《Null Mage》


 1 The Hunt

    ¡°Keep up, boy! Day¡¯s a-wastin¡¯,¡± Father grumbled sternly as I hurried to catch up to him after tripping yet again over a large tree root and falling hard on my face. I don''t know how many times I had tripped today, having lost count long ago.


    In spite of my aches and painful blisters forming on both of my feet, it was actually a beautiful autumn day in the foothills of the Greenback mountains. The trees were just starting to turn to their beautiful fall colors of yellows, oranges, and just a hint of red. The birds were singing in the trees, with many chirps, squawks and whistles, warning each other of the intruders to their forest haven, most likely. Or, maybe they were just happy.


    We had been walking for hours, and I was getting extremely fatigued and hungry. My father had an affinity for Body Forging, making him extremely quick and strong, perfect for his occupation as a hunter. We had never lacked for food, though our homestead wasn¡¯t much compared to the older homes in town. Hunters were appreciated but didn¡¯t make much money. Mostly he traded and bartered for our family needs.


    I wanted to be able to provide for my family in the future, just like him, so I had begged him to let me come with him on this hunt, which was my first. But I was seriously regretting that decision for the umteenth time today. His example taught me the importance of being the provider and protector for the family. ¡°You¡¯ll grow up big and strong, just like me,¡± he would always say, when I was younger. But I hadn¡¯t heard that for several years now. I wasn¡¯t big and strong like him, even though I was only a few years away from adulthood. Mom said I took more after her side of the family.


    I had two younger siblings, twins, a boy, Fin, and a girl, Lil. Actually, Finneren and Lilleren, but we never called them by their full name. Well, mom sometimes used our full name when one of us was in trouble and needed disciplining. Thankfully, that didn¡¯t happen often. I loved them as much as my parents did. When they were little, I was their big protector. I had no problem watching over them when dad was gone and mom had to run an errand. Mom was never gone long, but she knew I would take good care of them and not let either of them get hurt.


    Father held up his fist and stopped, making me stop as well. He pointed through the trees, but I didn¡¯t see anything at first. Eventually, after squinting a bunch and moving my head, I saw a little bit of the brown fur of a deer.


    ¡°Get your bow ready, and nock an arrow,¡± he said. His voice was quiet and calm.


    We each had a bow, since I couldn¡¯t hope to pull his much larger one, but he carried our quiver of arrows. When I had my bow ready he handed me an arrow. I carefully placed it on the string and sighted along the arrow, looking for the deer, but I couldn¡¯t see it anymore.


    ¡°Now, move forward very slowly. Be silent, so mind where you place each foot. Wait for a clear shot.¡±


    I had practiced shooting at targets before, but never anything live. This would be my first. I moved very slowly and got to a spot where I could see the deer. Then I pulled the string back, took aim, and released. I don¡¯t know what happened exactly, but the arrow just fell on the ground only a couple strides away.


    Looking back up, the deer had moved, I saw more of them and they were all very alert. Luckily, they had not moved far.


    ¡°It happens to all of us¡±, he whispered, but his face showed more disappointment than his voice. Holding another arrow out to me, he said ¡°Don¡¯t move yet. Be patient. When they go back to eating, you can try once more.¡±


    Nocking the second arrow, I waited. Eventually, some of them put their heads down and started grazing on the wild grass and dandelions. So I again moved until I had a better shot lined up. This time I was not going to let the arrow fall short, so I pulled much farther back to my full extension. When I released, the arrow shot out with great force, however I felt the bow buck in my hands. I knew that meant it was a wild shot. The arrow whizzed over the deer I was aiming for and hit a granite boulder, with a loud thwack sound, and I saw a spark where the tip hit stone.


    The deer all scattered then bounded out of the field as a group and disappeared.


    ¡°Jerik! Those were expensive points.¡± He was angry now. ¡°I can¡¯t have you ruining all of my arrows.¡± Then he breathed deeply and shook his head. ¡°Do you know what you did wrong?¡±


    ¡°I let my grip loosen too much.¡± I held my head in shame, not daring to look at him, as he walked to pick up the two arrows I shot.


