Resin, Second Chance

Early morning dew clung to the grass of a goat field. The herd had been moved away to provide an open space to work in. Jake and Peter were at the edge of the badlands about two miles south of Vacilia. A cool mid-spring breeze blew across Peter’s face as he concentrated on the melon sized rock that sat on the grass twenty feet away.

“Okay… are you ready?” Jake said as he looked at his son.

Peter nodded. Stories of accidental deaths caused by magic drifted through his mind. I must focus, he thought.

“Close your eyes and think about reaching out and touching it. When you feel it, push on it. Be patient with yourself. I know you can do it.” Jake said.

Peter closed his eyes as instructed. He thought he could feel the rock in his hands, but thoughts of his head splitting open on the rock flashed through his mind. He shook it off and focused. That’s it. Peter could feel the texture of the rock on his fingertips. He tried to push on it gently, but nothing happened. Instead, he tried to pull on it. His eyes snapped open as he launched himself headfirst through the air toward the rock.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Jake was ready and raised his hands. Peter stopped moving in mid-air, then floated gently back to the ground.

“Well done, you moved the rock.”

“I did? I thought I just moved myself?”

“You did both. Your eyes were closed so you didn’t see it move. Just before you went flying, the rock moved about an inch. Moving yourself versus moving an object is difficult at first. You’ll get the hang of it. Rest for a minute and try again.”

Peter stopped and looked at the dozen guards standing in a perimeter around the field watching him.

After a long pause he said, “I’m ready to try again.”

Peter walked back to the same spot from his last effort. This time he kept his eyes open, raised his hands, and felt for the rock. His fingers tingled. He felt the rough edges of the rock’s surface. Peter moved his hands forward and pushed the rock in his mind. This time the rock moved several feet, trenching the ground as it was buried halfway into the dirt.

“That’s it, well done,” Jake said as he ran over to look at the rock.

Peter smiled broadly and wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead.

“Ready to do it again?” Jake said.

Jake waved his hand and the rock popped out of the ground, moving a few feet away.

For three hours Peter practiced moving the rock. Eventually he managed to make it move multiple directions and float a few feet in the air.

When Jake was satisfied with Peter’s progress, he changed the game, “Peter, now I am going to throw this small stone at you. Use your magic to toss it aside.”

“You’re going to throw it at me?”

“Yes, you must learn to use magic for defense as well as offense. Moving a rock is just like moving an arrow.”

“Can you teach me how to block arrows Dad?”

“Yes, I can. Blocking is easy, I’ve deflected more than a dozen at once. It’s controlling an arrow’s trajectory to a specific target that is more complex. As you know, I have only had success with up to two at a time, mainly because I need to guide them until they strike. It sure would be nice if I could make them fly on their own.”

“Ouch, a little warning would be nice,” Peter said as a walnut sized stone hit his stomach.

“Keep up your guard. I’ve never had someone warn me before they tried to kill me.”

“Yes sir.”

Peter focused as Jake magically tossed a barrage of small stones at him. He felt their approach and easily brushed them aside.

“See, it’s actually easier to deflect an object than control it.”

“You’re right, that was easier.”

From a distance, a guard waved his arm in the air at Jake.

“We’re out of time, I need to go back for a council meeting. Let’s go.” Jake waved back to the guards to bring their horses and they started to ride home. “Being able to move one object with magic is the first step. It will take time before you are comfortable dealing with objects of varying size and weight.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked.

“Think of it like throwing a rock. When you pick up a rock with your hands, your mind instantly assess the weight and you can feel the effort required to throw it.

“Magic works the same way?”

“Basically, yes. When you were just learning to throw you didn’t have good control of aim or power.”

“That’s very true.”

“You’ll have to practice on your own, and now that you have the basics, I want to teach you something else.

“I’m a little tired.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll like this one. It’s great fun.” Jakes said with a smile.

“What is it?”

“Sharing magic with tame creatures like horses.”

“Yes, I’ve wanted to know for years. How do I do that?”

“Put your hand on your horse’s neck. Reach out with your magic and feel the horse’s energy.” Jake said.

Peter put his hand on his horse. “Yes, I can feel it… it’s amazing, he has so much strength.”

“Good, now instead of pushing or pulling a rock, you have to focus on pushing your energy into the horse. He will instinctively transfer the magical energy into forward motion. Try it.”

At first, Peter could not tell if it was working, then his horse grunted, and he felt its energy surge. With a glint of daring, Peter glanced over at his father then kicked his horse into action. The horse took off galloping at an incredible speed which almost threw him to the ground. Peter headed down a single lane dirt path. Jake quickly caught up to him and they sped along toward the city together leaving their guards far behind.

Within a few minutes they approached the twenty-foot-tall circular wall that wrapped around Vacilia. The wall was constructed of tan colored granite blocks. Each block was perfectly shaped by magic which gave the wall the appearance of being a single continuous piece of granite.

