fantasy

Where Ages Meet: Ch. 1: Paths Crossed

  • Word count: 1900 (4 to 17 minutes) | Rating: T
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  • Note: Magic, historic elements.
  • ©2021 Quillful

The carriage ricketed down the path, rocking from side to side not too unlike the boat Oliver left behind a few days ago. Honestly, he should’ve puked up his entire stomach by then. If not from the motion, from the anxiety, if not from those, from the excessive spellcasting and all-nighters, and if not from all of that, from the fact that everyone he met was tired of him already.

“Excuse me, yes, pardon me,” he began, possibly out of desperation for some social aspect to break up the blur of practice and half-sleep, “Hypothetical question for you,” he said through the small window to the carriage driver. Rick was his name, just a dull-eyed teen who didn’t turn or acknowledge him in any fashion.

“If you were heading toward a massive contest, or at least formerly massive, that would earn you possible worldwide renown and a great portion of your material desires for the rest of your life, even if it would put that life in certain danger of an abrupt and humiliating end– Would you still go?” He waited. A jerk of the reins brought the horses on a steady turn and the driver scratched at his stubble.

“Just wondering. Purely hypothetical.”

“…No, sir. I believe I would not.” Ah, he did speak. Truth be told, the mage wished he would speak more. There was a certain rustic eloquence in his flowing tones and raspy voice. It matched his weathered appearance, skinny though he was, draped in rough clothes and leather packs. “But I’ve little use for fame or material things.”

“Really. That is interesting.” Oliver never could tell a convincing lie. Perhaps that was the source of his societal shortcomings and those evident traits that allowed him to become a mage in the first place. “Well now. Thank you, thank you very kindly. That will be all.”

And they didn’t speak again until the sun eased its way down and the moon slid its way up. Rick originally turned the horse onto a path to the miserable village of Kendon. That was before Oliver got him to swear to turn the carriage around, drive through the night no matter the threat, and travel to Aethia, the (waning) magical capital of the world. Rick made some money off the vow.

He woke up not to Rick, like he expected, but to Aethia’s bubbling morning bustle and the accompanying distant bird calls. The ocean was off by a day or so, but the sea birds still graced the city with caws and droppings. Even that early, six or maybe seven in the morning, people moved about the streets and brought the carriage’s pace to a patient amble. Fortunately for them, there were few of the new “automobiles” about…

Still, they made it to the arena at the city’s approximate center before noon and that was all that mattered. Even if that was when the driver got the other half of his payment, Oliver was thrilled to finally arrive, to look at the vaulted stone spires and rows of pointed arch windows.

Oh, to take it all in firsthand… As Rick unloaded the mage’s two carpet bags onto the limestone path and eventually stared at the stout steamer trunk on the rear luggage rack. Oliver was so fixed on the arena, imagining his way through corridors to his assigned and truly unremarkable room (though it would impress him to no end), that it took the carriage boy speaking to get his attention.

“Sir, the trunk.”

“Oh, of course, right,” he corrected himself, joining an unimpressed Rick at the back of the carriage and pulling up his sleeves. “I’ll handle this.”

With a whispered incantation, his eyes closed, he missed Rick’s muted expression of shock and revulsion as the trunk rocked. Sticks of cedar jutted out from its side, the wood cracking in the strain even as the process left no marks in the trunk or the leather straps. Oliver kept his eyes closed, muttering the made-up language while the sticks bent as if they had an elbow, coming out further until they ended in square hands. They had no form, looking like thumbless mittens even as they closed and opened.

It got up on its rangy haunches, shook the new arms and legs as if their stiffness could be fixed that way, and clambered down the side of the carriage to pick up the waiting bags.

“Well, thank you for all your help, kind sir.” Oliver took Rick’s hand in his, shaking it and leaving a small sack of money in the driver’s palm. “I expect my gratitude will cover your homeward expenses.”

“Sure,” he said, seeming a little concerned about something. It had to be one of their mental states. But he put the sack in his pocket and returned to the carriage led by the chestnut horse with stunted ears and eerily large eyes. Riding inside the whole time, the mage didn’t notice until now just how unsettling they were.

The two turned their separate ways and that brought Oliver to the arena’s gate, guarded by security officials in navy blue uniforms with glinting silver trims almost outshone by the spotless black of their shoes and for some, the badges on their uniforms. Naturally, only two of the ten officials would talk to him.

He went through unsurprising questions without much trouble. What sort of mage are you? How long have you been practicing? Have you ever been detained or arrested by the Mages’ Council for any purpose? Passing that test, they moved on to the practical portion of the exam. Cast any spell for us, okay, that’s great, now use another to unlock this chest no wider than a tankard and get your Trialist Charm. Great, you did that, now…

“Where’s your aide?”

