Millennial Mage

Tala, Terry, and Rane were sitting beside the fast flowing water of the circular river within Tala’s sanctum, enjoying some time together with the Zuccats.

Haster was off in Alefast, meeting with a couple of potential masters, but Anna, Master Simon, Mistress Petra, Segis, and Metti were all there, a wonderful picnic spread laid out for them.

Metti was actually in the water, floating round and round the central rise on a waxed, leather bladder of some kind. They were apparently popular in cities with rivers nearby and absolutely critical in the seaside cities.

That aside, the floating was not a fast process. She swung around every fifteen minutes or so on the lazy current.

Anna was playing with Terry. Specifically, she was trying to bait him close with various bits of food so that she could pet him before he flickered away. They both obviously knew that Terry could come in and out faster than she could react, but they kept up the fiction, regardless.

It was either that, or Terry was allowing brief pets in order to get food… Or Anna knew that Terry would stick around for pets, in the hopes that she’d put out more food in the future.

-Except that Terry could just take any food that he wanted without any of this song and dance.-

That’s true enough. Truthfully, Tala wasn’t one hundred percent certain why Terry was engaging with Anna in this way, but it seemed to be entertaining them both, or at least providing a pleasant distraction.

Segis… he was arguing with his father. “I still don’t understand why you can’t just take me on as an apprentice. I can learn more from you—and while in here—than I ever could at the Academy.”

Master Simon sighed. “That is a statement out of ignorance, Segis. The Academy is built to train up young Mages. Those who were trained elsewhere are the exception for a reason. It takes a talent and depth of knowledge that neither your mother nor I possess to provide a commensurate level of training in magic.”

“But there are so many others I could learn from! We could engage tutors for the areas you feel weaker in, there are magical beasts in here I could gather knowledge from, experience.”

Mistress Petra interjected, her voice a little more level than her husband’s. “And what do you want to do as a Mage, Segis?”

“I want to do what dad does and study how magic works.”

Master Simon smiled. “I am glad that you do, but that means you need an incredibly broad foundation. I know you love to read, and that will serve you incredibly well, but there isn’t any true replacement for the foundation you can be given at the Academy.”

Segis opened his mouth to object, but Master Simon held up a hand to forestall his son.

“You are right, this situation with Mistress Tala is far better than most potential apprentices have available to them, but even assuming that she would agree to have you trained within her sanctum—which we should not take as a sure thing regardless—chances are that your career will be elsewhere. You need a solid understanding of how the rest of the world functions, what it will be like to work for the Constructionists or as a private researcher or assistant for other powerful Archons. Mistress Tala is a fantastic employer, but working for her, in here, is utterly unlike anywhere else I have ever worked, and I would be doing you a grave disservice if I trained you in such an irreplicable location. I would be open to having you as my mageling here once you graduate—assuming that Mistress Tala approves, and I still work for her at that time. Until then, though? You need to be taught in a way that will enable you to pursue your dreams without unrealistic expectations.”

Mistress Petra’s softer voice followed on the heels of her husband’s words, “More than that, we are old and not very advanced. You are not blind to the different levels of Mages, even if you don’t—and can’t—know the exact distinctions. We don’t want you to join us on our trajectory, and if we, alone, are giving you your foundation, it will be hard for you to surpass us.”

As Master Simon and Mistress Petra finished, Tala was left feeling grateful that she hadn’t interjected. She really hadn’t considered it as Master Simon and Mistress Petra clearly had.

Rane—who had obviously also been listening—spoke up, then, “Segis. I was apprenticed rather than sent to the Academy, and while I learned much that others did not, I also lost out on some of the foundations that they gained. Tala and I complement each other so well in part because we have different gaps in our knowledge, but honestly, had she put in her time as a mageling, she would have picked up the majority of what I gained as an apprentice, and she would have done so without essentially any of the downsides. The choice is, in the end, between you and your parents, but if I were to go back, I think that I would have appreciated knowing the truth of the choice more fully.”

Segis frowned, but gave a slow, thoughtful nod.

He really is mature for his age.

-Especially in comparison to how you remember yourself.-

True. Tala smiled slightly, remembering how she’d arrived—naked—in the Bandfast teleportation tower. That seems like so long ago, yet I was eight years older then, than he is now.

Finally, the boy looked at Rane and asked a simple question, “Would you choose differently, knowing what you know now?”

Rane hesitated, then looked toward Tala for a long moment before smiling and answering easily. “Honestly, I am happy with the trajectory my life has taken, and the path that I am walking. I wouldn’t change what happened in the past simply because I wouldn’t want to change my present, and that’s how I got here. That said, such is not an endorsement or condemnation of either choice. Just because something worked out for me, does not mean that it was a good choice, or that others should do the same.”

Tala knew that she was smiling happily toward Rane, and she was fine with that. As she considered Rane’s words, she realized that she agreed in large part. She would not have chosen much of what had happened to her, but she couldn’t really say that she disliked almost anything about her life at the moment. Did that mean that what she went through was good?

