Chapter 71: 71- The Withered Hawthorne
Despite the lengthy process, Cole and Kyffin had successfully finished their work; the bedsheet now decorated with a spectacular array of arcs, lines, circles, swirls, runes and sigils.
"Well now, look at what you accomplish," Cole whispered as he looked down at the sheet from over Kyffin's shoulder, "when you let your magic flow free."
Kyffin stood and examined the markings on the sheet, his eyes wandering over the intricate pattern.
"This is…" he stopped, his eyes growing wide as he swayed. Clasping his hand over his mouth, his other arm wrapping around his stomach he bolted towards the bathroom, muttering, "I'm gonna be sick."
Moments later, the unpleasant sound of lurching and gaging could be heard from within the bathroom.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Tau asked as he stood and looked towards the bathroom door.
"No. No, that's not supposed to happen," Cole replied quietly, his eyes growing damp as his face scrunched, and as he moved into the kitchen, Tau watched as he clenched his hands into fists. "You check on your brother. I'll make him some tea to help settle his stomach."
It was easy for Tau to see how upset Cole was over the reaction Kyffin was experiencing, but the anger made little sense to him.
"This isn't your fault Cole," he said in hopes of easing whatever was causing his discomfort.
"That be where you wrong Tau. This is more my fault than you realize. Now go on. When he's through the worst of it, bring him out to the couch to relax."
Tau lightly rapped on the door before cracking it open.
"I'm coming in," he said as Kyffin flushed the toilet and fell back against the wall.
"What are the chances this was caused by your cooking?"
"I don't think that's the case."
"Yeah, me either," Kyffin remarked as he looked up at him. "Well, that was fun while it lasted. Help me up."
Tau offered out his hand and when Kyffin took it, he lifted him to his feet.
"Okay, should have taken that slower," Kyffin remarked as he leaned against the counter to steady himself.
"Cole is going to make you some tea. He said it will help settle your stomach."
"That would be great, but I'd prefer it if it would make the room stay still," he replied as he turned on the faucet and rinsed out his mouth several times.
Wrapping Kyffin's arm over his shoulder, Tau walked him out to the couch and laid him down.
"That was rather unexpected," Kyffin said loud enough for Cole to hear him.
Tau saw Cole lower his head and lean over the counter, a deep look of sadness hanging about his face. Shaking his head, Tau motioned at Kyffin to not say anything further before making his way into the kitchen.
"Talk to me Cole. What has you so bothered?"
"There be nothing to say, until after the tea be made. Go sit with him. Let me take care of this."
"You called him my brother before. Thank you for that," Tau remarked as he walked away.
Picking up the notes and book from the floor, Tau set them on the table next to Kyffin.
"It was worth it, wasn't it?" Tau asked as he sat on the floor next to him.
"I'll tell you once the room stops spinning," he replied as he removed his glasses and harshly rubbed at his eyes before laying back against the arm of the couch.
A few minutes later, Cole brought over a mug of tea and set it onto the table before helping him into a sitting position. Kyffin put his glasses on as Cole handed him the mug.
"This should make you feel better," Cole said as he sat next to him on the couch. "I'm sorry about that. I should have warned you about the possibility, but I had hoped that your magic, although damaged, hadn't been completely altered."
"Even still, that was way more magic than I've ever pulled through. Should a reaction like this not be expected?" Kyffin questioned between sips of the tea.
Cole shook his head, "No, Kyffin, this is a direct result of what was done to you. The nature of your magic, it is so opposed to the way you've been forced to use it, that it's now going to make you sick trying to fix it. It may even do more harm than good."
"So, it is irreversible."
"I didn't go and say that, but repairing it, it's going to be far more painful and far more a struggle than I thought. Things, they going to get a lot worse if you not be careful."
"How much worse are you talking?" Kyffin questioned as he lowered the mug to his lap.
"Crippling, maybe even fatal; if you push too hard or move too fast. It was irresponsible of me, telling you to just let your magic flow like that. I should have started you out easy. Made you stretch out and exercise your draws some before tossing you into the deep end and hoping your body would compensate. This hangover feeling you have, that's because you had no time to adapt, and your draw, it has no give or flex."
"But you're still willing to help me, aren't you?"
Cole looked up at him and shook his head. "Kyffin, there will be no way for you to hide this from the MET. Once you reach a tipping point, there won't be any way back. Trying to 'refine' your magic back at this point would be like trying to damn back an ocean into a babbling brook."
"But the risk is mine to take Cole, or are you resending your offer?"
"No, I be doing no such thing. I just want you to be aware of what you getting yourself into. Because if you be committed, then I can't refuse. That," he pointed to the bedsheet, "that is incredible. That is what your magic looks like when you don't try to control it. It's damaged, true, the scars are visible on the surface, but it's fierce and sharp, and there be a strength to it that's fighting for a way back." Moving to the sheet he pointed out one of the larger swirled circles. "I can see the rings of the inside of a tree. It's slender, but quick to grow. And here, this be its trunk. Wide at the base with deep roots. And can you see where the branches have been cut away? But here at the edge, can you see these slight bumps, the waivers in the lines, like branches threatening to burst into existence. And the flow between every part, like trails of ivy. There be thorns and berries, a memory of what it used to be." Cole nodded as he picked up his book and handed it to Kyffin. "Don't think about it, just look through the book. Every page, then show me the one you feel connected to."
