The Gentle Mage 2

The mage tells about a village that lives high on the trees and they are neither human, the general way to describe them is fluffy slugs that only have arms, most of them. There are other beings with wings of bugs or beings that are bird-like.

They have hunters that dress in fur of animals and will find different ways to mimic another species. But not all of these hunters are on their side, ones that he had the misfortune of encountering.

Of other places where are carcasses of ancient beings that once lived in that land.

A giant tree in the middle of a giant swamp.

Cavern with crystals that produce light and energy.

System caves filled with green and insects in the middle of snowy mountains.

A land where its desolate cliffs are washed by a constant white ash that falls from one of the peaks, but not the highest ones.

And the kids, one day asked him what is interesting about their village.

"– The death. How this place conveys grief into a soft and healing path. How this place grieves their death, never forgetting them, never staying trapped in the memories. Living in the present is what this village does, is what attracted me –

– If you can. Will you teach me how I can keep going after losing so much? – The mage asked the kids."

In the last page only one sentence can be found.

– "I always liked to travel, as I'm just a wanderer more." – Liam is the one saying that – Do you think those places exist? –

– They are – some can be found in the countries – I know that the giant tree is in "Seervei", well if the history books are to guide and Telmar has the system caves full of green –

Maybe "Marwird" has something, but that's the only country where books are less, "Aries" is a difficult one as it said there are flowers that can heal the earth, but it's never said they are purple. There could be multiple of this in each location.

– And the others? – He only shrugs his shoulders and he can see in Liam's silence that something is forming in his mind – Do you think we could find them, where they are? – 

– Maybe, I'm sure we could find two of them – 

– We can investigate together! – Liam started moving his arms, leaving the blanket that was covering him half on the floor and the couch. At least the one on their legs is still there.

– A knight and a mage researching together! –

'Oh'

– You want to become a mage? – He waits and doesn't notice anything bad in Liam's expression so he nods slowly, he still doesn't know what Liam thinks about mages.

With each second that passes he drops his hand from his mouth. Liam is just exanimating him, and a part of him grows hopeful at not seeing something bad in the other.

It's the maybe.

The one that finds in himself telling of a bad outcome that makes him hesitate.

– Then I will be your knight – The other just takes his hand – You will guide and I will fight to protect us –

He just squeezed Liam hand – Thanks – He says while covering Liam again with the blanket – Get yourself warm! We don't want one of us sick – Liam just laughs.

The book has been left at the side.

***

They keep talking about where these locations could be, Liam didn't mention about him wanting to become a mage or at least it wasn't the focus of their conversations.

But true to his word, he really was only free that day.

And so was him.

Belvedere gave him orders to help insulate the library, mostly the windows that are close to common places where people will be, to keep those parts warmer.

So there he is, changing curtains and hanging one layer more, while other workers are doing things outside the library.

Recently the radio has been adapted to withstand the cold and, in big part, the interference that winter brings. And it brings the news that winter will start with a storm, not the strong one that happens every six years, just a normal storm that can last from two to an entire week. But the duration of a week seems somewhat less possible as it is said it will hit the capital.

Telmar will have a recently born storm, "Yuphis and Clamor" will have the well formed storm.

In "Yakra" the water is close to being below zero.

And information that Liam gets from his brother, "Zhebury" has been hit by rains.

His house will have the storm before getting to the city and the mansion, that thought alone has taken part of his sleep. He knows they will be fine, they have lived through the worst times and much more time than himself, they know how to live the storm. And it's not like they are alone, his uncle's house is close enough if anything bad happens, they have the dogs too.

He would need to be preoccupied with himself, but there is a protocol for the workers when these things happen and he is going to be put on standby for the next days of the storm, he wouldn't be put to work another job apart from helping clean the inside of the workers facility.

So he is going to be trapped in that place all the time the storm lasts.

One last box has been left in the library as the other books would be kept somewhere safe where no damage should happen. He didn't organize them right away, but ended up being inevitable.

Sometimes he would get another order to put in action in the library (read: two times), he was trying to get enough pieces of wood to carve and read books. At least Liam always brings a very accepted change.

As he came with the need of another two books for study and he is not going to lie, he was the reason why Liam left with two books only, as the subjects are information of the other regions of "Corvalon" and he prioritized the themes Liam's instructor told him.

He gives some concepts and chapters that can be considered extra help, but he doesn't care.

They talk little about the storm, but say to each other to stay warm and safe.

And the next five days were just cleaning and checking nothing would be at risk of getting wet.

Another two of them moved every rug so they would absorb the water.

It's fourteen and the signal of a storm forming in the mountains can be seen, weights are put on the windows to keep them from opening. That's also the last day anybody could enter the library before the storm ends.

In the middle of the night, the winds can be heard.

The morning of the fifteen of May, winter has come with a storm.

And everybody knows they will find the ground covered in snow, when the sun rises the winter shift will start.

A sleepless night, as the storm is already here meaning it has already passed through his home and questions about his family plagues his mind, until he hears the bells of six in the morning and close his eyes to at least rest his sight. Sleep is a far thought now.