This is the first chapter of 'Carved Stone'. Only a first draft!
I lay back on the pallet and eyed the collection of crystals. On every wall, a thousand crystals lay. My room was a hexagon, so I had six thousand crystals to occupy me. My task was to fill every crystal with power, so that the adult mages of Winding Light could draw the power and cast spells.
Mages! They weren’t mages at all. When a child is young, they are completely unjudgemental, so they have the ability to draw magic from the earth or rock, some can even draw from the elements, air, water, fire and earth. However, mostly, when mages began to understand the world, they lost the power to draw. I was a rare filler who retained the ability as I grew older, and as such, I was prized by my uncle, and forced to work doing this. It was an uncomfortable existence, but I knew that if I refused, I would be denounced and set out on the streets.
Also, I would not have access to crystals to dissipate the power that built up in me, so it would eventually overflow and kill me.
Magic was mostly used by healers to support an injured person, especially those with severe and disabling injuries. Most crystals, when filled with magic, were almost certain to produce the desired result. The garnet was a stone that assisted in money-gain and friendships . So, for instance, a garnet, filled with power, was almost certain to facilitate friendships with people who could improve your income.
I rolled over. May as well get to work. The sooner I could fill all the crystals, the sooner I would see humans again. The solitude drove me crazy. I had lived all my life in this tower, or another one, and I hated being alone. I loved other people and I loved making them laugh.
I wondered how to do today’s crystals. I could draw from my crystals, which were already full, as they helped me in different ways and magnified magic, and put the power into the other ones, or I could go down to the ground level and draw power from the Earth.
Drawing from the Earth power was less dangerous, but I hated it, as on the ground floor of my tower was my privy and the food storage too. It stank, so I laid out my equipment here. In the center of my hexagonal tower room was a bamboo table, with three levels. On the top one I placed a selection of my moss agates, which I owned, that I had already filled. Next, I chose a candle and a stick of incense. For the last layer, I climbed downstairs and scrounged some biscuits that were corked in a glass jar. I always got peckish while filling, so I uncorked it and slid it underneath.
I walked over to the wall that I had mentally labeled Wall One. It was the wall where the door was, and a ladder rested beside it at all times. Stored in it were palm- to fist-sized stones of every kind. I scrambled up the ladder to the cubby marked ‘Agate; Moss’ and hooked out various baskets.
One was white and blue, one was white and green. Another was rough stones. All these were laid in a circle around my work table. I walked to Wall Two, where my bed was pressed into the wall. This had three sections; Agates, Quartz and Calcite. You get the idea. Every wall had a different system of cataloguing, and all together, there were hundreds of varieties of every type of stone imaginable. The last wall was half-full. It had space for me to place all the baskets I had already filled, so I could keep easier track of the gems.
I decided to meditate first. The sun was just beginning to rise, so I sat down on the wooden floor and closed my eyes. I endeavored to empty my mind of all thoughts. Finally I succeeded. Then I pulled up a picture of my favorite agate, a stone about two fingers wide and one finger deep. Its surface oscillated the patterns of mossy green and marbled white shimmering and blurring until I could see its aura.
It had quite a lot of magic in it, and, trapped inside the gem; it had been gathering and growing. I gently drew a little magic from it, feeling the pleasant shivery glow of power suffusing my body. I reveled in the sensation as it fed off me, growing better and bigger. As it reached a point where it began to sour and lose its momentum, I picked up a handful of tiny mass agate chips. Their smooth, matt surface calmed me, and I took a deep breath. I shook them around a little, getting the feel of their capacity.
Once I had judged as accurately as I could how much I could fill them with, I carefully directed the magic from its happy tingling in my body into a powerful stream of concentrated power. It zinged from my toes and fingers, the hairs on my head, into my left arm, shot down it and dissipated through my fingers into the chips of agate. The agate was happy. It liked being useful and able to impart its qualities of forgiveness and concentration to people. An agate filled with power was far more likely to help in areas of its expertise than an agate that was empty of magic. I yawned and came out of my reverie with a sharp shake of my head.
If I stayed under too long, I might not be able to come out of the trance and I would become a madwoman, one who would not speak, and, unable to feel stones, have a magic overflowing and die. I did not want to die like that. I was unsurprised to see the sun overhead had risen to about seven o’clock while I meditated. I yawned again and headed downstairs to find some breakfast. I scrounged around, and finally found some oranges, which I ate with some of the Keeper biscuits that I had had for a snack.
