by Jason Heaps and Jefferson Wilson © 2004, 2005
Mira studied herself in the polished metal of the mirror. Not sure what was appropriate testing apparel for a person not entitled to wear Sorcerer's robes she had tried to go for something both attractive and functional, and ended up with a style unlike any elsewhere on Qaiyore.
Tallas chuckled behind her. "If you look at that mirror any harder you're going to wear a hole in it."
"I just don't want to shame the ecclesia when I take the test."
Tallas picked her up off the ground and spun her in mid air. "That's not going to happen," he said, kissing her soundly before setting her back on her feet. "The fact that you're not a Sorcerer and feel confident enough to take the Magus Rudimentum is cause enough for pride. Things can only go up from there."
"Unless . . ." Mira began before Tallas put his hand over her mouth.
"Enough of the doubts," he said. "You'll do fine. Do you intend to walk or fly?"
"Actually," she replied as he removed his hand, "I thought I'd splurge on a coach. I may need the energy for rites later, and I don't want to show up covered in street dust -- or worse."
"Then you'd better hurry. It might take a while to find a coach."
Mira nodded, and took a final frowning glance in the mirror before heading down to the street. In truth, though, there was no need for the frown. Though perhaps not a great beauty, Mira's appearance, style, and poise made for a strikingly attractive combination sufficient to turn any number of heads.
"Palace of Sorcery m'lady," the driver said as he stepped down to open the coach's door and help Mira out. Tipping the coachman, Mira shook out her skirts and headed towards the entrance. The multiple levels and towers of the palace loomed over her, but the large double doors stood open in the fresh morning air and the statues of sorcerers from times long past on both sides of the entrance seemed almost cheery.
Though she had been to the visitor's hall of the palace before, the sight was always a little confusing. People walked in all directions or gathered in small groups, mostly around the numerous tables the room contained. Overall was the hum created by many people speaking on different topics. Looking around she eventually noticed the member of the ruling council responsible for training sorcerers, the Lord Ri'Magus, making his way towards her.
"Lady Mira," he said as he stepped closer and extended his hand in greeting.
Having met the Ri'Magus several times before, and knowing he was no stickler for formality, Mira took his hand and gave only a short courtesy instead of the much fuller one to which he was formally entitled. She smiled and spoke (her 5' 2" height making her look much younger than her 28 years), "My Lord Ri'Magus. I hope you have not been waiting on my account."
"Don't trouble yourself Mira," he replied as he led her past the guards standing watch at the hall to the main parts of the palace. "I had barely been here for five minutes." He continued as they walked down the well lit hall, "I asked you to come early so I could explain a few points about the test. Some parts require working with the other participants. The other participants may not even be friends, but they at least know of each other and usually have a general idea of the other's talents and character." They passed through two large carved oak double doors. Mira recognized the huge room beyond from a single previous visit. They were standing the in Throne Room; the one used only on formal occasions. The last time Mira has been in this room it had held several thousand people. Now it held only a few.
"You have a little time to meet each of the other eight participants. At certain points of the test you will be assigned to a group of three and at other points you will be able to choose who is in your group." The Ri'Magus led her to the others that were already gathered in the room. "Do you have any questions?"
Mira covertly studied the other participants. Though they ranged in appearance from much younger to slightly older than her, sorcerers lived long, and almost never showed their true age. She suppressed a tremor as she realized that she might very well be the youngest participant in this test. Still, she had heard of sorcerers taking, and passing, the test in their teens. "Yes, your excellency. How long will there be to mingle? And has my group of three already been chosen?"
The Ri'Magus nodded his head. "You have half an hour before the test begins," he answered as they drew near the rest of the group. "And, yes, the group that we choose has been selected. Any more questions?"
"No. I guess not."
The Ri'Magus nodded as they came to stand before the gathered group. Two of the eight were women wearing the white robes of Sorceresses. The rest were wearing the red robes of the younger Sorcerers. The Ri'Magus stopped and gestured. "This the Councilor Velina, " Velina bowed her head towards Mira. Mira returned a courtesy. Though they had never met, since Velina wasn't much seen in public, she knew Velina was the oldest Sorceress on the Council of Twelve, and highly respected for her leadership ability.
