Toby Neighbors - Crying Havoc

Zollin let his magic flow. He had been plagued with the desire to go south all through the night. He knew he needed to deal with it, to raise his defenses, but he hadn’t had the strength. He didn’t have much energy, but he thought it would be enough to deal with whatever was making him ill. He let his mind move slowly through his body, which had been making antibodies to deal with his broken back. The over-production of fluids was causing both soreness and the fever. Zollin moved as much of the excess fluid through his liver as he could. It didn’t take long for his body to adjust. After lying in the snow with a broken back all night long, it was no surprise that his body was in shock. He felt the familiar heat as he worked his magic and, after he did all he could for his body, he set about replacing his defenses.

“I think I’m okay now,” he told Brianna.

“Good, because we need to get moving. There’s a storm coming and we need to replenish our supplies.”

Zollin got up and walked over to where Brianna was standing and watching the dark clouds building up to the north. He bit off a mouthful of the elk meat and picked up the broken pieces of his staff. While he didn’t need to rely on magical objects any longer, he felt a pang of sadness at the thought of giving up his staff. He settled back onto the floor and sent his magic into the pale, white wood. It was stiff, but the magic that coursed through it was like lightning, crackling as it darted back and forth through the wood. He focused his mind, moving beyond the wood grain down into the tiniest molecules. Because he could perceive matter at its most basic level, he could also manipulate it. He began to use his magic to reshape the wood. The magic from the staff linked to his own magic, so that it seemed the the staff was reshaping itself.

It took only moments to complete. He opened his eyes and saw the bow he had made. It was light and elegant, with a sturdy riser and long, shapely recurve limbs. The bowstring matched the color of the bow, which was still a pale white. Zollin could feel the magic inside the bow, although it was as if the magic was concentrated in the limbs of the bow.

“Here,” Zollin said, slowly getting back to his feet. “This should help.”

“Zollin, that’s amazing,” Brianna said.

“Try it out. You’ve still got arrows. But I think you should take off the white alzerstone ring.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Just trust me,” he said, smiling.

Brianna pulled off her ring and took the bow and held it up. She was amazed at how balanced it felt. Her old bow, another gift from Zollin, had been fashioned in Baskla by a master bowsmith. She had always thought that it felt perfect, but the bow Zollin made felt like it was a part of her. Her hand fit perfectly on the smooth grip, and there was a slight tingle that made her feel powerful just holding the weapon.

Brianna picked up an arrow from her quiver, which was leaning against the wall. She nocked an arrow and drew it back. The resistance was so minimal she had to look at the bow to be sure she had it drawn all the way back. The limbs were bent and the arrow was the perfect length, but it took almost no effort to draw and hold the string. Then she took aim. As soon as her thumb touched her cheek, something magical happened. Her sight narrowed, almost as if she were looking through a long tunnel. She hadn’t known what to aim at, but as her vision zoomed in she could see a small tree with a contorted trunk growing from the side of the mountain. It was more than just something she saw, it was as if her mind had linked to the tree. She released the arrow, and it shot across the expanse between the mountains so fast it was impossible to see.

Brianna’s vision was still zoomed in on her target and she saw the arrow slam into the thick and knotty tree trunk. The arrow burrowed completely through the tree and came poking out the other side. Then, Brianna’s vision returned to normal. She could barely see the tree now. It was so far away she shouldn’t have been able to hit the tree even with a large longbow with a very heavy draw weight.

“Did you see that?” she exclaimed.

“I did,” Zollin said, though a mouthful of dried meat.

“Zollin, this bow is like. .” she wasn’t sure how to describe it.

“Like magic.”

“Exactly,” she said loudly. “It draws as if there is nothing there. And then, I could see the target as if I were standing right in front of it. You know I shouldn’t have been able to make that shot. No one could shoot an arrow that far.”

“Kelvich said that some objects made with materials imbued with magic have extraordinary qualities. All the great legendary swords and weapons were magic-made. I didn’t need the staff for myself anymore. This seems like a better fit. That’s why I asked you to take off the ring. Do you like it?”

“Oh, it is incredible! I love it.”

Then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. At first the kiss was merely exuberant, but after a moment it changed and became more passionate. Zollin felt desire stirring in him and he pulled away, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Brianna asked.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “When Kelvich and I first started training, I didn’t like using my full range of magic because it made me feel. .,” he searched for the right words, “too powerful. I had strange impulses to destroy things. So Kelvich helped me develop a sort of defense so that other sorcerers couldn’t manipulate my magic or control me. But when I first healed my back, I felt something. It wasn’t malicious like before, it was. .,” again he struggled to find the words.

“What?” Brianna asked.

“Lustful,” he said.

He watched her expression, unsure how she would respond to such a revelation. They had never broached the subject of physical intimacy. There had been temptations in the past, but since they were planning on marriage, Zollin had wanted to wait. His sense of honor wouldn’t allow him to taint their relationship by giving in to his physical desires. Whenever he had thought of it he was reminded of his old friend Todrek, who had been Brianna’s husband for one night, before being killed while helping Zollin flee their small village when the Torr had pursed him.

“That’s weird,” she said.

“I know, but that’s the best way I know to describe it. It’s like this deep desire, and I know it is coming from my magic, but it’s as real as any emotion I’ve ever felt.”

“It can’t be good,” Brianna said. Her face was blushing pink.

“It isn’t, and I need to get my defenses back in place, but to be honest, working magic at this point is painful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Normally, when I use my power, I get tired. But ever since the accident, it’s as if using magic is hurting me.”

“Oh, Zollin, that can’t be good.”

“I’ve checked and there’s no damage being done. Maybe I just need more rest, I don’t know.”

“If you can build defenses to keep other wizards from doing stuff to you, can you build some kind of defense to keep the magic from hurting you?”

“I don’t know,” Zollin said, very intrigued at the idea. “It will probably take some time.”

“Well, that’s the one thing we don’t have. We need to leave as soon as possible if we’re going to find food and shelter before this storm hits.”

“Okay, let’s load everything up and get moving.”

“We can circle around the mountain to avoid the avalanche. It should be easier than trudging through the snow.”

“That sounds good,” Zollin said, but he couldn’t help feeling a sense of foreboding. He knew that he would have to levitate himself and Brianna up and around the canyons and cliffs. The thought of using his magic scared him a little. He really did need some sort of containment for his inner reservoir of magic. If he could block out others, why couldn’t he isolate and guard his own power so that it didn’t affect him physically? He was tired of being weak and dependent on food and wine to regain his strength. He needed to master his power, rather than being so strongly affected every time he cast a spell.