He looked slowly over the surroundings. The clear river in which he had just bathed was in front of him, shining in the sunlight, his tracks washed away by the light current. To his right, he saw thin and tall trees, clustering together until anything beyond the river was hidden from view. To his left, off in the distance, he spotted a bridge of golden wood spanning the clear waters. Without looking back he slowly turned and began to walk, arms swinging at his sides, over to the bridge to cross it, knowing that he would eventually meet someone on the other side.
Some time had passed and he was soon on the other side, an array of thoughts forming in his mind. As he looked out over the brightly-lit scenery his mind came to life, buzzing with thoughts about nature; subtly identifying every object by name. All he knew was that he would soon come to civilization and that he would be able to converse with someone for what he was sure would be the first time. He walked slowly, aware of his slow breathing, his hands behind his back as he focused only on the groomed, gravel path.
At last he turned a corner and a curious sight came into view as it peeked from around the trees. The sun was setting and the golden rays were causing the small collections of buildings to take on a brilliant appearance. It was a spacious area with a large, dark stone table in the center. Small huts of stone and wood circled around this large stone like mushrooms of a fairy ring. Everything was very plain, not at all fancy or ornate, and the setting sun turned the scenery to a brilliant golden red for a moment before fading into the more subdued tones of dusk.
As he stopped and looked around, taking in the vastness of such a place, the name "Circle of Mages" danced across his mind. Almost at once, as if appearing from thin air, a vast array of people suddenly became visible across the stony backdrop. They moved calmly and slowly, some reading books, some apparently talking to one another. They all had on robes of grays and blues, some embroidered with a wide assortment of additional colors. As he got closer he could hear soft whispers of the Mages in conversation. They all spoke with calmness, almost ethereal. It was a scene that he was sure he had experienced before, but again the more he tried to recall the memory the further it slipped from his conscious mind.
He arrived at what appeared to be the entrance. It was framed by two very tall pieces of carved, light wood that were slightly curved and crossed at the top, making an arch. As he stood quietly, right in the entrance looking in, he noticed a man who looked taller and broader than the rest, holding a large staff with a curious emblem on it. He felt no moving force to enter this place but merely stood until noticed, knowing that it wouldn't be long before he was spotted. As the sun set, at last the broad and tall man did notice him and came walking over.
"Who goes there?" the staffed man asked suddenly, his voice filled with a power that could be felt by this visitor.
After a long pause of thought, knowing it would be the first word he had consciously uttered, his name echoing loudly in his mind, the mysterious visitor parted his lips and whispered,
"Terabi."
As soon as he spoke this, he was surprised at his own voice. It was light and certainly not booming; delicate almost. However, it carried a great power and his heart fluttered for a moment as he was able to identify himself with the name that had been dancing in his mind, waiting to be heard. This excitement radiated quickly from his heart to the tips of his fingers and toes. To his surprise, the staffed man's eyes grew wide and he raised his head to look at Terabi, gasping sharply through flared nostrils. Terabi's own eyes were wide at his own reaction to his name but he certainly wasn't expecting anything less than a quizzical look.
After a moment in which they locked eyes, the staffed man spoke again.
"Terabi....... Come, walk with me."
Terabi followed closely behind as he was led into the Circle of Mages by this man into a hut along the north face of the stone table. As he passed, he noticed a simple carved marking on the top, pointing east, and had a strong feeling he would soon learn of its meaning and more. From the moment he had entered the campus he just knew in his heart, and with every fiber of his unusual being, that he was meant to be a Mage and had come to the right place. Perhaps he was already a Mage and a spell had backfired? No, that couldn't have been it. He continued to follow the staffed man into a large building filled with ancient books. A crimson and green rug lay in the middle of the room with wooden chairs surrounding it. There were four chairs, all facing the center, and the man gestured to a chair covered in blue cloth.
Terabi sat down, watching him. The man set his staff into a carved wooden holder and slowly sat down in a chair across from him. The whole time, the place had a strong sense of familiarity and Terabi couldn't even doubt that he had been there before. Finally the man spoke and introduced himself.
"My name is Seranu and I am the Head Mage of Kalotano," he said, eying Terabi from head to toe, "Terabi, tell me, who are you by?"
Terabi looked around, trying again to recover the traces of memory before his awakening, hours earlier. Unable to remember anything more than mere shapes and outlines, he gave up on trying and instead looked Seranu in the eye and truthfully answered,
"I don't know."
"Hmmmm...." Seranu replied, his brow furrowed, "You don't know? You have no memory of any parents? brothers? sisters? friends? soldiers? No memory of anything?"
"No, sir," Terabi replied, with confidence though quietly. "I'm trying to figure that out myself."