"This is Councilor Nomavisa." Nomavisa caught Mira's gaze and politely bowed. Mira returned the red robe's greeting with a smile. Some thought the expert on history and government stuffy, but she'd enjoyed his company the few times they'd spoken.
The Ri'Magus turned to the six remaining individuals. "We are still missing two of our participants," the Ri'Magus said with a frown. He then gestured to the remaining Sorceress "This is Neomai." She bowed her head, her face a mask.
"This is Oyo'Asuda." He pointed to a young man who was definitely not native mirrish. With his dark skin, Mira guessed at a Milkanuri origin. His smile was friendly and open.
"Pramosan." A Cedonian or some other western Midsea peoples. He nodded his head stiffly but gave Mira a large smile.
"Moragos, Lorogan" Both of definite Mirrish blood. Neither showed any emotion as they made their bows.
"and Eubrason" another Mirrish with an extremely nervous look about him. He turned to look at the group of participants. "This is Mirafelle. You now have a half hour to prepare for the beginning of the test while we wait for the last two participants to arrive."
The Ri'Magus patted Mira's arm, "I will leave you to mingle. I need to make the final preparations." He smiled and joined the two Councilors. They all turned and departed through a door concealed in the recesses of an alcove.
As Mira made her courtesies and spoke she realized nervousness was amplifying her accent. Though fluent in Balpuri she had never lost the twang of her south Junder origin. "Hello to you all." She smiled at her fellow participants. "I don't know why I'm so nervous; unless it's because of all the people who've told me I don't have any reason to be nervous."
"As the Lord Ri'Magus said, I'm Mirafelle, or Mira to my friends. Since we have little time, let me quickly say that my best magic deals with moving physical objects, but I also have magic dealing with healing and intelligent minds, as well as a few other minor things. My best skills are in the areas of religion and group magic. Since I'm not actually a sorceress, though, I can't link as a sorceress would. My greatest weakness is probably music. I'm not exactly tone deaf, but most people hear things I simply don't." Her expression turned rueful, "So you can expect me to fail any problems that involve tones or tunes."
Oyo'Asuda nodded his head towards Mira. While definitely Milkanuri in appearance, his accent was Mirrish. "I have a large amount of knowledge dealing with the Eerith, very little help here, but I have a talent for understanding abstract topics. I think that comes from hanging out with Gran." He said with a smile which Mira returned. She had meet the head Archivist. He tended to try to give overly detailed instructions. "I am not very specialized in any particular area."
As Oyo'Asuda spoke, Neomai walked over to Mira. Patting Mira's arm she said, "It is alright. We are all nervous." Then she pointed to herself. "I am excellent with Healing, and have a vast knowledge of plants and animals with strong magical abilities in those areas."
Pramosan again gave a formal bow to Mira. "Myself follow more along the lines of the elements my self, with a rather strong interest in wind and air. I had some military in my homeland before I finally had to answer my Mistress call."
Moragos included his head. "I like the outfit." He complimented her and followed it with a wink." I also have some talents along the lines of moving objects, and also using raw energy. I tend more towards providing the power for spells and not the sophisticated parts. I leave that up to Sorcerers like Oyo'Asuda." Oyo'Asuda nodded in reply to the compliment.
Eubrason was still shaking as he came forward "I, um, am also good with healing but know little about plants. I have strong interests in energy. Not just the age-old lightning bolt, but the various energies we have in out bodies and various other subjects."
Lorogan just nodded his head stiffly and said /"Voco Sella"/ and next to him appeared a chair, which he sat in and pulled a scroll out of his sleeve.
Oyo'Asuda's friendly smile slid from his face as he watched Lorogan's rude behavior. He turned his back on Lorogan and looked at Mira. "Ignore him."
Moragos stepped forward and two chairs appeared. "Please, ladies, take a seat."
