Chapter 5: Cobalt

"Every living creature has Quintessence. We use it for everyday activities. You regain it from eating and sleeping. All animals - and even - plants have Quintessence," Cobalt explained as the two traversed the Scorch Wood. He was hovering slightly above the ground alongside Liadrin, the occasional puff of dirt rising up when he passed over a less packed patch. "When people do anything; walk, fight, run, they spend their Quintessence. When you pray to whatever gods you hold close, your Quintessence goes to them. At least, from what The Magister said."

"I thought the gods were all-powerful," Liadrin said as she listened intently.

Cobalt shook his head, "I’ve never been to a place of worship - I don’t put stock in the gods. Anyways, mages use their Quintessence to change the world around them. You are attuned to one or more facets or 'elements' of creation. I'm attuned to Air - one of the six prime - just as you seem attuned to Fire."

Liadrin spoke again as Cobalt paused to take a drink from her canteen, "Can you be attuned to more than one?"

"Yes. The most common type of mage - The Magister himself, for example - is a universalist. They can do basically anything they can think of, the world is like clay in their hands, and they can mold it to their desires. But they are not as potent. That giant blast of air yesterday? A universalist would never be able to pull that off. In exchange for my potency, I lose utility."

Cobalt shook his head gently, "There's very few non-universalist mages in the world. Last I heard only around one hundred exist. There’s plenty of universalists - and some were trained by The Magister. But many form small groups on their own, sort of like a secret club." He looked sideways at Liadrin with a grin, “I don’t think that two new mages will make that big of an impact to be noticed.”

Liadrin stopped in her tracks and turned to him, "You're new to this?"

Cobalt nodded and turned to face her, drifting slightly closer. "I'm a brand-new mage. My power awakened yesterday." He grinned, "But I've studied for five years and been trying to awaken my magic for most of that. I knew how to do magic, I just couldn't actually do it. It's like being a duelist and finally going to war - you're going to be good at it even if it's not the real deal: because of the practice."

Liadrin nodded and Cobalt saw the gleam of understanding in her slitted, red eyes. She was beautiful and the thought crossed his mind to try and court her favor. Two beast-cursed mages, out to do whatever they want, he thought. The idea sent a shiver of excitement down his spine. Something on his face must have betrayed his change in thoughts as Liadrin frowned at him.

"There's one thing I don't get," she began, "Where did The Magister go? Isn't he the source of all magic?"

Cobalt shook his head and gently alighted on the soft loam, "No clue where he went. I just know he's gone. And the whole 'source of magic' is total garbage. Magic is just controlling the world around us. But he was famous. And smart. And strong." Cobalt took the gemstone out of his pocket and turned it over in his fingers, "If this thing can awaken magic in a person though…I don't know why he didn't use it on his acolytes like me."

"Maybe it was part of some test? To see if you had the temperament to be a mage."

Cobalt laughed, "Yeah, that would make sense. I have a bit of a temper - part of my curse."

The next question caught him off guard, "What was your becoming beast-cursed like?"

Memories of that time came flooding back to him in a torrential rush; ones he had repressed long ago and shoved into the corner of his mind, only brought forth by this sudden question. His rapid transformation. Feeling the haze of fury as blood dripped from his mouth as he bit into flesh.

Shock, pain, terror, and fleeing for his life. Cobalt felt immense sadness as the torrent of emotions flooded back to him. He felt tears begin to come unbidden. He fell to his knees onto the ground and instinctively covered his face in shame at what he had done, the horrors he had inflicted on others and the torment he had caused. His focus on hovering faded and he felt the coarse loam beneath his knees.

The emotional dam had broken, and he was helpless against the torrent. Repressed thoughts assaulted his mind and he cracked under the withering assault.

But, as soon as he fell, a pair of warm arms embraced him. "I'm sorry! It-it’s okay. Shh…it's okay. You don't have to tell me."

Cobalt gripped Liadrin back despite the pain he felt as her arms pressed into his back. No one has hugged me since then…

The searing pain increased and pulled him out of the sorrow. He pushed her away, batting at his back as he willed the wind to chill and soothe the now burned skin. Liadrin held her hands up to her face in horror, "I'm sorry!"

Cobalt sniffed back the tears and wiped his face, "It's okay. I needed that. The hug, I mean." The cooling air soothed his skin and he willed it to remain knowing the skin would begin to blister. The pain had shocked him enough to push the memories of his past back into the recesses of his mind. He looked up at her and gave a slight smile to comfort the appalled Liadrin. "I'll…maybe…someday…" He trailed off and went silent.

She smiled and reached a claw out to his face, gently wiping away a tear, "Sure. I’ll listen whenever you want to share. It’s the least I can do for your help yesterday."

To his surprise, the edge of the claw itself – the tip of the ‘nail’ as it were – did not actually cause a burning pain. Cobalt smiled, "Thanks. Maybe when we get to Thunderfall. I have a lot to unpack mentally before I talk about it."

Liadrin grinned and nodded enthusiastically, "Okay! How far is it."

"About thirteen days."

Liadrin's shoulders slumped, "Oh, that's a long way."

Cobalt chuckled, “More time to get to know one another.” He continued hovering forwards just barely over the ground as Liadrin continued her pace. “Any siblings?” he asked, still pushing back those repressed memories, and hoping the continuing conversation would help with that task.