Peter and Jake slowed to a trot as they rode through the arched gate leading into the city. Peter rode to the front steps of his home, jumped off, and tied his horse to a post. He looked up at his home, a two-story building that consumed an entire city block. Peter was still astounded at his family’s transition from living in a one room home just three years earlier to living in the city’s largest building and center of government. The building had multiple meeting rooms and an entire residential wing where his bedroom was located. He took off running up the steps to find his mother. He found her preparing for a meeting.

“Mom, I did it, I used magic.”

“Wow, that’s so great, congratulations. I’m so proud of you,” Veronica said as she hugged him.

“I’m going to go tell Owen, do you know where he is?”

“I saw him in his room earlier, I think he was drawing again.”

Peter ran into Owen’s room as quickly as he could and shouted out to him. “I did it, I moved a rock with magic. Isn’t that great?”

“That’s great, I’m happy for you,” Owen said. “What are you going to do with magic now that you have it?” Owen did not look up. He was on his knees, hunched over a drawing.

“I don’t know yet, I… hey are you happy for me or not?” Peter said.

Owen was focused on his drawing, “I said I’m happy for you, what do you want me to say?”

“Nothing, but I thought you would at least look up at me.”

Owen looked up at his older brother. His hands, arms, and face were covered in streaks of black charcoal. When he moved his head, Peter was able to see the drawing that had been hidden by Owen’s long wavy hair. It was a drawing of Peter with a rock levitating in front of him.

Peter asked, “How did you know I made a rock levitate, did mom tell you?”

“No, nobody told me anything, I’ve been in here all morning. I just felt like drawing and this is what popped in my head.”

“Oh, okay, I have to go. Dad wants me to join the council meeting today.”

Peter went to the central meeting hall where he found Veronica about to walk into the council meeting that was already in progress. She put her hand on Peter’s shoulder and they walked through the double doors together. Inside the meeting hall, the room was packed with a hundred men and women sitting on long benches facing a small stage. An elderly man stood at the side of the stage and paused as Peter and Veronica sat in the front row next to Jake.

“Please carry on,” Veronica said to the man next to the stage.

“Mrs. Enkel, you are next with an update on magic,” he said.

“Oh, okay,” Veronica said as she took the stage, “It has been a difficult three years since the last war with Elodan. We all lost so many loved ones. As you all know, of fifty magicians we had before the war, only Jake and I survived. However, today I am happy to announce that we finally have a new magician among us. My son Peter has magical abilities that manifested only a few days ago. He has begun instruction and shows physical magical abilities similar to Jake’s.

No other new magic has emerged yet. Fortunately for us, many of the magicians that gave their lives in the war had children, and several of those children are nearing maturity. We remain optimistic that some of them will manifest magic within the next year or two. We desperately need them. Jake, Peter, and I are not enough.” Veronica moved off the stage and sat next to Peter.

The man next to the stage spoke again, “Let’s move on to security. Gail, please give us an update.”

A tall slender woman with a long-braided ponytail moved to the stage. “Within Vacilia, one man was mortally wounded by city guards after drunkenly attacking a shopkeeper. Four troublemakers who are multiple offenders were permanently ejected for stealing. Two more troublemakers who are first time offenders volunteered for twenty hours of community service and rehabilitation instead of ejection. Outside of our territory, the trading routes to the south have become problematic again. Two merchants have recently gone missing. We suspect a roaming gang of bandits from Elodan are to blame.” Gail said.

“This must stop, can’t we just kill them?” A young man called out from the second row.

Gail took a deep breath, “We offer to protect all merchants, but many choose to travel alone. You know as the rest of us do that Elodan is full of lawless savages. Bandits cross to our side of the canyon just long enough to pick off merchants. We know who they are, but if we cross the canyon to go after them, we may start another war, and that is a risk we cannot accept at this time.”

Veronica stood up and addressed the young man, “May I remind you that we are the division leaders and block captains of Vacilia. We must do what is best for our people and not let a desire for revenge cloud our judgement.”

The young man looked around the room. Every other person looked at the man with penetrating eyes. He lowered his head, “I am sorry for my outburst. I agree with you.”

“Gail, please continue,” Veronica said as she sat down again.

“A farming merchant arrived today with medicine from the northern territory of Aridun. We inspected the goods, and they are cleared for sale. Reinforcement of the southern wall continues. A new load of granite blocks arrived from the quarry this morning. Mr. Enkel, they are ready for you,” Gail said as she turned and left the stage.

The man next to the stage spoke again, “That was our last update, the next council meeting will be one month from today.”

After the meeting, Peter headed to the southern part of Vacilia to watch his father work on the wall. He strolled casually, admiring the smooth stones that lined the clean city streets. An abundance of food and craft shops of every imaginable type lined the streets along his path. The wall that surrounded Vacilia was a perfect circle with a walkway on the top for defensive purposes. Peter waved to one of the guards that looked down at him from atop the wall. Within the wall, Vacilia was divided into eight concentric city blocks that surrounded a central meeting square. Every building was made of stacked gray stone and all were covered with thatch rooftops.

