The four travellers soon moved on once more. The landscape became rockier and more grand, and mountains that had previously been visible only in the distance rose up before them and around them as only mountains can.
They were leaving Kown now and entering Lorea, the land of freedom and prosperity for all. Well, everyone but Lorea's four colonies, who were still suspended in a kind of limbo between being free and being controlled by Lorea. But compared to countries like Horitzor and Cordia, Lorea was a paradise, where anyone could be anything and do anything and love anyone.
The Ibora Mountain Range made up most of the Lorean border, and until the Sillian Cress Tunnel System was designed and built four hundred years after Wilky and company passed through, Ronin Pass was the best way to cross the mountains. It was a naturally occurring path that led through the mountains, twisting and turning and confusing even the most experienced traveller, before spitting them out in western Lorea, where most people stopped in the little town of Lieronin, parked strategically by Ronin Pass for the purpose of doing business with weary travellers drunk on their newfound freedom.
For most, it took five very long, cold days to get through Ronin Pass, and for Wilky, Thea, Casey and Helewis, it was no different. Despite the heavy cloaks and fur lined clothes they had stocked up on before moving on, the going was tough and cold and miserable.
Casey was able to create magical fire to keep everyone warm at night, but sometimes, it just wasn't enough. The endless cold penetrated Wilky's clothes, and painted her cheeks with a rosy blush. She often found herself huddled close to Thea for warmth, for no particular reason, other than the fact that Thea didn't seem to mind. It was nice when Thea didn't seem to mind.
Meanwhile, Helewis was still frustrated by his being a prisoner, forced to come on this journey, though at the same time, he was starting not to mind as much. The one girl, Wilky, was overly enthusiastic, and Thea was stubborn and loud, so the two of them clashed constantly. And Casey... was Casey. Helewis couldn't forget what the sorceress Glissandra had said to him, though he wanted very much not to remember. He was fairly certain he didn't like Casey in that way. It didn't make any sense.
Still, he couldn't help the way his heartbeat quickened when Casey tousled his hair, or gave him that adorable teasing grin after calling him some pathetic nickname.
Not only all this, but Helewis was beginning to regret his entire career as a mercenary. From the way Casey talked, he didn't much approve of being neutral, and flip-flopping one's alliance based on money. And that was basically Helewis's life. But what else could he do? He was experienced in combat. He hired himself out to anyone who needed a job done. It was a means of survival.
On the fourth evening, Casey taught Wilky some new magic tricks to take her mind off the cold. Wilky had been learning quickly over the past days, though Casey still refused to teach her the incantation he used to change hair colors. Wilky had tried a few things using her own knowledge of Orian, but either it was a combination of words she couldn't figure out, or it was in the magical dialect of Orian.
As she advanced, the spells were becoming more and more complicated. Originally, they had been simple, one word commands. Now, they were longer incantations, things she would take much longer to memorize if she did at all, phrases and sentences in which words tangled with one another and fought to be heard, in which one slip of the tongue might change the entire meaning. This didn't deter Wilky in her studies; she had always loved languages, and the fact that she could do magic was practically the best thing ever.
She was currently perfecting a protection spell Casey had just taught her. The incantation was annoyingly long, but the idea was that she could cast it on an object (at the moment, that object was a rock) and then whoever carried the rock couldn't be harmed. She had already tried to spell several times, but only succeeded in hitting the rock with some weak blue sparks, in response to which the rock did not seem compelled to do anything.
"You keep pronouncing the fifth word wrong," Casey corrected, as Wilky glared at the rock after yet another failed attempt. Thea sat off to the side, knees tucked up to her chest, face small and red in the furry hood of her cloak, and Helewis was warming his hands by the glowing amber flames Casey had created to keep them all warm. "It's an 'ah', not an 'aa'."
"So this is why magicians don't just carry around enchanted rocks all the time to make them invincible," Wilky muttered.
"Actually, it's because that would violate magical law."
"Which one?"
"Um... Section B, Item one, Limitation of Invincibility. Basically, a magician cannot constantly achieve a longer lifespan or a godlike power using an object enchanted by magic. We're still people, so we should have the same length of life as everyone else."