Liadrin nodded, “My brothers were all older than me. They left as soon as they could. One went off to join The Amber Queen’s court. The other married some woman from an entertainment caravan. I haven’t seen them since.” She stared off to the South towards The Amber Hills, a very prosperous region that produced many cereal crops. “Maybe I’ll visit Gregory someday. I can see if he actually somehow joined the court. Maybe as a cook, who knows?” She looked back at Cobalt, “What about yourself?”

Cobalt cleared his throat, “I…um…I had a sister and brother. I’m the oldest.” He ensured to stare forwards as to not let her see his expression, but he could feel the sorrow well up within once more as he gritted his teeth to hold back the emotion. “When I became beast-cursed, I…My sister was still alive last I saw her, taken in by a neighbor when…” He had to stop as he was struggling to hold back the tears.

“Maybe a happier topic? What is your favorite food?” Liadrin asked in an uplifting tone tinged with concern. “Mine is a nice, juicy steak with lots of marbling.”

Cobalt glanced back at her with curiosity as the sorrow washed away, his interest piqued by the beautiful beast-cursed. “Marbling? What’s that?”

Liadrin shrugged, “The fat in meat. More fat normally means it’s tastier. My dad might have been a drunk, but he is one amazing chef. Taught me a lot about food. It was our claim to fame in town; ‘best steak around and second-best beer!’”

“Hmm. Good to know. Well, my favorite food is going to sound gross. In my homeland we would eat a large slug-”

“Ewww!” Liadrin made an appalled face, sticking her tongue out which Cobalt found quite humorous. “That’s disgusting!”

“We don’t have the space for farm animals like cows. The Barrel Slug tastes just like chicken.”

Liadrin continued to make disgusted faces as Cobalt chuckled, describing the texture and flavor in more detail until she held up a hand for him to stop. “Okay, well that was your question. I have one for you. Do you want to learn magic?”

Liadrin’s entire expression shifted to one of sheer anticipation, “Yes!”

Cobalt smiled warmly, “Good. You can be my apprentice.” He turned around as he continued floating in their direction of travel, “First, hold up your hand like this…”

>>>---<<<

The next few days passed uneventfully. Cobalt and Liadrin talked almost constantly; the only pastime during their travel. Liadrin took to magic like a duck to water. Within the first day she was projecting enormous gouts of fire into the sky - roaring crimson pillars tinged with blue sparks.

He confided in her that most of his experience was with practiced gestures and what he had read in books – that until a few days ago, just before they met, he did not have any access to magic. So, he was learning as she was. He was the foundation, and he encouraged her to experiment and try various gestures and movements. “It’s more about the will to do something. The movement just has to match the will. If you envision a swirling vortex of flame, make a movement to match, and the intent should be enacted by your Quintessence.”

More days passed and they were exiting the range of the Scorch Wood, starting to enter more civilized lands. Cobalt stopped hovering as the landscape was no more the stinging, sulfurous soil of the blasted forest, and instead sloped downwards towards rolling, grassy hills. He glanced back at Liadrin and frowned slightly as they paused at the edge of the grasslands.

Her legs were beginning to ignite the nearby brush. She noticed as well and closed her eyes.

“Good,” Cobalt said. “Concentrate on the desire - narrow all of your focus to a single thought. Not breathing out, but breathing in. It will feel like you’re tightening your muscles.” He had been teaching her not just how to use her flames for violence - as he had done with his scything blades of compressed air - but also to control. In this case, the flames wavered before vanishing altogether. Liadrin exhaled and jumped up, pumping her fist into the air.

“I did it!”

Cobalt clapped for her, “Good job! You should be able to use the same concept to lower the temperature of your scales.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating, before reaching out to Cobalt and holding his arm against her own. Cobalt winced, expecting a slight burn, but instead he felt a warm sensation that was comforting.

“Good job, Liadrin. You’re doing it!” Cobalt grinned at his newfound pupil’s rapid control over her innate magic. I could try to amplify her flames…twin-casting might be viable for us.

Twin-casting referred to the method of synchronizing complimentary magics to perform greater feats of power. Cobalt recalled seeing it once, when The Magister and one of his old apprentices’ twin-casted to add another layer to his tower. Cobalt put a hand to his chin in thought. I know the pose they used, but it wasn’t mentioned too much in the books…We will have to experiment. He looked up at her.

Liadrin smiled. For the hundredth time since they began traveling, Cobalt marveled at her sheer, stunning beauty and charisma. Too bad most people will take one glance at her appendages and shun her for it. The stigma surrounding being a beast-cursed was always rather strong and they were shunned by society. But, he thought, now that I’m a mage, I should command more respect. Especially if I find a client. The sound of wagon wheels broke him out of his gaze as he glanced around.

“What is it?” She asked.

Cobalt’s ear twitched and he put a finger up, willing himself up into the sky to gain a higher vantage. As soon as he had gone a few feet up he could see a large, cobblestone paved trade road with a single, hefty, richly-appointed wagon trundling along. He lowered himself back to the ground, “Come on. Maybe we can catch a ride.” He grabbed her hand and dragged the willing woman along with him.

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