    ¡°Right. You have to pay attention to both of your hands as well as the target. Now, come on, there is still a little light left. We will head over this knoll and look for more prey. If we don¡¯t find anything, we¡¯ll have to try again another day.¡±


    We continued walking until we had gone up and over the tall hill. At the top he looked around for a while. Making a decision which he didn¡¯t share with me, he headed down the other side and back into the forest. But it wasn¡¯t long before he held up his fist for us to stop again. This time when he pointed I could see the sparse black fur of a boar. It looked like it was searching and digging for something under a bush.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Getting ready for my next shot seemed easier than with the deer, there being less in the way, and I was closer. So I drew back the string, paused and released, remembering to hold tight to the grip. The arrow zinged but somehow still missed, though only by an inch. It glanced off a branch just behind the boar and shot off at an awkward angle. But the board heard and looked up at me. Barely a second passed, before it let out an ear piercing squeal and charged right towards me, its tusks lowered.


    Now what do I do?


    Dad didn¡¯t hesitate. He pulled his hunting knife from its sheath, jumped between me and the boar and quickly dispatched it. It happened so fast I almost didn¡¯t see it. For a few stunned seconds I felt light-headed and nearly blacked out. I had simply stood there, too frozen to move. I had no idea how to handle a crazed, wild animal. But I was very thankful to have my father there as my backup.


    ¡°Go find the arrow while I take care of this,¡± Father ordered.


    I honestly looked for it, really I did. But it was nowhere to be found. I had no idea where it landed. Maybe it was in a tree? After we both looked for it, it was getting too late so we had to abandon another arrow.


    ¡°You are going to be the death of me and this family!¡± He exclaimed, after we both couldn¡¯t find the arrow and had to return home.


    Dad didn¡¯t say much on the way back. He didn¡¯t have to. I was so ashamed of my performance. I wasn¡¯t a hunter and never would be. I knew it. Dad knew it.


    How am I going to provide for my future family?


    What I dreamed of, what I really wanted to do, I knew now would never happen for me. I was already past the age where my affinity should have manifested, if I even had one. Only 1 in 10 people had any affinity for magic. And of those most were never going to be very powerful.


    Magic affinities tended to run in families. Ever since I was little, I had fantasized about becoming a great mage, powerful enough that I could protect my family, and even my town when needed. People would come from all over the kingdom so I could bless them with my great power and wisdom. Maybe I would even serve the king directly or help him win battles to keep the country safe? After all, both of my parents had magic, so I knew I would too. My mother had two affinities, nature and flow (able to control both air and water). The people in town said that having more than one affinity was extremely rare.


    But then I learned that affinities most often manifested just before puberty started, but I had already passed that several years ago. That¡¯s one reason I had asked dad if I could go hunting with him today. Maybe I could become a great hunter instead of a mage? But even that hope was now dashed.


    As we came into view of our home in the distance, however, dad stopped me, still carrying the large boar under one arm.


    ¡°I need to apologize, Jer. I shouldn¡¯t have snapped at you. It was only your first hunt. No one does well the first time.¡±


    I had heard the story of his first hunt many times, about how he was able to bring down two deer (with only one arrow, he¡¯d boast sometimes with a wink), so I knew he expected me to do well. But he was trying hard to help me feel better, so I didn¡¯t say anything, but I gave him a small smile in thanks.


    I still felt horrible inside, though.


    When we came home mom came out in greeting and congratulated me on my first kill, with a huge hug, pulling me off my feet, an impressive feat, since I was almost as tall as her. I looked at dad over mom¡¯s shoulder, but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Now, get washed up and come in for your supper,¡± she said. ¡°We only just started eating.¡±


    During supper I was mostly quiet. Dad, however, regaled the family with a story of how we hunted the herd of deer which had somehow gotten spooked just as I was going in for the kill, as well as how we came upon the surprised boar on our way back. He steered clear of how much I had messed up, but even I was smiling as he talked about the ferocious boar with huge tusks, becoming enraged trying its best to gore both of us. He didn¡¯t say who actually made the kill, for which I was thankful, even though my face was hot with shame.