No, not at all.

But if what she went through was required to get her here, would she change any of it, if she could?

She didn’t honestly know.

That stirred something within her, and she felt like the question was an important one.

The conversation fell by the wayside, then. Segis still had a couple more weeks before he could leave for the Academy regardless, so nothing had to be decided right then.

Metti drifted past again, this time with Terry perched on one of her knees above the waterline.

Tala hadn’t even noticed the terror bird ceasing his game with Anna.

-Well, he can see as much as we can. He flickered away in order to be on Metti as she drifted by. I think he’s trying to make a statement to Anna.-

Oh?

-Yeah. He’s still not very pleased by her, but he is warming. Even so, I believe that he is trying to show her that while she fights for his attention, some people simply get it.-

…Is that a guess, or are you pulling his reasoning from his mind?

-Both? He wouldn’t put it that way, but that’s what his thoughts add up to and point toward in the end.-

Tala sighed. That made enough sense to not be worth arguing over.

Nothing else of real consequence was discussed. That was likely a large part of what led to a pleasant afternoon.

* * *

In the end, Segis decided to heed his parents’ advice and attend the Academy.

Tala couldn’t really say that the sanctum was quieter without him—after all he had never really been that much of a disruption to the quiet to begin with—but it certainly was emptier.

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She was rather surprised to find that she felt the absence of the boy. It wasn’t like she’d spent much time with him, but he had been there.

Maybe it would be nice to have a few more people in the sanctum.

-Yeah, but they’d have to be people we knew well, ideally those we chose specifically.-

Of course.

-It would be even better if we could train their behavior, and guide them to act in ways that we saw as reasonable.-

I mean… yes?

-If only we could tap into a way of adding to a population with people we had natural authority over and could influence the behavior of?- Alat sent the impression of an innocent grin Tala’s way.

Tala sighed internally. Yes, Alat. I am aware that I can have children. Though, is that really the best reason to do so?

-In an ideal world? No, absolutely not, but in a world at war with our very existence? Humanity needs every reason it can find to have more children.-

That’s… fair. She was actually a bit surprised that she didn’t hate the idea.

She didn’t see little Talax in person very often, but he was growing up well, and her constant observations let her see the highs and lows of the parenting of not only him but every child in Irondale.

She tried to not self-righteously assume that she could do better than the parents she observed, but she really did feel like she could do at least as well… she hoped.

But now is not the time.

-Of course not. You have all the time in the world.-

…You see, you say that—and it’s true—but something about how you say that makes me feel like you’re trying to imply something else.

-I don’t know what you’re talking about.-

Tala decided not to fight her alternate interface on the issue.

Regardless, time continued to pass by. They delved deeper into the War Games—though they still hadn’t gotten to the scenarios involving other real possible power sets.

The designers of the War Games were very careful to creep up on that sort of thing, apparently. Tala and Rane didn’t really know enough to argue with what had worked in the past. So, they simply continued to work their way through the standard path.

Terry seemed to be fully back to normal, having rolled through the various levels of emotional maturity so quickly that Tala hadn’t even really registered most of them. He seemed to have finished leveling out with his new cognitive and psychological capacities, and everyone that Tala had checked with said that he had coped with the bonding process better than could have been hoped for or expected.

They were well and truly out of the danger zone.

Tala was glad for that, but she hadn’t really been concerned. If she were being honest, she’d say that she’d barely thought about it as an issue at all.

Mistress Kannis had been raised to full Magehood, and she had taken over most of Lyn’s duties with gusto. Lyn had taken a step back and was actually already starting to be more and more involved in the goings on in Irondale, even if only through the Archive. She hadn’t agreed to anything yet, but things were looking quite promising.

Tala and Alat were very carefully not pushing Lyn on making a decision, even as they reeled her in.

Tala’s siblings came to Alefast several times, Latna taking the time to meet with Anna and Mistress Vanga. The result of those meetings was actually Anna’s decision to move to Marliweather.

She would take up the running of Master Leighis’ healing business and take on Latna as her mageling.

Anna was a bit young to be taking on a mageling, but Mistress Vanga had agreed to oversee the process from afar, and both young women had been connected with a few of Mistress Vanga’s colleagues in Marliweather who were too busy to take on another mageling, but who were willing to be resources to the two.

Mistress Vanga would have happily taken on Latna herself, except neither were willing to relocate to the other’s city. Thus, this arrangement was what had been reached.

Tala and Rane almost took off to the far north of the gated-human wilds as a new city construction had been started.

It had been quite some time since a completely new city was built.

While it was on a previously used city site—just like the cycling cities always were—it wasn’t going to be the new location of any of the current cities.

As such, a new Paragon couple was being placed in charge of the place, and they were pulling in ideas and concepts that worked from the other cities in order to have a place that would be entirely their own while still fitting within the culture and ethos of the other cities.

Tala still could hardly believe that a thirteenth active city would be added to humanity and none would need to wane for it to come to full power.