Taking the proffered advice, Mira smiled at Moragos as she sat. "Thank you mage Moragos." Continuing to smile at the whole group she said, "Does anyone else find it a bit dim in here?" Reaching through the patterns of Glimmering she spoke again, "Feroze. Vehemens. Light!" A sourceless glow bright as day illuminated the group and the area around them in the form of a star with nine points. For a moment she considered leaving Lorogon in shadow, but decided that would be petty.
By this time she was used to the surprise her rites usually invoked among sorcerers. From a sorcerer's perspective, her gestures were pointless, and her ancient Balpuri mangled, but her magic worked. Most of this group, however, just took it in stride.
Turning to Neomai she said, "I just realized that we've met, if only in passing. I seem to recall your leaving scholar Moranthas's office just before one of my appointments?" She rolled her eyes, "He may know a great deal about magical creatures, but he's not very . . . flexible, is he?"
Neomai began to chuckle. "Yes. I've noticed that myself." The other sorcerers politely hid smiles. "I, unfortunately, have to deal with him on a regular basis. What brought you to his office?"
As Mira started to reply there was a crash at the entrance. Turning, the group saw a man lying on the floor trying to pull himself up. A medium size case lay open a few feet from him with some red cloth falling out. A book and some scrolls also lay scattered on the floor.
The various sorcerers in the room, including Lorogon, quickly moved to help the man up. Moragos and Pramosan helped the man stand up while the others helped gather up his materials. As the man came near Mira saw he was wearing the robes of a Mirrish Priest.
While all the Sorcerers of Mir were priests of Miracradsa and had priestly roles, Mira knew that one group was particularly focused on religious aspects. This young-appearing priest's robes were white with a complicated weaving of silver and gold in the fabric. He wore the black mantle with silver braiding of a priest of Flachoyasa, or Coron as the Cedonians called him.
"I am sorry, friends, for being late. We had a wonderful couple arrive at the temple who wished to have their newborn baby blessed." He gave a tentative smile as he rubbed his elbow. "I was running to arrive on time. I forgot how slippery these floors are."
"I am Neporian. I know Oyo'Asuda, Neomai, Moragos and Pramosasn. Who are the rest of you?" He nodded his head as the other Lorogan and Eubrason introduced themselves. He then turned to look at Mira.
"I am Mirafelle, an espiri. That is, a magical priest of the god Feroze."
Neporian bowed his head. "Ah, Mirafelle. I'm glad to finally meet you. I've heard a great deal about you." He commented as he tried to juggle box, book and scrolls, "If all of you will excuse me. I will be back in a minute. I need to change my robes." He indicated to his ornate robes and chuckled, "My superiors would kill me if I ruined this." He quickly walked around the thirteen thrones and seemed to disappear into the wall.
Mira blinked. "Nice illusion."
"It is. Especially since its not even a spell." Moragos commented. He proceeded to explain how the architects had built 'hidden' doors into the walls.
After a couple of minutes Neporian emerged from the hidden room wearing the normal red robes of a younger sorcerer. He walked up to the gathered group and, giving Lorogan a inquisitive look, began, "Why is . . ."
Eubrason nearly jumped out of his robes, and the rest turned a startled gaze towards the entrance as Neporian was interrupted by what can only be described as a screech. A red robed sorcerer and a white robed sorceress were entering the Throne Room. The screeching was coming from the Sorceress.
". . . forgot again! I reminded you over an hour ago and you're still late . . ." she continued in that vein as the two of the moved across the floor. The man beside her looked disgruntled and harassed. Neporian raised his eyebrow in surprise, Lorogan looked disgusted, Eubrason backed behind the bulky Pramosan who politely turned his head away from the fight. Moragos and Neomai rolled their eyes at the scene.
Neomai leaned over towards Mira and whispered. "They're married. Xegana experiments with the various fields of magic. He does an excellent job, but tends to forget about appointments." She flinched as Xegana's wife reached a particular painful decimal. "Begaonia's family are fishermen from Puramyr in the north. At times she still acts like a Puramyr fishwife." Neomai flinched again.
