Duncan settled himself down to listen to the curious figure in front of him. He watched as the Mage sat, lit his megillos pipe, and stared into nowhere.
"So Duncan, you want to join the Mage's guild. Well, I wasn't always the Mage you see in front of you now. I, have not long passed my apprenticeship and I, like you, have much to learn."
"Yes, I did not always have the skill in my abilities that you see now. Hmm, let me see now nearly 35 years ago, while I was resting from my chores on a grassy knoll in this town a sage came to me and told me about life as an Avalonian. That is when I realised, that this would be the way that I could learn to wield magic like I have dreamed since I was a boy"
"This sage showed me the way to a place of learning, The Academy it's called, and there he introduced me to a great man called Sevenius. This man told me that in order to graduate I would need to perform eight tasks for him known as the accolades. And I did, one after the other without rest nor food in between. And soon after graduating there, I sought a Mage and found one and once he made sure that I was sure that the Mage's guild was the guild for me, I began the journey of my dreams."
"Are you sure that it is the mages guild you want to join" the man asked.
"Oh yes, I'm certain of it" said Duncan in an enthusiastic tone, "I would be honoured to join the guild"
The mage smirked knowingly, "Yes, I sure you would be, but I must ask that of you."
"I was asked the same question before I joined as was the person who enguilded me was asked, by the person who enguilded him, and the reason we ask is because once you join the guild it is likely that you will never leave until death takes you from the beautiful realm."
For a moment the Mage's mind seemed to wander, then he sat back, inhaling deeply, sucking the tangy lichen from his pipe deep into his lungs. Duncan realised that this was no normal herb as he saw the Mage's mind focus instantly.
"Ah yes, when I had first became a Mage there was but a few in the entire guild, and when I adventured there where few of my companions around to help me. At that time my skills were weak, I had a few charms but those were mostly novelties. At that time I couldn't even dream of the power that I have now, and the powers that I still aim for. Anyway, I remembered the location from my accolades where a statue of an elfin lady covered in mud was hidden. I collected and washed it, and sold it. And then sometime later when I checked where it was originally, to my surprise another one was there. This I did for some time only seeing full pockets and not exploring the land. And then stuck in this rut of greed, I disappeared from the land and it seemed to me that I would never resurface again."
Duncan sat as still as death him self deeply engrossed in the story, and then he sat up slightly changing his position not only to get some feeling back to his legs, but also because he felt uncomfortable under this mans sad stare. But before Duncan could start to wonder about the pain that this mans absence from Avalon stirred up inside him, Tekith again, sucked the lichen into his lungs and again his mind was clear. Tekith smirked easily anticipating what the young boy was about to say.
"Of course I came back Duncan, no man can stay away from the golden glow that is Avalon, and thirty years later I reappeared and all that was once known to me was lost in the mist of time. That time of my rebirth is not so far from this time. While I'd been away my guild had risen in stature, and where once the guild had just been a place for me to learn my skills, it was now an elite group of people, a community even, bonded with a common goal. From then on I learned as much as possible and I learned it fast, first familiarising myself with Mercinae, the town which I then called home, and then from guild notices from Mage's past and present. I found out about quest's near and inside Mercinae, and soon enough, I knew my way round the local area with no map at all."
I made money then and slowly gained experience, and as my experience grew so did the limits of both my body and mind. And then one day I found out a piece of information that would let my skills soar. I found a method so that while I slept and my mind was far away from Avalon, my brain became thirsty for knowledge, and for some time I was either sleeping, or learning. I suppose you could say I was going through a ‘sleeping' ‘learning' phase. Anyway that is nearly all of my tale, the rest seems hardly history to me.
"Why have you got the name Meadhros in your name, sir?"
"Ah yes, well, happy with my skills and choosing to let them advance of there own accord, I felt that there was still something missing from my life. I heard tell of Gods, beings of great power beyond the defines of mortal intellect. I also heard tales of how these Gods became patrons to mortals, offering them help in return for there worship. So I asked around and found that most of my guildsmen, if not my town, followed Apollo the God of Light, a fair, just and good God. But I reasoned that this wasn't something someone should jump into simply because their friends had chosen a particular patron, and so I gathered all the information I could about all the Gods. And at the end of my studies, one God seemed called out to me more than the others and that God was Maedhros Allendil, the Hunter. First I approached one of his followers, a young lady called Liten. She told me of his ways, and then seven months later, I kneeled in front of him and he accepted me into his order. And then I knew what family truly was, no people were as eager to help me as my fellow followers, and show as much enthusiasm in it. Eventually, I changed towns moving to Parrius to be closer to my patron and there I felt like I truly belonged, and that my friend is how I come to be a Parrian Mage."
Duncan slouched slightly, trying to cope with the vast amounts of information that had been thrown his way. He realised that absolutely none of his questions had been answered about the guild, yet he could see this Mage was much happier getting his story off his chest.
Tekith drew in the air eight magical symbols. "Anyway I must go now Duncan, I have things that I must do" he said as he danced an Arcane Ritual. "You must go now and write the story of your own life", then Duncan watched as the Mage pointed a pearl necklace off into the distance, and a shimmering portal opened. Duncan saw the Mage disappear through the inky portal, and then he breathed again for what felt like the first time since the beginning of the Mage's rambling. Then just as the portal disappeared on the breeze, Duncan heard a familiar voice say, "Beside, I have yet to finish writing my own life........"
Last changed 15/3/97. Written by Tekith.