    Mom gave me a big smile, but I think she knew.


    After supper that night, in our shared bedroom, Fin and Lil wanted me to tell them my side of the story. At first I didn¡¯t want to say much. But then I remember reading to them from their fairytale books some pretty tall tales which could not be the complete truth. So I decided to tell them my own story, with a few extra parts thrown in to make it more interesting.


    I started with telling them how beautiful the trees were with all of the birds singing in the branches and how exciting it was to be out in the forest alone with dad on my first hunt. I talked about stalking quietly through the trees with my bow and arrow ready. I confessed that I missed with several arrows, But as for what spooked the deer away, it was a loud sound which might have been a massive bear roaring on the mountain. I did talk about how scared I was of the boar, but that dad helped me to kill it. Lastly, I complained about my feet and even showed them the nasty blisters I had earned, proving that we had walked for many miles.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be a mighty hunter like Dad, someday,¡± Fin declared, after I had finished with my story.


    ¡°I hope so, too,¡± I told him. ¡°Make sure you practice with your bow, so you don¡¯t miss like I did the first time.¡±


    ¡°I think I want to be a hunter, too,¡± Lil decided. ¡°I really like shooting arrows, but I¡¯m not strong enough to hunt yet. And I¡¯m not sure about wild boars either.¡±


    ¡°You can be whatever you want,¡± I said. ¡°You just need to practice while you are young, so you will be good when you get older.¡±


    After stories, we settled down for the night. They were probably thinking about the exciting hunting trip we had.


    But I knew what really happened.

 2 The Bully

    [Lilleren]


    ¡°Clever Cleaver Clover, send Reji on over,¡± we all chanted. Reji started running from the far line on an angle, towards Fin when he darted left and tried to get past me and Yennica. We screamed as he hit our clenched hands. My hand stung from the tension, but he didn¡¯t break us apart.


    ¡°I thought I could make it!¡± He yelled, but he joined our line anyway. Their team only had two kids left¡ª we were winning.


    ¡°Hey, come on guys!¡± I looked back to see Biffian, on the other side of the greenery, yelling at his two followers, Heathry and Pomir. ¡°Check out the little babies. Let¡¯s go have some fun.¡± They all came running towards us.


    We stopped our game to see what they wanted. I knew it wouldn¡¯t be good. Fin stepped closer to me as they came up to our group. We have had to deal with these fools before. It was best to stick together.


    ¡°What stupid game are you infants playing now?¡± Heathry asked.


    ¡°Mageless like them have to make something up. They have no magic, like us real mages.¡± Biffian said, with a sneer.


    ¡°You are not mages,¡± Fin snapped. ¡°You have to go to school for that.¡±


    ¡°And there are tests you have to pass,¡± I added.


    ¡°Who cares about school? We have our affinities now. How about a little demonstration?¡± Biffian said, as he looked around.


    ¡°Pick up that rock for me, Heath,¡± he said, pointing. ¡°I¡¯m going to make it a little warmer.¡±


    Heathry reached out her hand towards the rock which was a stride away and concentrated. Her hand started shaking a bit as she strained, but the rock started wobbling and then rose slowly in the air while moving closer to Biffian. She was starting to shake more as she tried to hold it still in front of him.


    Biffian reached out both hands around the stone but without touching it. He was also concentrating. A little wisp of smoke started to rise from it. Then it started to glow orange. ¡°Now, throw it!¡± he yelled as he pulled his hands away. The stone started moving away then accelerated, straight towards me.


    I screamed as the stone hit me in the shoulder, knocking me over. It stuck to my sweater, first melting it then starting it on fire. Fin yelled loudly and quickly came over to knock the rock away. Then he started to slap my burning sweater to put out the fire.


    <hr>


    [Jerik]


    I heard yelling and screaming as I came out of the blacksmiths shop, where I had been looking at some weapons which I knew we couldn¡¯t afford.


    I knew that scream. It was Lil.


    I looked up the street for her, knowing that she and Fin had been playing with their friends on the village green. I started running as fast as I could as soon as I saw them. As I got closer, I could see both Lil and Fin crying on the ground. Lil¡¯s sweater had a large, black, circular hole near her shoulder, and Fin¡¯s hands were bright red with blisters forming.