Kyffin didn't bother looking through any of the book and immediately turned to a page about halfway between the center and the back. "I knew it the moment I saw it, and yet I have no idea what it is."
"You ever have a fondness for a certain tree when you was young?"
"Yes. A Hawthorne at the back of our property. It was small, but every year it grew larger, and the berries sweeter. It would bring songbirds to the yard from the end of summer straight through to winter. And in the spring when it bloomed with these white flowers, the scent was almost intoxicating. It withered when I was sent away to the MET. I suspect it's long dead now. I suppose you're going to tell me that all of this means something though?"
"That it does. I told you I knew what you weren't, but I didn't know what you were supposed to be. That has now changed. You, Kyffin Kirkwood are a rarity amongst mages. Connected to the world grid through the tree that was born of your magic. You are a woodland mage," Cole said as his eyes narrowed, and a bright smirk crossed his lips. "You, my friend, you are the Withered Hawthorne. You need to go find your tree. Something tells me, the stronger it becomes, the truer to your nature you'll be. Find it and keep it safe. That tree is going to work like a well for you. It's a direct line into the grid of magic that stretches across our world. And I'm betting the MET has no idea of what you are truly capable."
Tau smiled as he looked over at Kyffin. It was almost as if they truly were brothers, in a sense, given his own deep fondness for the trees.
"Withered Hawthorne; not as lovely as Blue Rose, but a moniker all the same," Kyffin muttered as he stared down into his tea. "I never thought I would ever have one of my own. They don't give them out at the MET anymore. Something about how it promotes individuality and threatens the unity of the Tribunal. After knowing what my magic feels like, even damaged as it is, I don't understand why they would do this to any of us. I despise the MET probably more than most, but it never even crossed my mind that they were actively working so hard against their own practitioners. If only there was a way to put an end to them."
"Now don't you go and get any stupid ideas," Cole remarked as he picked up the bowl of paint, took it into the kitchen and set it into the sink. "Others have tried to stand and fight against them, but they all lost. Even as they are an autonomous entity, make no mistake, they have the backing of more than just this country. Wherever the MET builds a school, they have the support of the nation, guaranteed. I've seen many try to undo the mistakes that were made, but trust me, it be too late now. The day the Academy of Magical Arts was closed permanently, the MET had won."
"I thought the Academy was the precursor to the MET," Kyffin remarked before finishing his tea.
"It was, but it continued on as a separate entity for a short while," Cole replied with a reminiscent smile. "The AMA was an amazing place. True to its roots, and students flourish with the proper tutelage of caring staff. It had been reduced to a small school, and as much as they wanted to take every applicant in, they couldn't, and they knew what would happen if they started down that path again of wanting to take in every potential mage that came to their doorstep. So, competition was fierce and those that didn't make the cut, ended up at the MET. The MET grew, and the AMA had no way to fight back once the MET started making accusations. Said we were the remnants of a dangerous way of teaching, and that standardized magic was the only way to ensure the safety of everyone. They was just jealous that we were everyone's first pick, and all they got were those too desperate, too eager, or outright rejected. We thought by keeping small, we wouldn't draw their ire, and we were wrong. They came after us for refusing to use their curriculum. While they weren't wrong in principle, standardized teaching is necessary to minimize accidents and fatalities, their idea of what that means sucks the life out of their practitioners, destroys any potential they might have had and forces them down paths they were never meant to walk. The MET took an idea, a hope, a dream for the betterment of mages everywhere, and over a few decades have turned it into a dead, stale, machine. It may have been harder before, but back before all this, we could at least recognize the enemies outside our gates and fight them off together. Now, the enemy and the ally are the same damn thing. And they make damn certain to get rid of anyone who speaks out against them."
"So, how are you still alive and free?" Kyffin questioned as Cole finished tapping out the brushes and drying his hands.
"You know who I am Kyffin. You've seen my book. They learned a long time ago that it simply best not to try. We've come to a silent understanding over the years. I stopped trying to fight them, and they stop coming after me. There was a time though, when I did try to stop what was happening. And mages, good mages, like you, like Quayleigh, like countless others have lost their potential, their opportunities, their magic, and their lives in those fights. The cost isn't worth it, not unless we are certain that we can win. And right now, that isn't the case. The MET be just too big of a monster to defeat, and there not be enough left of those of us who care. For that, Kyffin, I am truly sorry. It was never supposed to turn out like this. This was not what we wanted."
"Perhaps not, but you alone are not to blame for the MET."
"Kyffin is right. You spoke against what was happening, and you tried to fight. What else could you have done?"
"I should have stopped it before it started. If I had never backed the push for standardizing the schools, the road that led to the MET never would have been traveled."
"If you disapprove of the MET so vehemently, why would you have ever wanted Quayleigh to be a part of it?" Tau asked wondering if he was missing something.