"Oh. That's too bad. What is this spell used for then?"
"Usually in battles, the magician will have something enchanted so they can keep fighting without taking hits."
"Could a normal person carry one all the time?" Wilky asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"They don't answer to magical law, so yes. They'd need to get one though, and that could be difficult."
"Because wizards and witches can't sell or give away enchanted objects for personal gain?"
"Exactly. You're getting the hang of this." Casey grinned mischievously. "Do you know the section that's from?"
"Section C, Limits for Witches and Wizards..." Wilky scrunching up her face in concentration. "Item four? No, three! Gain for Self Interest."
"Very good!"
"What's the point of doing magic if you're limited by all this magical law shrik?" Helewis questioned.
"The point of doing magic, Bronsky boy, is to bring people together and make all equal of mind and thought. Not because it makes you feel powerful, not because it makes you better than anyone else, but because it makes you truly the equal of every other living being in this beautiful world. That's why we do magic."
"Sounds boring. So you're equal to dogs and moths and stuff? Fun."
"Do not mock magic, Helewis, it is a very serious matter. I'm not joking when I say that yes, I am equal to dogs and moths and 'stuff' as you so elegantly put it. What if you were a moth? Would you want to be treated like dirt?"
"Honestly, if I was a moth, I would kill myself, because moths are pathetic and dumb and annoying little creatures."
Casey frowned. "Helewis Bronsky," he scolded, sounding very much like someone's mother. "You are being extremely rude, and you are insulting every magician in this world who strives to treat every being equally. And you are insulting moths, because they are not pathetic and dumb and annoying, but an essential part of the world we live in, and fuzzy!"
Helewis rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I don't understand you magic people one bit."
Casey shook his head. "Terribly sorry for the distraction, Wilky, why don't you try again? I'm sure you can do it this time."
Wilky focused back on the rock, shifting her grip on her staff so that it felt just right. She could feel the power rushing through the wood grains beneath her fingers, even as she opened her mouth and drew breath to begin the incantation.
This time, instead of popping and fizzing into nothing, the blue stream of magic flowed steadily from her staff, surrounding the rock in a thin layer, and lifting it several inches into the air, before the magic seeped into it, and the rock fell back down to the ground with a small clunk.
"I did it!" Wilky squealed, picking up the rock, which looked no different than before, and holding it high in the air. "I really did it!"
"That was great!" Casey complimented.
"What should I do with it?" Wilky wondered aloud. "Like you said, it would break magical law for me to keep it."
"You could leave it here. Good luck for anyone who happens to pick it up."
"Right, because people come here just to collect rocks," Helewis chimed in helpfully.
"Nobody asked for your opinion, Louie!" Casey returned.
"People come here just to collect rocks?" Wilky asked, staring at Helewis in surprise.
Helewis just rolled his eyes. "No, I was joking. Called sarcasm. Nobody comes this far into the horribly, miserably cold Ibora Mountains just looking for rocks."
"Oh." Wilky sighed, disappointed, then looked over at Thea. "Hey, Thea!"
"What?" Thea asked. She had been watching the exchanges without comment up until now, and seemed surprised to be drawn into the banter and conversation (but mostly banter).
"Catch!" Wilky told her, tossing the rock through the air.
Thea reached out a shaking hand gloved hand to catch the rock, and blinked frost covered lashes at Wilky in surprise. "Why are you giving this to me?" she asked flatly.
"So you can't be hurt! Since I'm not allowed to carry it for myself, I might as well give it to you!"
"Oh. Great. Magic rock. I'm sure that'll come in handy," Thea said sarcastically, dropping the rock into her bag.
"I'm sure it will!" Wilky replied proudly, then yawned. "I wish magic wasn't so tiring," she sighed, dropping down on the frozen ground next to Thea, and leaning on her soft, velvet draped shoulder, the fur lining of Thea's red cloak tickling her face. Thea glanced over, half annoyed, but as Wilky was already snoring softly, she opted to leave her alone. Besides, this was kind of cozy.
Thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave a vote or a comment if you enjoyed!