Hangars On

Fracila's presence was unnecessary at this point, but he tagged along anyway. You couldn't really refuse him; something in your body wouldn't let you. He was cute, and helpful, but there was something else that turned you off to him and his subtle advances. You were sure he was interested in you, even if he never said anything out loud. You felt as though you could tell just from how he looked at you.

"Where did you say we should go again?" You asked him

"The Hilltop Tavern" he said as he pointed to the building just in the center of the town. Ironically, it was actually at the bottom of a sizable hill.

"Why is it named that? Was it moved or something?"

"Oh, no, not that. The Halfling chap whose built it family name was Hilltop."

That it made sense didn't make the irony feel less painful, or you regret asking the question less.

"And why are we going here?"

"Well, because there's been talk of some eccentric fellow who makes a habit of coming here. And, it's one of the few places in town."

"Your reasoning is cancelling itself out, you realize that don't you?" You asked delicately.

"No, I guess I didn't." He replied after he shook his head, opening his eyes wide at the revelation. "Still, best place to start"

"It wouldn't have anything to do with it being your preferred place for a drink, would it?"

"It might" he smiled gently. "You're still new to the area after all, figure you familiarizing yourself could do some good."

You rolled your eyes, now realizing what's going "Fracila" you began slowly "are you trying to turn this into a date?"

"No" his answer was meek and unsatisfying. The look you gave him through your glasses caused him to waver immediately "Call it a contingency plan, maybe."

You groaned and walked quickly "Get away from me. I can't believe you would think interfering with my goals was a good idea."

The lanky human rushed to intercede in front of you again, "You've got the wrong idea, I promise!"

"Explain" Your response was firm as you held your breath as you waited.

"I'd never get in the way of what you were trying to do Herida, I promise. I think what you're looking into is fascinating. Most people in our office do. It's just that, finding this Mystic is long odds. Not even sure if he's really here. If he's not, might as well enjoy the time, right?"

"There's work to do" You replied dismissively, "If I had that attitude, I never would have made it to the Academy, much less graduated and become a wizard." You tried to move around him, but he persisted.

"Okay, but you're not at the Academy anymore. That's all behind you now."

"It's not behind me, it's part of me." The rephrasing put some extra strength in your spine, it somehow made you feel inches taller.

"That was well put madame." You both turned to find a new interlocutor. He was an older gentlement, streaks of grey filling in his brown hair. His manner of wear was humble, homespun cloth with a string of beads around his neck. "That's why you're so interested in our history, is it not? The past isn't just who we were, but defines who we still are."

"Yes.." You responded faintly, confused "How do you know?"

"Who you are?" He smiled gently as he interrupted, slowly closing the distance with subtle, quiet steps. "a singularly dedicated orc wizard who recently made a discovery on an expedition. You don't exactly blend in, Miss Pelips. A shame, as T'sara would benefit from more like you."

"Excuse me, we're having a discussion here" Fracila rose up quickly in anger "We're busy."

"Yes, very busy. Helping the young lady find someone who may help have answers to her questions. You can head back to work now, having accomplished your goal. You've done your part in service to the Mage Lords." The man patted Fracila's shoulder, and seemed to gently shove the younger man back in the direction you came.

"Are you the Mystic?" you asked as he turned back to you, with your coworker slowly retreating back to work.

"I'm A mystic, yes. At your service, Miss. I understand you wanted to speak with me."

"Well, yes" you began slowly "But, how did you know?"

"A spider told me" He said with a calm grin. You weren't sure whether this strange man was trying to pull your leg, even though he spoke with sincerity. Through familiars and other magical means, he could be entirely honest. "Please" He gestured down a city street behind you "won't you join me?"

The Mystic led you to something approaching a park, a small fenced in area between two large buildings, where tall trees provided a sizable canopy of shade. As you both sat down on the ground, you started to get enough sense to remember your manners.

"Forgive me sir, but I never asked your name. You have me at a disadvantage, already knowing who I am."

"Don't think much of it. We all get thrown off at times. You may call me Zhajish"

Your brow furrowed slightly "that doesn't sound like most names I've heard from D'arcan."

"It isn't. You would know better than most how eclectic the territory of the Mage Lords can be. My family migrated higher generations ago, escaping an epidemic of their homeland in fact."

"Did they have magical aptitude?" You asked, showing great interest in his story.

"No. Of my extended family, both here and in our homeland, I'm the only one capable of spells that I am aware of. Though, there may be some fourth or fifth cousin out there that I don't know about. But, enough of that. I understand you are in need of some help."

"Yes. I encountered something that exceeds my understanding. A window or a portal that looked into the past. Despite everything I've ever learned, everything I've looked at, I can't explain how this happened, or how it might be replicated."

"Wow, that is truly remarkable. Do you know how far back you saw?" His inquisitiveness was welcome and seemed sincere, sharing a curiosity much the same as you.

"The Lost Age, I suspect. The place we were surveying was supposed to be of that time, so it would make sense" Though your words were of your best knowledge, it carried a slight sense of uncertainty, as if there were reason to doubt, which you didn't actually have.

"That is fascinating. To be able to look back to the dawn of T'sara itself. So many legends, so many questions. I can see why you would be curious."

You nodded with a gentle smile as he spoke. "That's an understatement. I've been interested in history for longer than I've been interested in magic actually."