“Hm?” Oliver looked up at the stern woman’s face, finally over the scar at her left jaw line and not staring at it instead of her eyes anymore. His new fixation had been on the opalesque gem in the center of the stone charm. He was in the middle of wondering if everything at the arena was made of stone when she interrupted him. “Excuse me?”

“Your aide. Where are they?” Aide. Aide. Why hadn’t he heard of this before? Oh no, not good… They were starting to question his hesitation.

“Oh, my aide, you meant them. Well, they’re off looking after the horse. Chestnut, a real dear. Well, no, she’s a horse, but…” He trailed off and sensed that they had lost their patience. “I’ll go and get him, she’ll be alright.”

He didn’t even ask if he could join without an aide since he already had the Trialist Charm and all. He just left the trunk behind to wait, running past the landscaped woods towards central Aethia. If he could find Rick at the stables, if any remained, offer him yet more money, which he was running out of, and convince him to be his aide, learn some magic… Well, that shouldn’t be hard. Wasn’t that everyone’s dream?

Panting, Oliver stopped in the first motel he came across and began the search. He wouldn’t leave the city that day because he hadn’t slept the night before, which left that night and the next morning to find him. “Excuse me, pardon, if it’s not too much trouble,” he paused for a gasp of air, “Did a young man come in here named Rick? To stay the night?”

They said no in that place and demanded to know who was asking in the second one, assuring that he wasn’t there mostly because Oliver didn’t want to argue. So the hunt went until the fourth place of lodging, where the staunch doorman told him what he so wanted to hear. If the horse and carriage outside weren’t obvious clues. “Yeah, a few hours ago. A real lanky thing he was. Looked like he hadn’t slept in a day.”

“Oh, that’s him,” Oliver sighed, daring to smile now that he had the news he wanted. “Which room is he in?”

He got a leery look, a once-over to see if maybe he looked the sort who would kill someone in their rented room and cause a huge mess for the owner. Another few coins lost, but the room’s location gained, he went upstairs to the third door on the left and banged an open hand on the door.

“Rick, open up,” he called, staring down at the knob and forcing himself to not go in anyway. “I have another favor that needs doing. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it, of course, so I came to give you the first chance. Extra money, Rick, I can promise you that if you’ll help out with this one favor.”

Oliver jumped at the thump inside the room, maybe something slamming against the wall or onto the floor. He waited, biting his lip and biding his time. “Rick,” he ventured after a few seconds without another sound. “How is everything in there? Are you alright?” Soft rhythmic creaks got louder and then the door opened just a crack. Rick looked worse now than before, a lot worse.

“What is it.” Eyes half shut and the look on his face just begging Oliver to give him a reason to punch the mage, Rick wasn’t in any mood for politeness and Oliver wasn’t crazy enough to demand it.

“Can I come in and talk?”

“No.”

Well then. Alright, Oliver could work with that. Running both hands through his hair, taking a deep breath, he started up with his explanation.

“Remember that probably massive contest?” And his future aide’s eyes shut even more. He lost some ground there, granted, but it would be won back as soon as he got to tell the story. “Well, to be in it for real, I need an aide.”

“I’m not it.”

“Hey, hear me out,” he bargained, stopping the door with his hand only because Rick didn’t slam his hand in it. If he really wanted to, he could. Being a carriage driver made him a lot stronger. “There’s a lot in it for you, Rick, I promise. I’ll pay you twice what you made as a driver,” Oliver said, counting the benefits on one hand and watching the driver’s interest pique as his eyes almost nearly opened.

“I thought magic was dying off,” he answered, but he was swaying, Oliver could just feel it. Or perhaps that was the numb, light feeling of lacking oxygen.

“And isn’t carriage driving? Look, I’ll teach you magic, and that in itself is an experience to behold. Plus, you can stay at the arena with me and a ton of other mages and their aides, and the Council will take care everyone completely free of charge! What do you say?”

And then there was the wait. He kind of hated looking at Rick leaning against the doorframe, thinking, wondering if this was worth it. When that smirk finally came, it brought a flood of relief with it and Oliver smiled back. Wasn’t often that both of them felt happy for the same reason. “Alright, Mr. Oliver,” he agreed and held out his hand that wasn’t on the doorknob of his side of the door. “You’ve got a deal.”

Read Chapter 2

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Nosferatu: A Study

Hello everyone!

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Welcome to my possibly unnerving study of Nosferatu through the ages.