    There were a bunch of kids their age standing around them yelling at three taller teens, only slightly younger than me¡ª known troublemakers.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± I yelled at Biffian, knowing he was the usual gang leader.


    Surprised at my fierce anger, he stepped back and held up his hands, saying, ¡°We were just showing them some magic, but your sister got in the way. It¡¯s her fault.¡±


    I knew he was lying and making excuses, so I advanced on him. But before I could get close, however, Pomir stepped in front of him. I knew Pomir had a body forging affinity, but at that moment I couldn¡¯t care less. I tried shoving him to the side so I could get to Biffian, but it was like shoving a tree.


    Nothing happened.


    The next thing I knew, Pomir was pounding me in the face. I don¡¯t know how many times he hit me, but it was a bunch. I quickly ended up on my back as he jumped on me. He started punching me on my ribs and arms since I had my arm up now, protecting my face and chest.


    I rolled over and pushed him off of me for a second, so I could get up. I saw Biffian again so I started towards him when Pomir grabbed me from behind, holding me off the ground and began squeezing the breath out of me. I tried swinging my arms and kicking him in the shins with my boots, but it didn¡¯t seem to do anything.


    I couldn¡¯t breathe. My chest was compressed, and I could not expand it again. I was getting desperate for air. My vision started going black. I tried to think of anything I could do.


    At that moment I felt something deep within myself that I had never felt before. It was a warmth, or maybe a glow, but also felt like a powerful emptiness at the same time. It was hard to describe.


    I don¡¯t know how, but I reached for it.


    That''s when Pomir dropped me and I could finally suck in air, gasping over and over. I turned to look behind me and saw Pomir staring blankly at his hands. I didn¡¯t care why. I was furious so I wound up and punched him in the face as hard as I could. His nose gushed blood as he fell back on the ground, screaming.


    I turned around in time to see Heathry pointing at a rock which was rising into the air. I didn¡¯t want to wait for what she was attempting, so I ran over closer. I didn¡¯t want her to do whatever she was going to do, but I also didn¡¯t want to hit a girl, so I stopped. At that moment, her rock dropped on the ground and rolled away. She strained harder but nothing happened.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I could still feel that empty warmth in my gut, but it had grown a bit warmer and felt less empty than before.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± she hissed, looking between her hands and the rock.


    That¡¯s when Biffian stepped around her and put his hands out towards me. I don¡¯t know what he was going to do, but I knew he had an affinity for heat. I didn¡¯t want that either, so I backed up a bit to hopefully be out of his range.


    Again, nothing happened, other than my internal emptiness filling and growing a bit more.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He asked, looking at me strangely.


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± I said. ¡°But you need to apologize now for burning my brother and sister.¡±


    ¡°It was their fault. We didn¡¯t do nothin¡¯ to them.¡±


    I was truly disgusted by that point, so I stepped up close and punched him hard in the gut. He folded over and started vomiting the contents of his stomach onto the grass. I noticed, with some satisfaction, that some of it was getting on his trousers and shoes.


    The younger kids started screaming again and soon ran away.


    I turned to collect Fin and Lil. Lil was still crying so I picked her up while Fin followed me away from there. As we left some adults started arriving, probably to see what all of the screaming was about.


    I paused, but decided I wasn''t going to wait around for the fallout, so I ignored them and quickly headed home. Lil was still crying as we walked, but I could tell that Fin was trying to be brave regardless of his burns.


    As we arrived home, mother came outside. She always seemed to know before we got home, especially when there was a problem. She took one look at the burns and, without asking any questions, led us to the cistern which was full of cold water.


    ¡°Jer, go get me a clean rag,¡± she said, so I ran to get one. When I got back, Fin was already cooling his hands in the water. Mother had removed the burned sweater from Lil and opened her shift enough so she could gently dab the cold wet rag on her shoulder burns.


    ¡°Go fetch affinity,¡± she asked me, so I nodded and ran back to town to get him. When I arrived at his house, I was disappointed to see him in the distance, already heading toward the village green, probably to deal with a broken nose. I went into his house, which was also his clinic, to talk to his wife.