After I had eaten and felt completely awake, I picked up one of the palm-sized stones and shook it gently. It held more than the chips I had filled this morning, so I palmed my favorite agate and gently took a little of its power. It glowed slightly and I drew more, feeling the amazing cleansing effect that the magic had. I shivered slightly and concentrated the magic into a beam that arced around my body and into the stone. While the stone greedily absorbed the magic, I put down my agate, feeling that the palm-stone would take more than it could, and then explode. Some stones were like that. Some stones just took and took and took, loving the feeling of their own power. Some stones were scared of having power, in case they did something wrong. Some liked exactly the right amount and cut off the flow as soon as they were satiated.
The stone sucked in the stream of magic like a person sucks up a spaghetti string. As the stream stopped, because I had put down my agate, the stone strained for more. I cut off the connection and dropped it into the basket of ‘dones’.
I was preparing to fill a blue moss agate when a loud crash startled me. The whole tower shook. I immediately stood up. Nothing that was that hard and strong could be good. I snatched up my agates and the basket of palm-sized agates I had been working on and rushed downstairs into the food storage cellar. I shoved the hatch shut. I crouched in the corner, as far away from the opening as possible. I sat and looked at my agates. I could fill some more to pass the time. I shut my eyes and carefully emptied my mind. I held two agates and pulled the power from the ground into my mind. The power was sluggish, not at all like the usual flow I felt. I inhaled, then immediately coughed, breaking off the flow of power. It smelt disgusting in here. Food must have rotted in my absence. I rolled my eyes, then realized that I would have to meditate to get the power out of my body before it magnified so much that it killed me. I settled down and shut my eyes.
It was no good. Every time another shaking crash came, it broke the trance. Every time I took a breath, it broke the trance. Finally, I kept on meditating through them, allowing them to enter my mind and then brushing them aside. I held the agate, judged when the time was right and let go. The magic streamed into it, lighting it up. I dropped the stone as soon as the last fizzles of power were gone from my toes and fingers.
When I blinked open with my eyes, waking from the trance, the privy was dark and the shaking had become a gentle jerking movement.
Suddenly rough voices penetrated. “Where could it be? It wasn’t upstairs…”
Another voice grunted. I cowered in the corner, clutching my favorite stones, a hematite and a ball about four fingers wide of turquoise. I tried to draw the protective powers of the turquoise into me, and the intuitive powers of my hematite. I imagined a bubble, rippling and veined like a piece of turquoise, surrounding me, protecting me.
I dimly heard someone cry out. “Look! There’s light, down there.”
I looked at the door, and imagined it clear and see-through. Slowly it rippled and glimmered, like the surface of my hematite. I got a glimpse of two men, and a slight woman following behind, clattering down the stairwell. How did they get in? For there was no doubt they were in. I could hear them swearing as they got stuck with splinters and their clattering boots on the stairs. My uncle had the only key, a moonstone orb that had been attuned to the tower’s energy that unlocked a door in its side. I stayed in the corner, watching the vision of hematite on the door. When the voice came again:
“It’s so damn dark down here! Watch out-”
A scream and a squelch as they landed on piles of rotten potatoes.
After a moment’s silence, he swore loudly and squelched out of the hole. Suddenly my view of the outside dissipated as the door shook under the effort of blows. I pushed myself into the wall, cowering away from them. I imagined a shield of turquoise.
Suddenly the lock gave in and the door swung open. The man screamed.
“Aaaaargh! Nyaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr! Ha-ha-ha-ha.” he panted, as I opened one eye. I was blinded by a glowing blue bubble around me. The second I startled, it disappeared. The man screamed again in pain. I scrambled up to my feet and looked at him. The other man, who had fallen into the rotten potatoes, was walking towards me. The small woman was nowhere in sight. I dismissed that with a mental flick of my hand. The other man was stepping nervously.
“Come on! Get upstairs!” I poked him with a turquoise stone and the man retreated up the stairs to my room.
“Aaaaaaaaarrrghhhh!” His companion screamed again. I hurried over to him, heaving one arm over my shoulders and pulling him up the stairwell. He soon began to step with his feet and we made head way up the stairs to my room. I stopped, mouth agape at the devastation. My lovely glass windows in the ceiling were gone and the iron bars that had held them there were crumpled and hanging from the edges. He thrashed under my grip and I was shocked into stepping over the shattered glass all over the floor. Over most of the wreckage, the stones and gems were scattered. I could see wands of turquoise mixing with hematite balls, rose quartz palm-stones surrounded by chips of goldstone.
i spotted a large crystal ball split in two. I felt a tug at my heart, then realized that there were people who needed my help.