"But in D'arcan, all roads eventually point in that direction. They'll teach anyone they feel is capable of learning, but only so that they may have another wizard to serve the Lords causes." Though Zhajish's tone was still warm and gentle, you couldn't help but feel it was meant as a rebuke of your education. "If you could have studied to be a historian or archaeologist only, would you have done so?"

You felt slightly taken back by the question. Noone had ever asked that of you before. Curiously, you never thought to ask it of yourself "I don't know." you paused for a second to consider it "I think it may be impossible to say for sure. I don't have any memory of being in school as a child and not know that the best students could eventually find their way into the Academy of Valle Pallera. It's hard to imagine being anyone other than who I am."

"True of us all, young Herida. As for what help I can provide, I feel it comes down to what question you're really asking."

Your confusion was evident in your face "What do you mean? I only asked one question."

"Not how I heard it. You're asking why you can't find answers to the spell in your books, and why magic doesn't affect time. The real question is why don't you understand what you don't understand."

His clarity was surprising. "Yes, I suppose you could look at it that way. And what do you believe the answer to that question is?"

"My answer to the question is that you're asking the wrong question, because you're operating on a false premise."

Your mouth hung open for a second, and snapped shut. This Zhajish fellow was talking in tongues, as if he was trying to confuse you for his personal enjoyment. Or insult you "I don't want to be rude sir, but I'm used to these conversations being more direct..."

"Of course, forgive me." He said as he raised a hand towards his heart for a moment. "You don't have answers to what you're looking into because not everything can actually be understood."

"But the whole point of the academy and studies as a wizard is to make magic understandable and repeatable, since Vrishka created magic."

"And yet wizards don't hold a monopoly on magical capabilities. Clerics and bards have a repertoire of spells that your arcane abilities do not recreate. Witches and the like gain their magical powers through bargains with powers beyond our world."

"And yet you are a wizard yourself. Or, you were, at one point."

"Indeed I am. I wouldn't dare deny it. Somewhere along my journey, I too sought answers that didn't exist. What I came to realize was that the problem was me. Or, rather, that I couldn't accept that contradicting notions of the world and magic could and do exist. This can help you with your dilemma as well."

"How so? What contradiction?" Though he was still not getting to the point, he was at least getting closer, and you were sure he'd get there eventually, with some nudging.

"Well, magic is, in the most succinct expression I've found, infinite power in infinite possibilities. And yet, there does seem to be limits to what can be done. Magic can affect any number of things outside of Vrishka's scope of power, nearly anything in the material world, but it can't affect time. We are told in legends that Time is a product of Ihstar, created after the Six Sisters created sentient life as we know it. And yet, this causes puzzles, in that we describe things happening after one another as if time happened. The mortal races are" He paused to consider his words delicately "compatible with one another in the bedroom, and yet we can only procreate with our own kind. There are fundamental parts of our world that don't make sense, and yet they exist nonetheless."

"Do you have any theories as to why that is?" A small degree of your impatience sneaked through "Acknowledging problems or inconsistencies is relatively easy. Answers are quite another thing."

"It doesn't explain everything, and you're not going to like it, but it's the best answer I have, or the best I've heard, which is that things are what they are because the Gods will it that way, and for all of their brilliance and power, they are as illogical, emotional, and flawed as the mortals they govern and preside over."

He was right, the answer was frustrating. It seemed too overly simplistic to be true, or at least to be useful "So, what should I do with that? Is understanding the gods better supposed to help me cast magic?"

"Yes, actually." Zhajish smiled. That he was patient beyond you was welcoming. "And not just that, but love them. It sounds strange, but my capacity for understanding what magic is capable of doing comes from loving Vrishka as much as it does from the spellbooks I've looked through over the years. Spells are prayers to her, our spellbooks, love letters. The energy that we pull from to cast spells as wizards, it's not just from the aether. It's part of her, she's part of it."

"I'm sorry," you said with a gentle smile "You are most kind for visiting with me, but this does not make any sense at all. What you're describing, it's not how magic works."

"It's okay. Most wizards think like you, especially ones from your academy. You only see the world as Wizards do. Your way of magic is the real way, sorcerers and druids and all the rest are just deviations. The worst is when someone like you who is genuinely curious, and wants me to train them to be me like me, the way they were trained to be a wizard, and I can't."

"That's absurd" Your honesty snuck out, to your regret. The Mystic was completely immune to the critique, carrying on as he was.

"From your perspective, perhaps. Let me ask you this, do you have any experience in craftsmanship, or the arts?"

"No sir, nothing to speak of"

"Well, imagine you were fortunate enough to have Marrisante, the great Elvish painter, take you as a pupil. She shows every brush stroke she used to create one of her famous works, so that you have a spot on replica of her work. Did you create art?"

It was a novel question, you had to give him that. There was alot to consider, but you could begin to see what the overall point was "No, I suppose not."

"Likewise, you can create successful output as a wizard merely following the steps provided to you, but the spark of true brilliance, to create, to inspire, to push beyond what you've been shown, is a journey only you can take. You have to move beyond the written word. If there's any answers at all to what you seek, that's how you will find them." The older fellow rose to his feet calmly, and you followed suit behind him.

"Thank you" You reached out to grasp his hands "Thank you very much Zhajish. I'll take what you said under consideration. I know you said it is a journey I have to take alone, but, could you at least suggest what direction my path starts?"

"Of course, Miss Pelips. You wish to learn more about the past, and time? Get to know Ihstar, and things may become clearer. Speak to him, you're in a good place after all." He patted a nearby tree "these are his work too, after all. Some say he made these so that mortals could understand time's passage, before he created clocks."