    ¡°My sister and brother have bad burns. Can you send the healer to our house when he gets back?¡±


    ¡°Your father is Sterith, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send him as soon as I can.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said as I left.


    I could see quite a crowd gathered up the street as I ran back home. When I arrived, I let them know that the healer was busy but would come soon, hopefully.


    ¡°Thank you. I already heard from these two, but can you give me your version of what happened?¡±


    So I told her about hearing Lil screaming and running to find her and Fin on the ground with their burns. I told her about the bullies, and a little about our short fight. I did confess to hitting both of the boys but promised I didn''t hit the girl.


    That''s when I remembered Heathry was the daughter of the mayor, which gave me a feeling of foreboding.


    I didn''t say anything about the warm pressure in my chest. The feeling made me apprehensive, not really understanding what it was. I noticed it had eased a bit, though it was still there.


    Later, as we finished supper, Dad came home with a bang, slamming the door open as he rushed in. The healer followed timidly behind him. Healer Kinning was a strange looking man. His nose and mouth stuck out too far. His cheeks sagged and his ears hung too low. If you asked me, he looked a little like a dog.


    We learned from a young age that magic can sometimes cause changes to the mage¡¯s body. The stronger the magic, it seemed, the more dramatic the changes could be. We also learned not to stare, which was considered very rude. Instead, whenever we saw people in town that didn¡¯t look quite normal, we were to always show them great respect. You don''t ever want a mage to take offense.


    I considered both of my parents as normal looking, though maybe others thought differently. After all, I had grown up with them. Dad was tall and muscular, which wasn¡¯t unusual. But he always had a thick beard, which he complained about sometimes, saying it would grow back faster than he could shave it off. Mom had teased him that it kept going all down his chest. So, yes, he was very hairy.


    Mom, on the other hand, was very beautiful, but her hair was actually a sunny yellow, rather than blonde. I had overheard her and Dad once talking about some color patterns and changes to her skin. (I think the word she used was hideous, but Dad called them artistic.) But I never saw them, so they must have been covered by her clothes.


    Dad looked very concerned as he walked in but waited to ask me what happened until the healer could see to Lil. Mom took Healer Kinning back to our bedroom, since they had to show him the burns on her shoulder and chest.


    I told the story again, this time for Dad, finding it a little easier to tell each time. He looked extremely angry when hearing about how kids, who should know better, were using harmful magic against smaller children. But he actually laughed when I told him about punching the bullies, one with a broken nose and the other vomiting on himself. Fin laughed too.


    ¡°Now let''s see those hands,¡± the healer said, who had come out by then and heard the end of my story.


    Holding the backs of Fin''s hands and concentrating for a while, I could see Fin''s hands slowly turn a more normal color.


    ¡°I can reduce the pain and speed up the healing, but the blisters will have to heal on their own,¡± he said to Dad, since Mom had not come out of the bedroom yet. ¡°Stop by my clinic and I can get you a bottle of ointment to keep the blisters from getting infected.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Dad said. ¡°We''ll come by tomorrow morning.¡±


    Turning to me, the healer said ¡°It sounds like you were in a fight. Do you need me to look at you also?¡±


    I thought about my hands which did the punching, and my face, arms and ribs where I had gotten punched a bunch of times, but they actually weren''t bothering me now, for some reason. I know I had a swollen lip and eye earlier, but they seemed to be much better.


    Huh, that''s strange.


    ¡°I think I''m okay, thanks.¡±


    ¡°Before coming here, I saw the others who you mentioned earlier. They claimed that you did something to take away their magic. Did you do something like that? Do you know your affinity?¡±


    ¡°I don''t have any magic,¡± I confessed, with a lump in my throat. ¡°I¡¯m too old to manifest.¡±


    He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I don''t think he believed me, for some reason. But I was telling the truth.


    ¡°Well, it''s been a long day. It''s time for me to return home. So I''ll take my leave.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much for coming on such short notice,¡± Mom said. I hadn''t noticed when she came out. Dad showed him to the door.