Mira nodded. She, though naturally quiet herself, enjoyed the sound and fury of the fishermen's families, whose men gave as good as they got, but Xegana was obviously no fisherman used to shouting over the roar of storm and sea. "And enough is plenty," she thought as Eubrason shrank into himself further. She got up from her chair and walked over to the pair.
Though a small woman, Mira had learned to make herself heard by a large congregation without the aid of magic. She used that skill now to override the tirade without appearing to shout. "Pardon me Sorceress Begaonia!! Thank you for delivering Sorcerer Xegana! We appreciate your efforts! However! The rules are quite clear that the participants must take the test alone! It is now time for you to go. You wouldn't wish to hurt your husband's chances."
Stopped in the middle of her tirade, Begaonia looked around the room as if realizing for the first time were were she was. Suddenly her face was lit by a polite smile. "Thank you." She turned to her husband. "Good luck," she said as she gave him a kiss on the check
Xegana watched his wife go then turned to Mira and said, "I need to remember that trick." Looking back at his wife he smiled. "You would think after thirty years of marriage she would have mellowed a little." He turned back to Mira "Greetings. My name is Xegana, but I guess you know that."
"Greetings Xegana. I'm Mirafelle," Mira said with a small smile and appropriate courtesy before returning to the seat Moragos had conjured for her.
Looking around at her fellow test participants Mira commented, "Now. Where were we?"
"I was curious about why you went to visit Moranthas? He is not exactly a popular person nor is his subject one of vast interest." Neomai said.
"Unless your a little boy with dreams of being a great hero and wants to know all about monsters and how to kill them." Moragos commented with a chuckle.
Mira laughed. "Oh my! Just the idea of a bunch of children hanging on to him -- begging for information about -- whatever!" She laughed again.
"I went to see him," she continued, chuckling, "because another espiri, Geros Haram, had an interesting idea. In Junder, where I used to live, we occasionally have basilisks hatch out of chicken eggs. In short, Geros wondered if most magical creatures might arise from natural creatures, and contrariwise if all types of natural creature might bring forth a specific type of magical creature. Mages would be the magical form of humans, Unicorns might arise from goats, and so forth."
Mira shrugged. "Moranthas was more interested in what I could tell him about the magical plants and animals of Junder than he was in exploring this theory. He did put me in touch with young Harmaket, though. He's an ordinary scholar who became interested and is now researching the matter in more detail."
Xegana looked over at Mira. "Hmm. Magical creatures being the magical forms of a normal creatures. Hum." He pulled out a notebook, quill, and inkwell. He opened the inkwell and leaving it floating began to write in his notebook. He mumbled to him self. "Are Magi a magical version of humans, and so do all creatures have magical equivalent. I need to talk to," he looked back at Mira, "Harmaket you said." He did not really wait to for Mira to reply before he started mumbling to himself again.
Neomai looked thoughtful for a moment. "That's an interesting theory. I will need to visit with Harmaket as well. I would also be interested in getting into contact with this Geros Haram and talking with his some more about this theory."
"You can write to him at Exquaestio's Grand Ecclesia in Cormenaera," Mira said, "or I could pass along a message myself. He doesn't understand Balpuri though."
Neporian was looking over at Lorogan "Why have we banished Lorogan?"
Oyo'Asuda replied, "He seems upset that some one who is not a sorcerer is taking the test."
"Oh." Neporian said.
"So, Mira, you said you came from Junder originally?" Pramosan asked. "What brought you to Mirabalpur?"
"That's something of a story," Mira replied.
"It all began long ago. During the invasion of the Ice Demons some of the horde crossed from Junder to Orasaren. At the time, my ancestors lived in an isolated village near Orasaren's south coast. Shortly after the first refugees from the south came through, a sorceress of Mir showed up at the village, offering them protection. They accepted, and her magic destroyed the demons and saved the village. She left shortly after defeating the demons. When my family's next-born child turned out to be a girl they decided to honor that sorceress. Since she'd never given her name, my family just named the girl "Mira." After the invasion my family moved to Junder, and we've stayed pretty close to the south edge of Free City lands ever since.