"You're not a soldier or a child of wood or..." Seranu began, standing up and crouching over Terabi, pulling up his sleeves and pant legs to look for any signs of battle wounds that could have caused him to black out and lose his memories. He rambled on as he inspected Terabi's perfect limbs, head, and face. There was nary a scratch anywhere on his pristine body. When he lifted Terabi's shirt to examine his abdomen for wounds he became suddenly aware of something alarmingly abnormal. He gasped sharply as he looked at Terabi's exposed abs. He was ripped and fit, quite muscular, but upon closer inspection noticed that his body was a little too pristine. He had no scars, but he also had no navel.
"You're missing the life-scar!" Seranu exclaimed. He looked up at Terabi, his mouth open and his eyes wide, dumbfounded.
Terabi did not know what to think. He knew no different and yet somehow knew exactly what Seranu meant. He slowly raised his eyes to meet Seranu's and as he did so an instant calm flowed warmly through him, radiating from his heart. Seranu remained speechless for what seemed like ages, though it was really a few seconds. After he had fully processed what he saw, he spoke again.
"Wait here for a moment," he said calmly but with a hint of excitement in his voice that transferred itself into Terabi, seemingly on its own.
Terabi watched as Seranu walked into a room covered by a cloth for a door. He saw Seranu go down on one knee, his hands outstretched and resting on what was probably his bed, though it was obscured by the swinging blanket. Terabi saw Seranu bow his head and then he disappeared from view. There was no sound at all for a moment and then after a minute or two Seranu reappeared in the large room of books.
"I'd like for you to see my brother, the King," Seranu said quickly. "We will go together in a couple of hours..... Are you tired? Hungry?"
Terabi had just realized that he had not yet had anything to eat since his awakening.
"I am not tired but I am a bit hungry," he said quietly, wondering what food would feel like. He had an idea in his mind that came from nowhere but seemed to know what food was for and accepted the bread and fish that Seranu brought moments later form the cellar. As they ate their meal they began to talk.
"So where are you from?" Seranu asked.
"I don't know," Terabi answered, "The earliest I remember is sitting up in the forest, at about high sun."
"Curious......" Seranu muttered, "So very curious... So you recall nothing before this day?"
"Nothing," replied Terabi, "And, the more I try to remember anything the further it is from my grasp. I'm not even sure if those are memories or my own thoughts anymore."
"So you just... awakened... one day? Awakened alone in the forest?"
"Yes. I do not know my origin."
"Very curious indeed... I want to help you find your origin."
After a time the topic turned to Mages.
"What is this place?" Terabi asked, though he knew already where he was.
"This is the Circle of Mages," Seranu began. "There are lots of people left in the Rinniken world with various amounts of god power. Those fortunate enough to be born with some end up here, to the Circle of Mages, to hone their power and help Catarika turn into its new age. It's a dying race, us mages, which means that it may not be long before the new age. You see, the Gods thus far have been heavily involved in getting this country down and others started. We Gods have our lines, but they are short. There are many souls that have some god power because of their position in the Realm of Gods and it goes with them to their mortal bodies. The Circle of Mages was left over from the division of the Neutral Prime into Rakia of the west and Catarika, my father, to the east. That was my father's era. Our symbol is the ears of a cat and it points east on our center stone signifying our divergence eastward. Rakia's points westward. We live here, going throughout Catarika as needed. I am a Man of Osai and the Master of Kalotano. The King is my eldest brother, the oldest son of Rinniken, whose name became our country Catarika. I'm thinking by your looks that you are to be a Mage yourself. Tell me, does that sound interesting?"
"I may not know much, but I believe this place to be my home,"
Terabi answered, knowing full well he was meant to be a Mage. As he spoke this, a strange name flashed through his mind, as if it had fallen from his distant, locked up memories. He wasn't sure if he should mention this to Seranu or not but as he continued on about being interested in seeing if he really was a Mage, the name slipped out.
"And also, is there by chance anyone here named Vallon Irrim?"
Seranu looked puzzled at first but suddenly gasped again as if he had just heard a curse word.
"Let us visit my brother," he said quickly, "There is no doubt in my mind that you are to be in the Circle of Mages. In fact--"
He began to go on but stopped himself quickly. Changing subjects he turned to the nearby table and ripped a piece of paper from a large, blank parchment and wrote something on it.
"Hold out your hand," he said, placing the scrap of paper into Terabi's outstretched palm. "Read the words on it and concentrate on this paper. Say the words aloud."
Terabi focused on the piece of paper that had a handwritten spell in a language he could only partially understand. As he recited the words in a clear voice an amazing feeling came over him. His soul came to life again, a powerful energy running from his heart down his limbs like the rushing of water down a river. He and Seranu watched as the scrap of paper glowed a vibrant, bright blue before bursting into a green-colored flame and curling into a dark green pile of ash.
"You passed the test," Seranu simply said, "You're a Mage, all right, and a powerful one too. I have a feeling I'll be seeing a lot from you.
Terabi watched as the ash in his hand blew away in an imperceptible breeze.
"I'm a Mage......" he whispered.
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