-Tala, you’re getting repetitive in your thinking…-

But… I really want to see it.

-There’s nothing new to see, yet!

It was an exciting thing, and Tala was almost curious enough about it to take a trip to investigate immediately. Almost.

Maybe in another few years. Everything at this point was simply theoretical. Nothing would really be visibly different until the city opened to immigration, and that wouldn’t be for decades yet.

It generally seemed like things were simply progressing well across the board. Master Lisa was even settling in far more thoroughly than anyone had expected. The gateless had seemingly embraced him as a fellow citizen of Irondale, for all that he mainly worked on his home all day.

It seemed like but a few weeks, yet Tala and Rane were, once again, headed toward Marliweather to see off Olen to the Academy. Like his brother before him, Olen had decided to go well in advance, rather than hemming and hawing over the decision in the days leading up to his potential departure.

Caln and Verla had timed their wedding to correspond with when all their Academy siblings would be back to see Tala and be with Olen for his own send-off. As such, Tala, Terry, and Rane had been invited to attend the ceremony as well.

Blessedly, this time Tala had not been asked to perform the rites. Master Leighis had, in fact, been asked to do so, as a Mage who was heavily involved in both Caln and Verla’s lives. He specifically arranged his rounds so that he could be in the city to perform the ceremony.

The ceremony was a funny contrast to Brandon and Kedva’s, over which Tala had presided. This time Tala was able to just sit back and observe, which made the differences all the more stark.

Where Brandon and Kedva had come together almost as equals, each taking precedence in various areas per their particular choice, this wedding was much more an invitation from Caln to Verla, asking her to come and oversee their new family. He made vows about how he would protect, provide, and bow to her wisdom, to which she reciprocated with vows to nurture, support, and grow their family with the irreplaceable gift of new life.

They then both swore to listen to the other’s insight and to stay united, no matter what Zeme or the stars themselves brought in the coming years.

“Between us: love, patience, and attentiveness. Toward the world: one family in stalwart strength and unity.”

It was far more equal than their society had had back before Mage traditions more thoroughly trickled into mundane life, but that was so long ago that Tala only really knew about such because of the research she’d done before she presided over a wedding herself.

It was funny how matriarchal mundane marriages were still purported to be—at least if anyone took the vows at face value—but that was mostly an artifact of tradition. She found herself okay with that. There was something about the tradition that lent weight to the ceremony.

-But you’ll have a Mage’s wedding with Rane.-

Of course, I’ll— Tala’s eyes widened slightly as she hitched internally. She then sent a faux glare at Alat within their mind. That was devious of you.

-I don’t know what you’re talking about.-

The painted patterns portion of the ceremony was essentially identical to a Mage’s wedding. As a matter of taste, Caln and Verla chose to have red and blue paint, respectively, so that the combination was purple rather than gray, but that was just a surface level change. Their lines were also in different styles, but that was to be expected.

With more time to contemplate and simply participate as a guest, Tala found that she was glad that some of the traditions she’d heard of had fallen out of fashion. It apparently used to be incumbent on each party to have a man and woman stand witness to the union, in the room, to ensure that nothing went awry.

With the soulbond at marriage, that seemed a rather silly stipulation, but apparently their ancestors had seen some need or utility in it. Maybe it had been to defend the couple in case some threat or other had tried to intervene?

Tala didn’t really care enough to investigate further.

On the slightly better side, it apparently used to be common practice for the guests to stand outside the window of the young couple and call out encouragement or heckling until the bond was achieved.

Even considering the possibility of being on either side of such an interaction was utterly and horrifyingly uncomfortable to Tala.

It really is amazing how far we’ve advanced as a culture.

-Yeah, and I wonder how long until the two colored paint will be seen as barbaric or indecent.-

Tala grunted, considering. I suppose I can see that side of things, but it isn’t meant as scandalous. It’s a symbol.

-Most things are, at one level or another.-

Fine…

Rane was quiet through most of the ceremony and the party afterwards. He wasn’t willfully so, and he engaged in plenty of conversations throughout, but Tala noticed a thoughtfulness to his actions and mannerisms.

She knew the source, but she chose not to address it, either with him or within her own mind.

Not yet. She didn’t think that she was ready quite yet.

Alat, likewise, didn’t address the conspicuous silence on anyone’s part.

Just days later, Olen was gone, the other siblings returning to the Academy with him, and Tala, Terry, and Rane were headed to Bandfast to pick up Lyn.

She had agreed to try her hand at administering Irondale.

Even with that joyous destination, Tala found herself considering the time in Marliweather a bit somberly.

In only a little more than a year and a half’s time, she’d be back for Sella to make her choice about the Academy, and that would mark the end of this phase of her family’s life.

Sella was the last of Tala’s siblings to need to make the choice about the Academy.

In just one year, Tala’s youngest sibling would be twelve years old, and culturally expected to be on the trajectory of her future career.

Time had simply flown by.

Huh.

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