A Vase and a Revelation
"Tirvaltoraiel A'vredon! Get your butt in here now!"
Tirval winced, knowing instinctively that his mother had discovered the little... ‘accident' that had occurred earlier that night, involving a rather delicate vase and the hard stone floor.
With a sigh he slunk out of the stable, scattering various creatures both wild and tame as he did so, instantly exerting a bit of magic to return his clothing to their normal, pristine condition. Feet dragging, he slunk up the walk and into the entrance hall where his mother waited, one foot tapping against the floor impatiently.
"What have I told you before, young man?" she gave him a hard look, green eyes cold in the lantern light.
A hand reached up to rub at the back of his neck, "Ah... sorry mother. Tilt just wouldn't stop running, though, and I had to catch him. I forgot about the vase."
She sighed, "You and your animals... well, I suppose its better than the hobby that your cousin took up!" the matriarch of their family smiled softly, managing to ruffle his hair even though he pulled away quickly, "I don't know if this keep could handle two men vying to see who can collect the most and largest rocks."
"Mo-ther!" Tirval huffed in annoyance, finger combing his hair back in place, and then using magic to return every strand to its rightful place, "Pelron's studying them, he's fascinated by the earth. I think the animals are much more fascinating, seeing as how they're living, breathing, and changing."
"Don't get me off topic, youngling," she gave him a quelling look, causing him to close his mouth with a snap, "I want you to fix that vase, only the gods know how valuable it is, or was, now."
"Yes mother," with a sigh he slunk over to the pile of pottery shards and knelt beside them, narrowing his eyes at the shards and concentrating. ::Les? A little help here?::
His sister's reply danced with laughter in his mind, ::Broke another of the precious artifacts around here, huh?::
::Bluntly, yes.:: He sighed faintly, internally wishing that he could master the repair spell, it seemed that his sister had gotten all of those skills. She could call rock out of the ground and form it into anything, or repair practically anything that was broken, as long as it was inanimate, and many other things. He, on the other hand, was a healer of the living, able to influence the evolution of anything that he bent his will to, and was simply... more in tune with the living world than she. They were, as he had commented often, two halves of one whole.
Unfortunately, it left him grasping at straws every time that he accidentally broke something. Like right now.
::Oh fine, brother dearest.:: Her mindvoice was amused, as she reached through him and carefully pieced together the vase into its original form, then sealed it with a thought, the entire thing blurring slightly for a second as all the cracks melted together. When he rose, it was with a good as new vase held carefully in his hands, as he set it back on the shelf that it had fallen from.
"There... may I go now, mother?" He glanced up at her expectantly, wanting to get back to the stable once more, and back to his animals.
She sighed, "Fine, fine, go back to your creatures. I swear, if your father hadn't explained this entire family to me I would be wondering what's wrong with the two of you."
Tirval smiled briefly, before trotting out swiftly, in order to avoid a hug and a kiss.
All of his personal favorites crowded around him the second that he had settled himself back into the straw in a corner of the stable. Two owls perched on a rafter beam nearby, while a falcon sleepily opened an eye and gave him a look. Other creatures, four-legged, two, or none, furred or scaled or covered in hide, slunk or otherwise crept close to him, a few of the braver, tamer ones laying on or against his body.
He released a heavy sigh, one hand stroking the feral forest cat that had claimed him as its own. These were his friends and companions, the creatures of the night, the wild animals of the land about them... without them, and his sister, he would have never survived childhood without losing some, or most, of his sanity to the power that he could see as easily as normal humans could see daylight. To be granted the heritage of the Night Mage was to be given the key to a strange world that could easily seduce an unwary youngster into wandering lost forever, as part of the very power that seduced him or her.
Restless shifting in one of the stalls drew his head up, and he blinked in surprise to see one of the moon mares heavy with foal. She gave him a sleepy-eyed questioning look, stomping one hoof lightly on the soft ground and shaking her head until her mane flew.
"Oh alright girl..." Tirv smiled faintly as he shoved the forest cat off of his legs and rose despite its annoyed mutterings, "No rest for me, I see. What is it you want?"
She snorted and stomped her hoof again, giving him a considering look as he paused to pull the stall door open and then walked straight in, booted feet making no sound on the straw the covered the floor of the loose box stall.
He pressed both hands lightly against her silvery blue side, letting his own eyes slide closed as he sunk his power into the mare, keeping enough of his consciousness in his body in order to speak.