"Now, I was named after a great aunt, but my favorite story when I was growing up was about the sorceress who saved my ancestors and who put my name in the family. I always wanted to visit Mir, but never thought I'd have the chance."
"In 1436 the village of Lowfells discovered that the stranger who lived with us the previous year was the god Feroze. I'd talked to Feroze, and the only reason I hadn't adopted Exquaestio earlier was because he had claimed that he wasn't a follower and I respected him so much. (Which he said is true, by the way, he's the source of our beliefs, not a follower.) But I adopted Exquaestio as soon as that story had been read [1]. In 1438 my husband and I moved to Crisaeda to spread Exquaestio's knowledge. While there, I began learning Balpuri in the hope of understanding my magic better. When Exquaestio decided to expand onto Mir in 1441, I was chosen to lead."
Mira grinned, "And here I'll stay." She looked around. "So that's the short version of how I came to Mir. I can tell it better, but that would take more time than we have."
Pramosan chuckled. "Mine was not as pleasant." Then he sighed. "I left a little ahead of the witch hunting committee." He waved his hand dismissively. "The were yelling something about a burning house, and me using magic to start it."
"I seem to recall hearing you say that you did actually start that fire." Councilor Nomavisa commented as he came up behind them followed by the Ri'Magus and Councilor Velina.
"Well yes. I did, but I used a completely normal torch that had been lit by completely a normal flint and steel." He said with dignified look. "I never once used magic to start that fire. Now the docks that collapsed while the owner of the house was fishing, that was magic" He said with a mischievous smile. The others in the room started to laugh.
Neomai was holding her stomach from laughing, "That is terrible."
"I was only 11 at the time." Pramosan commented.
"Neomai, I seem to remember you calling in a flock of peacocks to attack me when I failed you on a quiz." the Ri'Magus said with a chuckle. "I was pulling feathers out of the oddest places for year." Neomai blushed and then started to laugh.
Mira smiled, but didn't join in the laughter. She knew all too well the fear that magic abused woke in those without the ability to defend themselves. Indeed, all of Exquaestio's leadership knew those fears and had plans to license magic workers and protect their followers from its abuse to put in motion. Which would be sooner instead of later, Mira reminded herself, with the cachet that passing the Lex Magus Rudimentum would give her.
As the laughter died out, Mira looked eagerly at the council members. "Is it time?"
The Ri'Magus nodded, "Yes. We are ready." He cleared his throat. His face was serious. "Everyone please follow me." He immediately turned and began to walk towards the back wall, Counciler Velina falling into step behind him. Counciler Nomavisa stood and waited, his arms crossed. Following behind the Ri'Magus, Lorogan's chair vanished as he stood. Oyo'Asuda held out his hand to help Mira stand as Pramosan helped Neomai. Moragos took Xegana's quill and paper away. "It's time, friend." He said quietly as Xegana looked around the room. Neporian sighed and followed the Ri'Magus with Eubrason close behind.
The contrast was striking. Previous laughter forgotten, the participants became quiet and very serious. As Mira walked beside Oyo'Asuda she let the glimmering manifest around her, the inconvenience of seeing what no one else could offset by the ease it offered her magic.
The chairs disappeared as Nomavisa waved his hand and he calmly turned to follow behind the group. Passing through a hidden door the group entered a well lit, albeit windowless hall with thick carpets to absorb footsteps. Tapestries, sculptures, and other works of art from all areas of the continent and covering all recorded history lined the halls. Twists, turns, and stairs finally ended with the group deep in the Palace before a large pair of doors flanked by two guards and engraved with glyphs and words in ancient Balpuri.
Essense imbued the ancient walls, strong enough for even a non-mage to feel. Of greater import to Mira, though, was the area's divine aspect, what espiri called devova. Mira thanked Feroze that he and Miracradsa were not actively hostile. Had they been so, her magic would have been greatly weakened by the devova of Miracradsa which permeated the area.