I helped the man who I had damaged with my light over to my pallet and lay him down. He whimpered, hands clamping over his eyes. I set about gently removing his hands from his eyes. His eyes were red and swollen in his sockets.
I wondered how to help him. During my long years of incarceration, I had been allowed to read many books in order to complete my knowledge. My uncle was not cruel, merely money-loving. He had supplied me with many books from his library, including several on healing. I decided the best things were coolness and pressure. There was no cooling-house in my tower, so I figured a stone must be the next best thing. I wondered if the qualities of the stones would have any effect.
I picked up two large moss agates, because of their abilities to help new beginnings and luck. He would need a fair amount of luck to recover. I placed them over his eyes. Suddenly I had a brainwave. I placed my hands on the agates and, imagining their essence seeping into his eyes and healing them, hoped that it would help. He stopped whimpering and I took the stones away, peering at his eyes. They were a little bloodshot, but not hot any more.
I felt his brow. He was running a high fever, so I scratched through the rubble until I found an amethyst wand that had been knocked down. I pointed it over his forehead and imagined all the heat running through the round end and out the pointy end. Gradually he began to wake from the stupor he had fallen into. I smiled and turned to his companion, who was standing in the center of the room.
I still didn’t know what the pair was doing here. I decided to play it safe.
“Milady, we come to rescue you! We wish to enlist your help. You have a rare gift and we need to utilize it in our war against the Black Arts.” He looked grave, but nor did he look like a fool.
“Black Arts?” I queried.
“Yes,” he nodded. “You see, you uncle has been selling the power in your stones to magicians. What he does not realize, and will not believe us about, is that using another magician’s power is detrimental to their health. Wait.” he ordered.
“How did you fill your stones?” I stood up and groped around for a crystal. It didn’t take long for me to find an empty one, and one that I had already filled.
I meditated, finding an empty space in my mind. Finally, when I felt ready, I opened the full one and let a trickle of power float into my body. I zinged around, but I ignored the sensation and concentrated it into a beam. It shot down my arm and flooded into the crystal. I allowed it to just fill; then shut off the connection.
He nodded. “The fact that you allowed the power to absorb some of your essence means that it is your power, marked by you. Therefore, any mage that uses it, their energy doesn't harmonize with it and it makes their magic wither and die, and their body goes with it. Sorry, I’m not making myself very clear, am I?”
I shook my head no. “I don’t understand. So... you’re saying that my energy is making those magicians sick?”
He sighed. “Okay. Imagine a fingerprint. Everyone’s is different, right? So what you do, when you let that magic fizz and tingle-” Seeing my shocked expression, he smiled. “Yes, I’m one too. I know what it feels like. So, when the magic fizzes and tingles in you, I puts an energy mark on the magic. Like a fingerprint. And your energy print is different from the mage who uses your power, so it doesn’t fit with him. Like a piece of jigsaw that is in the wrong place. And the effect, when he uses that wrong magic, makes him ill.” I nodded, frowning.
“So… is there any way to reverse the effects of this ill-magic use?” I stared at him.
“As of yet, no. But the Council has set the best mages and fillers to it, and they are trying to find any people who have the ability to fill crystals, to prevent any more mages from dying.”
Suddenly a moan from the burnt man distracted me. I stood up and inspected him. His eyelids were puffy, and he was having trouble blinking, but his fever was gone and I helped him to his feet, so he could walk to his companion. He tottered over, and sat on the floor next to him.
I suddenly realized something. “My name is Estche.” I introduced myself.
“I am Elepo.” The burnt man grimaced at me.
“I am Dan’ack.” The talkative one nodded to me. I smiled.
“My uncle has alarms on this place. He will know it has been broken into. We should leave.”
Dan’ack spoke. “Estche… Do you want to take your stones?” I frowned for a moment.
“Yes! If we can. Please.” I immediately began brushing aside the fragments of glass and picking up stones.
“Estche, if you do it that way, we will still be picking them up when your uncle arrives with a crossbow. Watch me.” He stood up and I watched as light bloomed from around him. Slowly, the stones buried under the rubble rose up and drew towards him. They gently split off into groups of types and settled themselves in any upturned baskets. I gaped at Dan’ack.
“How did you do that?” I was amazed, but curious as well. I watched his face carefully.
“It has to do with my mind connection with crystals. If I can concentrate on the crystal’s energy and speak to them, they will do what I ask. See?” He watched my face as a purple fluoride gem rose and settled in the palm of his hand. I twitched, then watched as he dropped it gently back into its basket.
“Come on. We should go.” Elepo tugged Dan’ack’s arm and pointed to a cart that was rocketing along the closest road.