"You're carrying a fine, strong colt, little lady," a smile flickered across his face as she nudged his side with her head, "Who did you finally choose? Ebon Dream?" he laughed softly as she stomped a hoof hard, "No, then. Hmm... Freelance? This little man feels like he could be related to Freelance."
Tirv lifted a hand away from her side and scratched her head as she nodded, "Score one for Freelance. I told them he had potential." He finally lifted his hand away from her head, and placed it back on her side, concentrating fully once more on the unborn colt. To his ‘vision', the colt glowed with a steady, strong pulse of life, and was almost ready to be born. Yet a second glow caught his eye, though it was almost completely overwhelmed by the glow of life and health.
"Little lady... we've done it," Tirval turned wide, amethyst-tinted-with-ruby eyes upon the mare's head, meeting her questioning gaze unblinkingly, "You choose better than well, my lady Starbeam... you and Freelance have done what most of my family believes is impossible. You carry a Mage."
Starbeam tossed her head back and whinnied loudly, as he smiled brightly and hugged her neck, pride in his eyes. Ten years of selection and careful nudging with his magic had finally paid off.
Just wait until the rest of them realized what he had done...
Musings and Magic
She sighed, dropping sapphire tinted amethyst eyes back to the book that she held open on her lap. The calm solitude of the library suited her tastes much better than the busy, noisy night outside, where her brother always spent his time. Much of the rest of the household was sleeping, well, all of them were, in fact, except for her, her brother, their parents, and four or five others.
They were the Night Mages, or mates of Night Mages, the strange people that priests had always claimed were devil worshippers. As a group, they were rare, with only one born every ten or so years, though up to twenty years apart had been recorded several times.
Of course... she and her brother were the oddities. Both of them claimed the Night Mage's heritage: the tall, wiry frame, the somewhat delicate features, the amethyst eyes, the pale skin that refused to tan... and the ability to see and manipulate the power that thrived in the darkness.
Only... she had one set of the powers - those that held sway over the inanimate - while he held the rest - those that held sway over the living - while a normal Night Mage would have been able to manipulate everything. In return, though, both of them held other powers, powers that evidently came from their mother's side of the family, and that had never truly been seen before in the A'vredon line.
She was ice, and he was fire. Both of their eyes were tinted with a different color, instead of being pure amethyst, which hinted at their powers.
"I do wonder what Tirv is doing now," her voice was faintly amused, as she glanced out the window, jeweled gaze settling on the large moon that hung in the sky, "He's always out with his horses about now, doing some manner of odd thing or another." Les smiled, shaking her head slowly, "Him and his animals."
::And you and your books, Lesarakel, dearest sister.::
Les snorted, ::What have I told you about listening in?::
::Hey! I wasn't! If you want to keep things secret, then don't think about them so loudly!::
She rolled her eyes, wanting desperately to wipe away the smug expression that she just knew was plastered across her brother's face, ::Well? What manner of breakthrough have you achieved now, Tirv?::
::Magic! A colt with magic, Les! I've done it!::
A colt with magic, by all the... Tirv would be irrepressible for months because of this little occurrence, ::A Mage that's a horse? ... May I ask why?::
His enthusiasm was easily readable through the link that the two of them shared, ::The rest of the family said that it couldn't be done. Besides! Think of the possibilities! Think of what we as Mages could do if our mounts are Mages as well!::
::I'm thinking of what trouble horses that are Mages will be to train to bit and saddle, is what I'm thinking.::
::Just wait, sister, I'll raise and train this young colt up, and he'll be my mount.::
Lesara sighed, as she carefully closed the old book and set it aside, running a hand through her platinum blond hair as she rose, ::Tirv, brother, I'll stand by with the medic.::
::Hrmph! I won't need one.::
The Waiting is the Worst
The nights slipped by calmly enough, though Tirval spent more and more time out in the stables as the mare's time came closer and closer, until, near the end, he was only inside to bolt down his food, and then was gone once more.
Lesara merely smiled mysteriously at the questions directed to her about her twin, as she enjoyed mystifying the family just as much as her brother did, and though she had no skill with living creatures in the magical sense, still she enjoyed, and had a strong bond with, many creatures.
It had long ago been acknowledged that Tirval ruled that specific stable, so none but his sister dared to enter it, and even she stayed little, before going back to her books.
Yet one night, she trotted in, and stayed for much longer than usual.