"With Quayleigh, it was more about the circumstances that she was in. I gave her everything she needed to know to pass their bar, not because I wanted her to learn from them, but because it was the only way I could help her out of the situation she was in. They may have forced her to throttle and restrain her magic, but I had ensured that they couldn't have done to her what they've done to Kyffin. At the end of the day, her magic still would have been hers, and she would have been far away from what she was living with. At least at the MET all the monsters come with warning labels."
Kyffin chuckled, "That much is true. If any instructor has a vice, the students will find out about it." He sighed as set his empty mug onto the table. "It would have been nice to have been educated at your AMA though, Cole. Maybe then my insides wouldn't feel like I just bear hugged my Hawthorne."
"Well, that would have been my goal," Cole replied with a softened smile, as he moved back to the sheet, and checked the paint to see if it was dry.
"It's getting late, are you sure you want to try this tonight?" Tau asked as he looked between Cole and Kyffin.
"Yes," they replied in unison.
"I'm not in that bad of shape. A few minor pricks of pain aren't enough to bother me."
"And I still have a few hours left in me yet too, and this ritual really doesn't take much after all this preparation be finished. Light a candle, set the note, make an offering and see if we get a reply. Speaking of which, how you spell your Reaper friends name?"
"Ah, yes, that may be important," Tau remarked as he moved to the table and picked up the pen and notepad. Pulling a page from the back, he drew out his friend's name using an alphabet that was completely unknown to Cole. "I don't know how this will translate into your language, but it reads Naldinrenu, and I suspect the pronunciation is more important than the language it's written in."
"I agree, but while you're at it, care to write yours for me to? Best test this theory of yours."
"A wise decision," Tau replied as he wrote his name down for him too.
"Why does it suddenly seem to me that we vastly over thought all of this?" Kyffin said as he went back through his notes.
"Oh, probably because we have. But we adults like overthinking, it's what we do. Quays made her first version of this when she was just twelve. Took her a couple years, but an untrained kid with no stable home and complete lack of resources; credit where it's due. And don't forget that she's had years to work out all the kinks and she constantly works this ritual, adjusting it many times to make it as efficient as possible. Most certainly not writing any of those changes down either. Now here you come along, and put all of this together in a single night, that not be too shabby either, Hawthorne."
"I suppose I should take that as a term of endearment then?" Kyffin asked as he stood from the couch and then immediately sat back down again. "Yep, still need to not do that."
"We'll help you to the floor when it's time," Tau remarked as Cole grinned back at him.
"For now, it be what it be, take it for what you want. But it be the truth of what you are, all the same."
Cole finished setting up for the test attempt as the paint finished drying, and once everything was ready to go, Tau helped Kyffin to his position on the sheet, even though he claimed to be feeling much better.
"It's amazing how this doesn't look anything like my previous work, but even just sitting here, I feel the connection to it."
"Get used to that feeling. From now on, all your work's going to have a similar link to you. And no offense, Hawthorne, you be more than capable of driving this ritual, but for this test, it best if you let me initiate. Even with your gift, and the division, if it works, you going to need all your strength for the first real attempt."
"To be perfectly honest, I'm more concerned with how our magic is going to interact. I know you said that I should work my magic the way I always have, and for this I agree. This is going to be difficult enough without throwing my inexperience with my own magic into it. But registered practitioners do not do magic with apostates."
Cole held his hand up to Kyffin. "You let me worry about that now."
Kyffin looked at Cole over the rim of his glasses, as he lowered his hand.
"Look, if you going to learn from me, you are going to have to trust that I know what I'm doing. I painted this with you for a reason. My magic has a tendency to work well with others, it's just the nature of it. It's going to feel a bit overwhelming at first, but as long as you don't fight back, keep breathing, and keep working your magic like you familiar with, we're going to be just fine. But you may want to do a few pulls from the grid and get your draws back in order before we begin. And don't be calling me an apostate. Lest you be labeling yourself one too."
"Of course," Kyffin replied as Tau left the two of them, to go and sit alone in the bathroom.
Closing the door, he looked around the small, organized space. It was painted in a dull yellow, and had a penny-tile, checkered floor. Their toothbrushes sat in an old plastic cup with a faded, cartoonish sloth half visible on its side at the back of the counter. A hand towel hung from the ring attached to the wall, and it was obvious that it had been washed a few too many times. The navy color faded and dull, and even folded over it refused to lay flat, as the hem had shrunk from too many cycles in the dryer. The large bath towels that hung on the bar near the tub, had fared no better, and the edge of the grey one was starting to come unraveled, where the hem had pulled away. As large as they were, they were thin and well passed the need to be replaced. Even the bathmat was little more than a patchwork of handstitched swatches of fabric on what used to be a white terrycloth base. There were no luxuries, no baubles, trinkets or pictures. A single hairbrush and large tooth comb sat in a bin of hair ties on the counter, and the newest thing in the room aside from the toothbrushes and tube of toothpaste, was the shower curtain, a basic white with small pink flowers printed on its face. But as he sat there waiting for the green and the gift to appear, he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her shampoo and soap and was thankful that he had even this.
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