Firstly, a definition of the spell book is in order. It’s a tome, as most offensive magic is in Fire Emblem, and it always drains health from the target and restores that amount of health to the caster.

But what has changed for Nosferatu over the years?

Yes, it used to be called Resire, but there are more compelling changes for the spell. For example, consider spell type where games in the series include it. In five of the games, Nosferatu is considered a light spell. In six of them, it’s considered a black or dark spell. (For the remainder, it’s simply referred to as a tome or other title.)

But these are two very different schools of magic. Light magic in Fire Emblem is mostly associated with characters from the church or godly descent. Dark magic as a contrast is often construed as evil. Some good people use dark magic and evil people use light magic, but these are their reputations.

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Bet you can’t guess which one is the dark mage.

So what about this spell in particular makes it walk the moral line of light and dark? To grasp this, we need to understand what the use is for Nosferatu in the context of both kinds of magic.

For light magic, note that Nosferatu is an offensive form of healing. If a healer is to be used most effectively and able to protect themselves in a pinch, Nosferatu was their best option. And it would be more accessible for them to learn than anima magic since it is based in the manipulation of health.

As for dark magic, it’s simply a way to heal oneself. Most dark mages are with other dark mages in combative situations. Whether this is because of stigma (in the case of Knoll in Sacred Stones) or through having no other options (as with Henry from Awakening), they likely don’t have a healer nearby for them.

And to reference Knoll again, he says that knowledge is the source of dark magic’s power, not the desire to harm others. So a typically religious class like a cleric or priest would be able to manage a spell like Nosferatu.

And yet…

There have been restrictions on this spell in other games in Fire Emblem. In Mystery of the Emblem, Nosferatu could only be used by female units. And in many Fire Emblem games, only dark mages can use this spell.

So why these restrictions? Most likely, the reasons are cultural or religious.

The women only restriction is more difficult to explain, but I believe it’s rooted in taboo rather than the idea of “purity”. While the real world Western history often considered women incapable of harsh acts like murder , I don’t think this belief applies in Fire Emblem culture as a whole.

Consider instead people like Witches from Echoes, who are women who offered their souls to the god, Duma, in exchange for their powers. There does seem to be a gradual process for becoming a full witch, soulless and only existing to serve, and death is their only redemption.

In being killed, their souls return in their final moments and then they can rest . My theory is that this restoration of the soul is only magically extended to women for as of yet unconfirmed reasons.

It seems likely to me that the soul of a woman is at least believed to be more easily adjusted and therefore more easily saved when a Witch is finally killed – and so, in matters of dark spells, it would make sense to restrict their use to women in the case of corruption (whether you were an evil or benign caster of dark magic).

As for restricting the use of Nosferatu to dark mages or sorcerers, I believe this is due to lack of access (such as in Sacred Stones, where dark magic is exceedingly rare and only a few Nosferatu tomes exist in the game) and moral grounds. Dark magic has an enduring negative reputation, and religious figures would naturally avoid an affiliation with it.
It’s not that they can’t use dark magic, it’s that they refuse to. After all, this spell can also be used to murder a god in the original game, Gaiden, and that would be heretical on its own.

Then why do some light mages use it?

Using Echoes as an example, all spells cost health for the caster. Even healers. So if you want your healer to not consume all your supplies while keeping your soldiers alive, they need an efficient way to restore health for themselves.

And so, all healers have Nosferatu in their repertoire in Echoes from the beginning.

Now dark mages do exist in worlds where Nosferatu is useable by light mages, and they have a similar skill set as light mages (warping, summoning fighters, etc.) but they seem less powerful.

A dark mage can only summon terrors, which are basically magic zombies, but a light mage such as Genny needs only a high HP expense to cast Invoke and get the same soldiers out of what seems to be light made real (and far less offensive to the senses than a rotted corpse).

So while a dark mage cannot heal you, only themselves, and Witches can only warp themselves, and both can only summon terrors or other Witches, the light mages of Echoes have learned to:

  • Warp others only
  • Heal themselves with Nosferatu
  • Heal other adjacent units or from afar
  • Summon units to fight

In conclusion on this point, a light mage can learn dark magic through a light method, but a dark mage cannot reverse this process. Is it any wonder that the evil units using light magic chose to learn the “purer” of these two schools of magic, then?

Knowledge is the power of dark magic, and knowing light magic first opens more avenues to a dark mage or sorcerer than light alone could. Although due to cultural and religious tensions, as well as differing worlds, this knowledge seems to appear and vanish from Fire Emblem games.

Otherwise Henry in Awakening would have a very different backstory indeed–

In any case,

Thank you for reading!

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