MAGNUS

The next morning I met my grandfather in the workshop we had built alongside his cabin. This had been my personal playground over the past few years as I tried to make various bindings that would make up for my deficient aether supply. The old man would occasionally give me a project that pushed my skills further. I found him gathering some of my concept designs into a small leather case, apparently for me to take with me.

“Will I have time at the academy to work on those?” I asked.

“I would assume so. When the princess and I discussed the curriculum for the academy I told her about some of the schools I had seen in my childhood. Research projects were a common theme. Also it will be good to remember that it takes a particular set of skills to be a combat binder. Most who want to learn about the various forms of binding will need time to practice and goals to shape that practice,” he answered.

“Like Richard down in Mountain’s Rest? He has become pretty skilled at spell binding, but didn’t know what to do with it until you encouraged him to try different materials,” I replied in understanding.

He placed a finger to the side of his nose before pointing at me. I never saw anyone else using the gesture, but I knew it to mean I had gotten the point. Trying things outside of the standard methods of binding was risky as a botched flow of aether could cause unexpected effects; but Morgan Ward was one to push the boundaries of what was expected. It was why Princess Bridgette had asked him for advice on the academy.

“Oh I have a gift for you, since you will be in Nilavs for your birthday,” he said before rummaging in his own pack on the floor beside the worktable.

He wouldn’t be able to visit of course. He had a deeper binding to Alara, the dryad in the oak tree, than most beast binders. It let him take on some of her aspects, and her his, but it also meant they couldn’t be too far apart. The village of Mountain’s Rest at the foot of the mountain was pretty close to as far as he could go while she slept in her tree, and she had to recover in the tree when she spent her own supply of aether as it didn’t recharge like humans did. Fenris regained some anytime he was in moonlight, but gained more as the moon was fuller. I had seen how much aether Alara possessed, and it still frightened me to think of what would cause her to expend it all.

When grandfather rose and turned toward me I saw he had a small sphere or crystal held loosely in hand. It was small enough to grip easily with one hand, but not small enough to hide in your hand; and on it were glyphs I hadn’t spent much time studying: beast binding glyphs. I took the beast crystal from him and said, “Thank you, but you know I can’t properly bind a creature, I don’t have enough aether.”

I know, it’s rude to comment on an early birthday gift; but my statement was true. I barely had enough aether to infuse images into cards that would recharge, let alone bind a creature.

The old man smiled and said, “Give me some credit Magnus. What have I told you about using your aether in binding a creature?”

“You use your aether to create the crystal they reside in, and to bind them to your will,” I answered.

He looked at me expectantly as if waiting for more, but I had no other answers as I had tuned him out a bit in the lectures on beast binding due to my own issues.

He sighed and said, “You are definitely my grandson. Always ignoring lessons you think don’t apply, until they kick you in the pants. Most of the cost in aether for beast binding is the enforcement of servitude. If a creature doesn’t fight the binding the cost is lower, and if the creature is bound by another you only pay the cost to transfer the ownership. In this case Varis was willing to be bound for you.”

“Isn’t Varis the one of the little pixies that lives in Alara’s tree?” I asked as I channeled some of my aether into the glyphs on the crystal that would allow me to take ownership.

In doing so I could feel the other glyphs and their purpose. They were linked to gather ambient aether to provide a small pocket of space within the crystal for Varis to live and a summoning glyph with a condition that would allow her to easily break the binding on the crystal if she chose. I found a third glyph that would allow anyone to inject aether into the crystal to help heal Varis if she were injured.

I trickled aether into the summoning glyph and said, “Varis, come out.”

A high pitched voice spoke to my mind, “Do I have to? I am in the middle of putting away my things?”

Gramps laughed at my clearly dumbstruck face as I said, “No, go ahead and make yourself at home. I just wanted to make sure it worked.”

I don’t know how she managed the mental sigh, but she did so and said, “Call me again when you start heading down the mountain. I should be done by then. And yes the binding worked, you don’t have Morgan’s talent for speaking with aetherical creatures. Which means for me to talk to you mind to mind I have to be bound.”

I tried to think my response back at her, “But Fenris talks to me like this.”

“Fenris isn’t a pixie,” was the only response I got.

“Now that that is settled, did you finish your homework?” Morgan asked.

Assuming he was referring to the question on image binding a person rather than another option, I answered, “Tools have to be included too, particularly if they have bindings of their own.”

“Exactly. This is important in the case of making an image binding of someone with spellbinding tools. You have to bind the tools image in also, which can be more complicated as you don’t want to bind the spell itself. I don’t even want to guess how difficult binding your pistol would be,” he answered.

I didn’t want to guess that either; it had taken me a solid two weeks to channel enough aether into the engraved bindings to get them to hold. Granted I had a larger supply of aether now than I did four years ago, but not that much more.

He took the case that held my designs and tucked it into my bag and said, as he led me out of the workshop, “Image binding is flexible in that you can create rechargeable abilities, but always remember that it requires you to define what the image is.”

We walked outside to find Fenris waiting for us. Grandfather helped me settle my bag on my shoulders and I slung my go bag across my chest to hang at my waist, Fenris said, “Hop on pup, I’ll give you a lift down to the village. “

Gramps laughed and said, “I think he’s going to miss you.”

Fenris somehow pulled off an innocent puppy expression, as if he was saying ‘who, me.’ Then he actually responded with, “It will be faster than his walking pace so I’ll get back here to watch over you. Besides, I might be able to steal another messenger's pants.”

Grandfather and I both laughed as Fenris knelt down to make it easier for me to get on his back.

“Oof, think you had too many burgers last night pup,” Fenris said jokingly.

“Not me old wolf, I saw you sneaking some of the leftovers when I headed to bed,” I responded.

Fenris chuffed his laughter as he rose. He was still strong even in his advanced age, though he never did tell me how old he actually was. My grandfather reached up and patted my leg saying, “Be safe out there, and say hello to Brigette for me.”

“You keep well Gramps. I’ll see you over the winter break,” I responded before Fenris started trotting off.

As we reached the forest trail that led to the clearing my grandfather's cabin was on I turned to look back and wave, my grandfather waved as well and I thought I saw a small glisten in his eyes.

I turned back forward and focused on the journey ahead. Aegis Academy awaited, and potentially answers to what happened to my mother.