Entering the room, Mira noted that the outside guards bore swords in addition to wearing the black robes of sorcerers, but her attention was quickly drawn to the room itself. A large circular window in the ceiling cast light around a crystal that had been placed into the floor of the circular room. Nine chairs were placed in a circle around the light, and three chairs stood at the corners of a triangle inlaid on the floor.
As the crowd gathered, no one took a seat. Turning to look over the group, the Ri'Magus smiled and spoke, "Welcome to the testing room. Most of you have been here before, but" he continued with a nod to Mira, "that does not give you an advantage here." Smiling at the serious faces he continued, "Don't be so glum my friends. Remember, while there are events in life that must be taken seriously, they do not usually require glum faces." He then turned to other two Councilors. "Let's make sure everything is ready." The three of them began to check that the chairs were in position.
Judging by the expressions around her, Mira wasn't the only one to wish that they would simply start the tests. To distract herself she began working through the changes that might be needed in her rites to account for Miracradsa's devova. Though few were needed, the task provided a needed anodyne to keep impatience away while she kept a lookout for the tests to begin.
After making sure the chairs were in place the Ri'Magus turned back to the crowed and motioned for them to sit. The room was quiet as Mira took a place beside Neomai. Then the Ri'Magus moved to stand in front of a chair in the triangle and spoke. "I want all of you to remember what this test is for. First, it is a test to show the improvement of your skills. It is also, and more importantly, a test to prove that you are able and worthy to sit on the Council of Twelve."
He nodded and the three councilors sat and paused for a moment. Velina began to chant in ancient Mirrish. Soon Nomavisa began his own chant, also in ancient Mirrish, but a different chant than Velina's. Finally the Ri'Magus's voice joined the other two in a chant of his own. As the chanting rose and fell, Mira felt magic flooding into the room. The gem in the center of the room began to pulse and Mira felt herself slip into a black void.
An eternity passed as, slowly as the lightest down, Mira floating down through the void.
Mira felt herself settle and opened her eyes with a groan. A moment of confusion followed. She was sleeping in a bed. It was not her own, though someone who appeared to be her husband was happily snoring away. The bed was made of wood and the blankets were of crudely made cloth. As Mira looked around she could have sworn that her children were sleeping in various parts of the room. A couple of children she didn't recognize slept beside her own and she made out a couple of feet sticking out from under the bed.
Beyond that, the lighting was dim. The sort of dimness that comes in the early morning just before the sun rises. Mira swung herself out from under the bed, looking at the variety of crude instruments that littered what she realized was a one room house.
Coming to her feet Mira noticed a man in blue robes standing with his hands hidden in the sleeves of his robes. Unlike the rest of the room he stood out clearly as he looked at Mira.
"Greetings young lady," he said with a bow.
Mira couldn't help it; she burst into quiet laughter. It was just so silly. She'd expected something serious, and instead . . . Though her current circumstances were far better, if anything the house was larger and better furnished than the one she'd grown up in, and far more luxurious than the apartment she and Tallas had lived in in Crisaeda. She wanted more children, and if Feroze hadn't chosen her to be an espiri she'd have lived her life quite happily as a farmwife. Then this elegant man calls her both "young" and "lady." She couldn't help but laugh.
Through her giggles she curtsied to the man. "Greetings to you, fine sir." She batted her eyes at him, unable to take this situation seriously, but prepared in case things changed. "And what are you up to this fine morning?"
The elegant man didn't even raise an eyebrow. He seemed to be lacking in any sort of emotion. When she had finished giggling he continued in a quiet voice, "I am the Archmage Dioya, the third Archmage in Mir to rule with that name." He sat in a chair that appeared suddenly. "Please sit while I explain this section of your test." Mira silently sat in the chair that appeared by her and looked at the Archmage.
"To answer your questions, yes, I am dead, and, no, I am not a spirit. I am a memory or maybe you could call it a dream. I am the Archmage who established the current Magus Rudimentum. An Image of me was placed into the spell to act as guide."
He paused for a moment to let this sink in. "On to your test. There will be three parts. I will come to you before each stage and explain what must be done."
