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| story:chapter_2 [2018/06/26 23:43] – davenport | story:chapter_2 [2026/06/06 12:12] (current) – davenport |
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| ====A Single Stone...==== | ====Chapter 2: A Single Stone... -jon==== |
| | Will's magical senses had always felt like he was swimming in a stagnant pool of water, but touching this stone gave him the suddenly, overwhelming sense of a flow - like there was suddenly more to explore - something to touch and discover. He had studied and worked to improve his prowess over these years, but he'd never felt a real //pull// in his arcane senses. In this world of grey monotony, the stone drew him away. It pulled in the way a cool fall breeze asks you to walk out into it and just... let... go... |
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| If you have ever known what it was like to spend a long time swimming in a stagnant pool of water, finally to find that there is now a flow pulling you along in another direction, then you know what comes next. Your curiosity gets the better of you and you follow that new path, consequences be damned. | And for once, Will felt as if he could go. A thought opened in his mind about leaving all this dull grey behind. Something that had been long overgrown by the lessons of repetition and requisite. |
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| Will felt it tug at him in a sense that can really only be equated to that. In his world of grey monotony, the stone drew him away in his arcane senses. It pulled sharply like the way a cool fall breeze asks you to walk out into it and just go... | |
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| And for once, Will felt as though he could go. A thought opened in his mind about leaving all this dull grey behind. Something that had been long overgrown by the lessons of repetition and requisite. | |
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| Maybe there was a way to crack the hold on his mind. He breathed deeply - so much that it hurt. Then exhaled and inhaled again, feeling the world around him as he tried to think... "Out there, where do I feel the voice strongest... where do you call me..." | Maybe there was a way to crack the hold on his mind. He breathed deeply - so much that it hurt. Then exhaled and inhaled again, feeling the world around him as he tried to think... "Out there, where do I feel the voice strongest... where do you call me..." |
| "I'm Will, third rank, class 939." Will responded to the question with rote memory. Every student memorized their rank and class at the academy. Ranks were assigned based on birth status. In Will's case, being the son of two non-magi, he had the lowest rank. Your class was the year in which you had been "introduced" to the school. | "I'm Will, third rank, class 939." Will responded to the question with rote memory. Every student memorized their rank and class at the academy. Ranks were assigned based on birth status. In Will's case, being the son of two non-magi, he had the lowest rank. Your class was the year in which you had been "introduced" to the school. |
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| They called it an "introduction", but that was just a light way of saying Will had been kidnapped. Most of the third ranks, and a few second ranks, were kidnapped. Sterility was high in the first ranks (an unfortunate side effect from lifetimes of magic use). With so few born from 'pure' first rank stock, the last several decades had seen a push to keep the number of magi up. Too few and the non-magi populations might catch on to how loose their hold really was. Only about a third of the world's population had any ability. Some could be taught, but a lot was still dependent on how randomly 'gifted' one was by the genetic mutations in their body. | They called it an "introduction", but that was just a light way of saying Will had been kidnapped. Most of the third ranks, and a few second ranks, were kidnapped or recruited. The highest tiers had suffered a severe fertility collapse over the last century due to inbreeding among the purest lines and the cumulative damage from heavy arcana use (especially the secret Void-pulls that kept the planetary barriers running). With fewer and fewer children born to the old families, the regime had begun large-scale recruitment of gifted children from non-magi parents roughly a hundred years earlier simply to keep enough working magi in the system. Only about a third of the world's population had any ability at all. Some could be taught, but most of the real power still came from those who were born with the gift. |
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| A global enchantment had been in place for awhile that could detect a magi anywhere in the arcane world, however it had some limitations in the non-arcane world. With some places nearly inaccessible due to the environment. Using a complex network of enchantments, the heads of the central ministry kept watch over vast portions of the population to find potential 'recruits'. However, there were still some who were just out of reach of the ministry's grasp. Those who weren't under constant surveillance were either criminal magi - usually on the run from authorities for unsanctioned use of magic, or at times revolutionaries who were rebelling against the heavily entrenched system. | A global enchantment had been in place for awhile that could detect a magi anywhere in the arcane world, however it had some limitations in the non-arcane world. With some places nearly inaccessible due to the environment. Using a complex network of enchantments, the heads of the central ministry kept watch over vast portions of the population to find potential 'recruits'. However, there were still some who were just out of reach of the ministry's grasp. Those who weren't under constant surveillance were either criminal magi - usually on the run from authorities for unsanctioned use of magic, or at times revolutionaries who were rebelling against the heavily entrenched system. |
| The sky looked clear for once. Then the ground shuddered, shook, and fell away. Will could finally feel beyond the barrier. The fresh cool breeze of the autumn sky. it was a welcome chill. A light was growing from his right hand where the stone was. Soon it was blinding and Will had to close his eyes. He was reaching out blindly now. | The sky looked clear for once. Then the ground shuddered, shook, and fell away. Will could finally feel beyond the barrier. The fresh cool breeze of the autumn sky. it was a welcome chill. A light was growing from his right hand where the stone was. Soon it was blinding and Will had to close his eyes. He was reaching out blindly now. |
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| Yet the light continued to grow stronger. Will couldn't feel anything beneath him anymore. But it was okay. The stone took control now. | Yet the light continued to grow stronger. Will couldn't feel anything beneath him anymore. But it was okay. The stone took control now. the powers of the stone overwhelmed Will's mind as he was finally pulled free of Myrah. He blacked out and fell into a peaceful rest. |
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| | For the first time in a very long time, Will dreamed. They were dreams without fear. He was cut free of the "Grey" past, the harsh overwatchers, the constant expectations. It was good. Will smiled and knew, even though what lie ahead would be difficult, he somehow knew that things were becoming much more interesting now. |
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| | //Continue to [[chapter 3]]...// |