled the cauldron from its place on the hearth, and set it down atop the cobblestone floor of his basement workshop. Once the black liquid had cooled, it would be like a lotion, to be applied for two hours in the evening - but removed before sleep. 

Regis scrawled this information down on a small scroll and tied it to the empty unbreakable-glass vial he had prepared for it - something he'd had to purchase with his own money, since his employer was too much of a cheapskate to supply him with decent-quality containers. Did he not understand how dangerous potions could be when accidentally used on the wrong people?

With a shake of his head, Regis spooned the cooled lotion into the bottle and closed it with a cork. There. One Nocturnal Beard-Flourish. 

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Later that evening, as he strolled through Magia's city streets, lit by the Peaceflame lanterns created by Sayeb the Inventor, Regis came across a pamphlet. He recognized the publication - Magic Truth was a conspiracy press run by a group of magicians who churned out theories on the true machinations that took place behind the scenes. Nobody gave them much stock, and they were merely a nuisance to most, but Magic Truth members were difficult to find, and had been operating in secrecy ever since their conception. 

Apparently, they weren't completely ignorant, either. Word on the street was that the members were protected by a Secret Erased spell. As soon as they were caught by the authorities, everything they ever knew about Magic Truth was completely erased from their memories. It was a very complex and intricate spell - even the lowliest of magicians could tell that much. 

But Regis enjoyed indulging in their conspiracies every now and again, and on this particular night, he hadn't much else to entertain himself with. So, he took it back to his favourite bench at a nearby park, which was emptying as the hour grew late, and settled in to read.

The first article was about the fortified and infamous Habis Dungeon, a building he had passed on his way to Magia from his small, countryside hometown, Tant. The writers claimed some of the magicians held there - for it was a prison dedicated to those sorcerers who used their abilities to harm - were in fact innocent, and detained at Habis only because they had spoken out against some higher-ranking magicians.

This was unsurprising. Many people wondered what, exactly, happened within the walls of Habis, and who was held there. Not everyone was announced, and some rumours claimed there were even child magicians held in one wing of the dungeon. The building was known to double as a research facility, allegedly to study the evil powers of the prisoners and find out how to reverse the damage they had done. 

Regis supposed it was only natural for people to wonder and theorize, given the fact that the entire building and the estate it was on were completely off-limits to civilians and unauthorized officials. He didn't quite care either way; what the kingdom did at Habis was its business, and Regis saw no reason for him to start poking his nose around where it wasn't wanted.

Besides, he had other matters to worry about, like how he was going to persuade the Examination Board to allow him to retake the Grand Magician Exam in six months. He would simply need to keep trying until he passed and landed an apprenticeship - any apprenticeship - with a grand magician.

With that in mind, Regis went back to his pamphlet.

The second article was slightly more intriguing. It spoke of Dala the Warrior Mage, and the fact that her team was making "significant alterations to present military weaponry and personnel" - a sign of preparation which Magic Truth argued presented the kingdom's desire to enter into war with the neighbouring kingdom of Malum. 

Tensions had been high for a while between the two kingdoms, so Regis did not think it wise to ignore this entirely. Magic Truth might have been, surprisingly, correct for once in their long and illustrious career making accusations. 

War, of course, was terrible, and if it was indeed coming, it was better to be prepared than to be taken by surprise with an overnight declaration. But this gave Regis an idea, because war was also very lucrative, and required the collective contribution of thousands of mages and sorcerers. 

He stroked his chin, wondering how he could use this to his advantage. If he made a serious contribution to the war effort, he could become an apprentice to a grand magician regardless of his Exam scores. 

There was a spell he had been working on for a short while as a student - a spell that made it easier for commanders in the army to visualize the precise locations of their enemies using the senses of animals and plants in the area and send destructive forces as needed. It was an ingenious idea, if he did say so himself, which pulled together some of the publicly shared spells made by both Dala the Warrior Mage and Ruolt the Falcon. If he could get the spell finalized - or at least to a level where it could be tested and its merit seen - he could approach The Warrior Mage's Guild or The Falcon's Guild and demand an audience with the mages themselves.

Surely if the army was in the midst of reform and undergoing alterations, this would be a system in high demand. 

Regis stuffed the pamphlet into the pocket of his robe and sprang up. There was no time to waste. This was a big chance, and if he could get everything just right...

I don't need to wait six months. I can secure an apprenticeship within the next month!

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As with any short story & snippet I write, I'm always interested in continuing, in developing the concept and seeing where it takes me. This was a very fun prompt for me to work with, and I can already tell that I'm going to want to continue it at some point - maybe even turn it into a novella or a novel? 😉

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via social media.

 

📕Have you checked out my debut novella, Apartment?