"This first test recreates an event in our history. You have been placed in the role of one of its pivotal figures." Mira's humor drained from her as she listened. "You are in ancient Mir. The Northern Kingdom has been founded in Puramyr, but has not yet gone to war against the South and united the island. Mirabalpur is still a village on the acropolis. Iron has only been recently been introduced to the island."
"You are the village priestess-sorcereress. The actual individual was a man named Igrothan, but we have altered the part so you don't have to deal with being a different gender. Your village is on the east coast of Celamyr near the southern border. It is the only village for miles."
"Miracradsa sent you a vision explaining that a group of Avearean pirates have fled their homeland and decided to conquer and settle this part of the island. The pirates will come ashore and destroy the village. Anyone they do not kill will become slaves."
"You must protect your people. Remember the invaders have iron. The only iron you have in all of the village is that knife." He pointed to a knife on a shelf high out of children's reach. "So fighting them is probably not the best idea. Remember that you and your people are farmers. You may be a sorceress but you are still responsible for farming along with the other responsibilities that come with being a priestess-sorceress."
"For this section of the test your normal talents will be bound and you will have Igrothan's abilities. Part of your test will be to see if you can think outside of routine spells, and this will help you. You will also be given all the knowledge necessary about the area and people when I leave. The terrain is accurate and the people involved are taken from Igrothan's journals and reports of this event. While your family has the same number of people as did his, equivalent images have been pulled from your mind to replace those of Igrothan's spouse and children."
He paused. "Do you understand the scenerio?"
Mira stood and spoke. "Yes."
(She hoped her familiarity with this environment would offset her lack of sorcerous understanding, and the fact that she was playing a man's role.)
The old man nodded. "You had the vision this past night, and soon Nerros, the village boy assigned to bring in the fishing cages each morning will be arriving with news of seeing large boats on the water." He looked at her. "Good luck, young lady." With that he disappeared.
Mira felt the flood of four thousand year old memories flow through her. With the innate ability that made her the strongest espiri on Qaiyore she quickly (and ruthlessly) sorted them out. The rules were quite clear, the personalities of those she knew would remain the same, but their skills were those of a farming village of 4000 years ago. Her husband was not a skilled mercenary, her son's magical talent unawakened. Looking at her son Ulysses, she saw he had been aged to around 15 from his 10 years. Her 3 year old daughter Lelah had been aged to about 13. The five remaining children were all under 10.
In this time, her eldest were considered adult. Her son would soon make the journey to Puramyr to become a priest/sorcerer and her daughter was as adept as the men at farming and hunting well able to stand when winter brought out the wolves. The village folk were both farmers and hunters and were armed with bows and arrows, stone knives, and wooden spears. No armor was available, although the hide clothing the villagers wore might provide some protection.
Considering the magics available to her she swore silently. No weather magics to break the invader's ships, no earth magics to rust their weapons. Healing magics wouldn't drive off invaders, and they were most of what she had. She might be able to do something with illusions and plants, but she'd hoped for better.
"First," she thought as she dressed and woke her family, "remove all noncombatants from the battlefield. "Lelah" was set to tending the younger children while she told "Tallas" and "Ulysses" a bit about the urgency and sent them to gather all the villagers for a town meeting.
"Second," she thought as she stepped outside, "consider your ground." Though no military expert, she was married to a mercenary and had heard many stories about how things could go wrong, and a few about how things went right. Scouting was crucial, so points where the invaders might be observed were very important. Points where the invaders might be channeled, where they had to go or where a few invaders could be met by many villagers or where the villagers could strike without risking themselves should also be considered. With illusions she could probably channel the attackers onto a specific path but might be better off disguising attacking villagers. Momentarily she wondered about growing brambles with large poisonous thorns.
Looking around, she waited for the villagers to gather. The sun began to rise and the village turned noisy as her husband and son waked the neighbors and the villagers began to gather. Simple people with little in the way of material wealth. Most had never seen a stone building or a large ship. They knew nothing of war, but were experts when it came to survival.
