Mageling

Mageling Book One of Millennial Mage By J.L.Mullins Copyright © 2023 by J.L.Mullins All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred. Contents Chapter: 1 – New Beginnings Chapter: 2 – The Caravanner’s Guild Chapter: 3 – Dinner Chapter: 4 – A Simple Home Chapter: 5 – A Day of Preparation Chapter: 6 – In Holly’s Workshop Chapter: 7 – The Old Made New Chapter: 8 – Delivery and New Sight Chapter: 9 – It’s Just Glue Chapter: 10 – Don’t Let Them Poach You Chapter: 11 – Mysteries and Chowder Chapter: 12 – One Has to Dream Chapter: 13 – Late-Night Meetings Chapter: 14 – An Auspicious Start Chapter: 15 – The Journey Begins Chapter: 16 – Arcanous Beasts Chapter: 17 – The Evening Encampment Chapter: 18 – The Wilds Are My Workout Chapter: 19 – Not Soon Enough Chapter: 20 – Around the ‘Death’ Tree Chapter: 21 – Berries and Jerky Chapter: 22 – A Frustratingly Fitting Name Chapter: 23 – Around the Dinner Table Chapter: 24 – There Would Be a Next Time Chapter: 25 – A Blood Star Chapter: 26 – Please Don’t Kill Us Chapter: 27 – That’s… a Big Bull Chapter: 28 – Messy Work Chapter: 29 – You’re a Mage, Figure It Out Chapter: 30 – A Morning to Decide Chapter: 31 – The Foundation of Any Fighting Art Chapter: 32 – Terribly Wrong Chapter: 33 – Creature of Magic Chapter: 34 – Aftermath Chapter: 35 – Power Aplenty Chapter: 36 – Through the Gatehouse Chapter: 37 – A Spinner of Tales Chapter: 38 – Little Shop of Wonders Chapter: 39 – The Wandering Magician Chapter: 40 – The Beginning of True Magehood Author’s Note Chapter: 1New Beginnings Frost licked over Tala’s already sensitive skin, accompanied by the static tension of power rippling through her from an outside source. With a pulse of darkness, she left her old life, her adolescence of learning and exploration, behind. She crouched low in the center of a large, white-speckled, granite room. It was the shape of a half-sphere, each block sculpted and placed so precisely that had she not known better, she’d have believed it was carved from a single piece. Though, I suppose a Material Creator could have summoned the room into being, fully formed. That was unlikely. If her schooling had taught her anything, it was that magic was expensive; why would anyone do something with it, which could be done by hand? Beneath her were the empty grooves of a spell-form, an anchor used to draw a target in and recombine them. Everyone said teleportation was tricky, and that was true, in part. Disintegration and expulsion of a person was incredibly simple. Calling that person, and all their requisite pieces, back from the ether and putting them all back where they belonged, now that was tricky business. She shivered, as much from the fading cold as from the existentially terrifying thoughts. A person’s soul does most of the work, Tala. It’s not like the scripts could get your insides wrong. She glanced down at her hands and saw fading red traces where her spell-lines should have been. She let out a short groan. Well, that didn’t work… Blessedly, she saw her own dark hair, roughly shoulder length, swaying in her peripheral vision. The inscribers at the academy shaved all the students’ heads to allow for the easier adding of spell-lines, but in her soul—how she viewed herself—Tala had hair. Thus, somehow, her recombination had returned it to her. Now, I just have to find an inscriber capable of leaving it be. Huh… my skin is still raw. Shouldn’t it be as healed and complete as my hair? She supposed that some things just didn’t make sense. Tala heard several of the guards gasp as one voice stuttered out, “She’s… She’s naked!” A commanding voice cracked out. “Go check her! If the teleportation acolytes at the academy managed to leave her clothes behind, who knows what else was forgotten.” Take charge of your life, Tala. She sighed, standing fully upright, back straight. An uninscribed guard, a tall, broad-shouldered and grizzled man, stepped back in surprise at the sudden movement. Tala looked around the room, ignoring the man. A waist-high stone wall stood in a circle halfway between her and the smooth granite of the outer walls. It was broken only in one place, allowing access to the inner circle. Everyone—six guards and two Mages—was staring at her. One of the Mages, heavens bless him, was coloring so that the red was easily visible, even under his spell-lines. He was sparsely clad, as befit an on-duty Mage, and he was, somehow, blushing nearly down to his navel. Tala cleared her throat, speaking softly but letting her voice carry. “Nothing’s for sale, gents, so please stop window shopping.” Three of the guards turned away, blushing in turn. The two others grinned but averted their eyes. The one already in the circle with her huffed something near a laugh but turned slightly away, keeping his eyes to himself. That poor mageling flushed even redder and turned, putting his face against the outer wall. The female Mage, likely his sponsor, rolled her eyes and walked forward with a blanket taken from a pile that rested on a shelf laden with supplies. She was practically naked herself, cloth covering as little as possible, while maintaining the semblance of modesty. Her lines were proudly on display, their magic unhindered by covering. She was not young, but wrinkles had yet to render her inscriptions faulty. Both Mages were fit, if not well-muscled—as most Mages