Dan’ack nodded and walked to the wall. One had many cubby-holes and he began to climb, swinging from cubby to cubby, until half-way up, he indicated for me to pass him the baskets. I did so, and he hooked about six over his arm and climbed over. I looked around, then piled some smaller baskets into a large wicker one and placed it in the crook of my left arm. Elepo obligingly made a stirrup with his hands and boosted me to the first cubby. As he pushed me up, I looked down.
Suddenly I rocketed up, Elepo’s hands falling away. I was much higher than where I had intended to be, and I had no way to see where I was, as the basket of gems had swung in front of my face. I curled into a ball, waiting for impact. I hit the ground with a thump, feeling some glass splinters stab through my tunic. I stared at Elepo, who was half-smiling as he stood to one side. I automatically imagined a shield of turquoise. Suddenly Elepo brought his hands up to his face and shielded his eyes. I forced the turquoise to calm down, allowing a gentle blanket of protection to fall around me, but I forced a halt to the light too. I could feel the turquoise’s impatience, but I ignored it and scowled at Elepo.
“What were you doing? I’ll climb by myself.” I carefully began my ascent, seeing Elepo pick up the baskets of gems, his eyes glittering and mouth twisted in a strange way.
Once at the height of the wall, I spotted Dan’ack carefully lowering his baskets of stones into the back of a cart.
I hauled the rope up and knotted it around the handle of my large wicker basket.
Lowering it hand over hand, I looked for Elepo behind me. He was almost at the top, so I quickly lowered it the remainder of the way, and wrapped my skinny arms around the rope.
I was very weak, having not had very much physical activity most of the time. I just loosened my grip a little and edged down the minutest bit. I continued with this until I felt grass under my bare feet. Then I dropped down and stood for a moment, getting my bearings.
As I looked at the cart, I noticed that it had very little resemblance to any cart I had ever seen my uncle use. It was high off the ground, and had room for only one person. There was no shelter on it, just a seat perched high on top and some wide channels lower down, obviously for storage.
I distractedly untied the basket as Elepo demanded to know what the hold up was. I searched the trees, and spotted another cart and a horse. Dan’ack waved me over, indicating for me to finish loading the baskets into the other cart. He came with me, working to re-harness an unbuckled strap. I placed all the baskets in the storage groove and peered at the layout of this one. It was different, the seat higher up and made more flimsily. I watched Dan’ack fold some heavy cotton over the baskets on both carts. He called me to the second cart and climbed up onto it. He stood where the driver’s feet would go and folded the seat up to reveal an empty space beneath.
“Estche, this is where you will travel. I ride on the seat above you. You see, we can’t be seen with you near the tower. You’ll have to wait until we get to Cerulian, in the north, to come out. Don’t worry, you can come out at night and during the day if no-one’s around.” I nodded, understanding the need for secrecy. I climbed up, and lowered myself into the hole. It had enough room for me to sit, and was round in shape. It had a couple of cushions scattered on the floor, along with a blanket.
“Is there anything you want?” Dan’ack peered down at me.
“Just – could I have a light, and maybe some crystals?” Dan’ack nodded and disappeared from sight. I leant back against the wall. I stood up and wriggled a cushion under my bum.
Dan’ack peeked over. “Here you are.” He held out a palm-sized quartz crystal that gave off a soft glow. He passed it to me and I plopped it on a cushion.
“And here,” He dropped a basket of crystals on a cushion. “Oh. I thought you might like this.” He passed down a manuscript, bound in stiff paper. I accepted it gratefully, then looked at it. It was entitled ‘Observations on Crystals’. Fascinated, I sat down and let Dan’ack close the lid over me. I opened it and held my light so it lit the pages.
I am writing an introduction to the world of stone magic… I skipped the introduction, as I already understood it all. The chapter titled ‘Magic and Mages’ interested me… Magic is a fickle thing. Until recently, it was believed to have been impossible to actually perform acts of magic, and the best we could do was channel magic through crystals to attempt the desired result.
However, recently, it has been discovered that some mages, specifically those who can draw power from the ground, have the ability to perform magic by channeling power through themselves and through crystals. It is unknown how this happens. For instance, a mage imagining herself to be protected by a turquoise may actually form a solid shield from this imagining, if she puts enough power into it. Or a mage putting power into a garnet may be able to coerce the truth from someone. It varies from mage to mage and there is very little knowledge on the subject at this point in time.
Notes in margin read: have discovered a filler. Will find out if she can cast magic.
I blinked, coming away from the book. I flicked through to another section and resettled to read it.
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