As the last of the people gathered, Mira saw a boy of about ten come walking up the path carrying fish cages. When he saw the people gathering he put down the cages and began to run. This was the young man Nerros.
"People of Mir!" Mira called.
"People of Mir! Last night the goddess spoke in my dreams! In my dreams she spoke of danger! Danger that comes for us all, but danger which we may survive!" Pausing a moment, Mira called Nerros forward and bid him tell the village what he had seen that morning.
Nerros nervously looked around. "I saw what looked to be a very large canoe with a large pole in the middle. It was on the horizon but appeared to be moving towards the shore.
"People of Mir! With the power of goddess I swear to you that we will not only survive but conquer these invaders! Here is what we must do . . ."
Though simple in essence, Mira's plan had a thousand niggling details to resolve in order to work. Essentially, she would send the majority of the village south, leaving only those not hale enough to travel (and herself) in the village. Some of the strongest and most skilled village hunters would conceal themselves in a bramble ditch near the village. When the invaders arrived they would be told a story about a village festival which had drawn out the missing people, but that they should be back around mid-day tomorrow. Hopefully the invaders would stay, and the food and drink they prepared from the village stores would be laced with herbs to make them helpless. Mira would use her plant magics to grow the needed herbs and her illusions to conceal their taste and appearance and give herself a clubfoot. When the invaders were helpless the concealed villagers would emerge from hiding and turn the invaders into captives. Beyond that, judgement on what to do with the invaders (and their ships) would lie with the whole village.
One of the village men raised his arm and shouted. "Exactly what conditions are we including for those who are staying?" The man was Nep'osi, the head hunter and fishermen in the village. His family like himself were all hail, hearty and while very friendly, tended to a fist fight to resolve a problem. His three eldest sons had taken after their father, while his fifteen year old daughter could almost be called a genius, and Mira suspected she had more than a marginal magical talent.
"Those who stay in the village will act humble and do whatever the invaders say. Those in hiding will have to be quiet until nightfall or until someone comes to get them.
"You, Nep'osi," Mira continued, "Will lead the hidden force. It will need to be small and protectors will still be needed to guard those traveling south." Mira gestured to her husband. "For the time being, if anyone traveling south has any problems, take them to Tallas."
"Now hurry! If this is to work the village must set out before the sun is a finger width above the horizon. You will have to either skip breakfast or eat while you walk."
As the village started moving Mira grabbed Tallas and hurried over Nep'osi. "Nep'osi! If you could select one or two of your hunters to keep an eye out so those of us staying behind will get some warning I would be greatful. Make sure they know its more important that they stay hidden and leave no traces than we know what the invaders are doing."
Turning to her husband, Mira hugged him. "Sorry for giving you the hardest job. Ulysses and Lelah will look after the rest of the children. It's going to be up to you to get the village moving as quickly as possible, and keep them moving."
"We must hurry, but are there any questions?"
Mira quickly checked in with the village's headwoman, who assured her that she would keep an eye on Mira's children. Then to her home where she was pleased to find her eldest children working together instead of squabbling. Taking a moment to impress on them that they must continue to cooperate with each other, she gathered up a basket.
The virus apple, or poison apple, appeared only slightly different from the normal apple, which had been introduced by the Avearans. Virus apples were deadly to humans, but had a pleasing scent and were a favored food of the local animals. Some bushes had been planted at the edges of the fields to distract the creatures who might otherwise eat the villages food supply.
Upon reaching the virus apple bushes Mira thought carefully, lower lip between her teeth. Since she had no idea about how many invaders there were the apples would need to be as poisonous as possible. She would prefer to put the invaders to sleep, but wouldn't waste any tears if they died. Without knowing the invaders well she couldn't plan for a particular illusion to cover the apples, and some of the villagers might be poisoned by mistake, so she would need to reserve enough magic to handle multiple illusions and a couple of healings.
Keeping those thoughts firmly in mind, Mira began casting.
[1] ". . . that story had been read." is an idiom peculiar to Exquaestio. It carries the connotation of something being understood after an extended period of time.
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