Peter found Jake and a detail of guards at the southernmost section of the wall prepared to start working. Jake approached a section that was partially finished. Several dozen roughly chiseled granite blocks sat atop horse carts. Each block was made of the same granite as the rest of the wall. Jake and his guard detail positioned themselves in the middle of the carts. A small crowd gathered to watch.

Jake made each block float twenty feet into the air and land in an open spot at the top level of the wall. When the blocks landed on the wall they began to vibrate violently, grinding against the adjoining blocks to create a perfect seamless fit. When Jake finished with the last block two guards caught him as he collapsed. The crowd cheered and dispersed.

After a short while, Peter walked with Jake and the guards as they escorted Jake home to rest. When Peter arrived at their house Owen was standing in the doorway and immediately rushed to meet him. Owen was bouncing up and down with energy. He grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him away from their house.

“There’s a new toymaker in town, Mom said you could take me to the square to find him,” Owen said.

The sun had just set behind the western hills when they arrived. Vacilia’s central meeting square was roughly two times the size of the other city blocks and was big enough to hold the entire population at one time. Shops around the perimeter were prepared to close for the evening. Teams of workers moved ladders across the square lighting oil lanterns that illuminated the area in a dim flickering glow. Owen and Peter looked everywhere but could not find the toymaker. Instead, they moved to the center of the square and found a group of young children with their parents listening to a storyteller.

The storyteller’s voice rang in Peter’s ears. “We are not alone in this world. The history of Vacilia is more amazing than you could ever imagine,” he said.

“Owen the toymaker must have left for the night, we can come back tomorrow.” Peter said.

“I want to listen to the storyteller.”

Peter nodded and they sat amongst the families to listen. The storyteller waved his arms enthusiastically.

“Listen children for this is our history. The common thread that binds us. Ages ago their used to be millions of people. We had cities and towns that spread across the land for thousands of miles, but our success was too much. The dragons turned against us, and laid waste to everything. Your ancestors were the last scraps of humanity who barely escaped annihilation by hiding in the hardscrabble hills just north of here. Years passed as they lived in squalor until one day the dragons vanished, and the great desert of the north appeared.

Eventually, they split into two groups and moved out of the hills. One group went north and built the peaceful farming territory of Aridun. The other group travelled a short distance south and built our city of Vacilia. In this very spot where I stand is the middle of a patch of splendor where everything grows, the water is clean, the weather is perfect, and magic flows. Over multiple generations some families bind with the magic of the land and use it to perform amazing feats. But this place we call Vacilia is no paradise. Greed for the power of this land has caused a tragic loss of life. We live under constant threat of violence from the brutish savages of Elodan. These three short years of peace won’t last. It’s only a matter of time until the challenge for power begins anew…”

A young girl stood up, “Why can’t Elodan just be kind and come live with us?” she asked.

“A fair question indeed. Elodan is made of our outcasts. They are people that Vacilia and Aridun eject because they cannot abide by the laws of a civil society. Fear not young one, our leaders are working to rebuild the city walls and train the next generation of magicians to help defend us. For now, it is just Elodan, Vacilia, and Aridun, the last three vestiges of humanity pinned against a raging unnavigable sea and the great desert to the north. It will not be this way forever. Someday we will find new lands where we can live peacefully and spread the seeds of humanity again. That is all for now. It is getting late and I see young, tired eyes in need of rest. Good evening,” he said as he walked away.

After the group dispersed a tall wide-framed man approached Peter and Owen.

“Mr. Peter, it is time to go home. You know you shouldn’t be walking the streets alone after dark,” he said.

“Wayne.” Owen hugged the man around his waist. “Can I ride on your shoulders?” Owen asked.

“Yes, of course.” Wayne said as he picked up Owen and put him on his shoulders and began walking out of the square.

Owen tapped Wayne’s shoulder. “Are you and Gail really twins?”

“Yes, we are.”

“But you don’t look alike.”

“We have the same mother, and we were born on the same day. That makes us twins whether we look alike or not.” Wayne said.

Owen shrugged, “I don’t get it.”

Peter was locked in thought about the storyteller’s tale. “Wayne, do you believe in Dragons?”

“Of course, he does. It’s all true.” Owen said.

“Well, Mom and Dad don’t believe it. They said the stories about dragons are just a myth and nobody really knows how we got here.”

Wayne tapped Owen’s leg and spoke softly. “All I know about dragons is that I hope I never meet one.”

“Wait stop, put me down.”

When Owen got to the ground, he ran back to the center of the square and stared down at the stone paver.

“Can you hear it?”

“Hear what?” Peter said.

“I don’t hear anything Mr. Owen and it’s time for you to go home,” Wayne said. He scooped Owen off the ground, put him back on his shoulders, and started walking out of the square again.

“There was something there. It was a noise I heard. When I stood in the middle of the square it was so loud.”

“I think you need sleep.” Wayne said.

They walked the rest of the way home in silence. Wayne delivered Peter and Owen to their home and after a quick meal the brothers went to bed.