Mage Rain
"What is this...?"
I frowned as I examined the mountain goat, frozen solid. The nameless goat monster was not a species that lived in the Karum Mountains. I had done my research before taking the commission, so I could say that with certainty.
"Hmm... Why is this thing here?"
As I prowled around the frozen goat, Rain approached and spoke. She seemed to know exactly what it was.
"It's from another region, right?"
"Yeah. It usually appears in mountain areas where snow falls year-round. It's called an Ice Horn."
So it really had wandered in from somewhere else. I nodded at Rain's words, and she gave her staff a casual wave. Blue frost scattered into the air, and the Ice Horn's frozen body began to thaw.
"Hah...!"
I startled and leveled my sword at the Ice Horn. But the creature was already dead inside the ice; it simply toppled over where it lay.
"Think you could skin it?"
"Ah—no..."
I shook my head at Rain's question. Hunting monsters, harvesting their materials, and forging powerful gear from them was ordinary work for adventurers. Any skilled one made a point of learning how to dress an animal properly. But when had I ever had time to learn something like that? Of course I could peel the hide off—getting a usable piece of leather was another matter entirely.
"Hmm..."
Rain nodded, looking a little disappointed by my answer.
"Then shall we just take the horn?"
"That much I can manage..."
I nodded and gripped my sword with both hands. The horn was thick enough that I wouldn't sever it in a single stroke, but a few solid blows ought to snap it free.
"Hyah!"
With a short shout I swung. A downward cut, straight from high to low. Moonlight fell in a clean line and struck the Ice Horn's gray horn.
Kang—!
A bright, ringing note burst out the instant blade met horn. It felt exactly like striking solid rock with a sword. I scowled down at my stinging hands. The horn was harder than I had expected—hard enough to chip the edge of my blade. At this density I could almost believe it was iron rather than bone.
Kang—!
Another downward cut. A fierce rebound raced up through my fingertips, but I did not stop. I kept swinging until the feeling in my hands had gone numb. At last the stubborn horn cracked and broke free.
"Hah..."
The severed piece was dense and heavy. I heaved it up and held it out to Rain. She watched me quietly, a small smile on her lips, then shook her head.
"That's yours."
"Pardon...? But you were the one who finished it off, Miss Rain."
"I have no intention of lugging something that heavy around."
"Umm..."
Was it really all right for me to take it? Material this tough would fetch a handsome price. Even if I didn't sell it, I could find a skilled craftsman and commission a piece of gear. Still half-doubtful, I offered the horn to her again. Her mind did not change. Rain simply handed over every claim to the Ice Horn's remains. In the end I had no choice but to cram the massive horn into my pack. While I was at it I stripped the hide as well—though without proper technique it was less "skinning" and more "tearing."
Rain and I set out once more, deeper into the Karum Mountains. From time to time she stopped and used that same magic to comb through the snowfields. Whatever was she looking for? I walked up beside her and asked.
"What exactly are you searching for?"
"The flow of mana."
"The flow of mana...?"
"Mm. If you spot a place where blue energy is gathering, tell me—assuming you can see it, of course."
"Hmm..."
I tilted my head at her words. Apparently this "flow of mana" was something ordinary people could not perceive.
Our search of the Karum Mountains continued until the sun went down. Once night fell the temperature in the mountains plummeted. This was a winter peak; the cold that arrived with darkness was incomparable to the chill of day. Rain and I hunted for a cave that might shelter us from the wind. Luck was with us—we found one almost at once. The cave ran deep. Near the entrance lay the remains of old campfires; other adventurers had clearly used the place before. Spent firewood still lay about, suggesting someone had made this their base camp for quite a while.
"This should do."
I spread the Ice Horn hide on the floor and began preparing a fire. The leftover wood was bone-dry and looked ready to burn. The trouble was getting a spark with flint and steel...
I pulled an oil flask and a flint from my pack and set to work.
Tak—! Tak—! Tak—!
I struck the stones together again and again, coaxing out sparks. The cold wind, though, kept snuffing every ember. After a long, fruitless struggle Rain came over.
"Want some help?"
"Hm?"
I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked up. A tiny flame was already dancing at the tip of her finger—exactly like a lighter.
"Hah..."
With Rain's help the campfire finally caught. Side by side we sat and stared into the flames.
"Miss Rain."
"Mm?"
"Do you think I could learn magic too?"
"I'm sorry, but magic isn't something just anyone can learn..."
She gave me an apologetic little smile. After a moment's thought she raised her hand. Wondering what she meant to do, I watched—and a current of blue light began to swirl and rise above her palm.
"C-can you see this?"
I blinked, studying her hand, and she asked in open surprise. Of course I nodded. Even now the blue current was clearly rippling there.
"How? What does it look like to you?"
"Blue. Like blue wind, swirling upward—almost like a flame."
A bright smile spread across Rain's face. She held her hand out to me.
"Give me your hand?"
I offered it. She clasped it firmly.
"Can you focus your mind?"
"Focus my mind?"
"Mm."
In that instant something began to pass from Rain's hand into mine. It was not a physical sensation, yet I felt it clearly—something hazy, moving at a glacial pace, crossing from her palm into mine.
"Ceris. What do you know magic to be?"
I opened my mouth blankly. The moment she asked, a flood of memories rose in my mind. Hands that spat fire; a body that itself became flame. Vast thunderclouds that summoned wind and lightning; colossal meteors drawn down from the endless cosmos. That was the magic I knew.
"Keep imagining."
I did as she said, letting images of magic continue to unfold. The magic I knew could not be pinned to a single definition. Using the forces of nature and the power of the mind to impose one's own laws upon the world—that was magic. Cultivating the spirit until one grasped the truths of existence and then wielded those truths—that too was magic. Calling forth phenomena that could never occur on their own—people called that magic as well.
"What is your magic?"
Countless starlights swirled together. Worlds without number unfurled, and the images of every mage within them began to blend. Rain kept asking, over and over: What is your magic?
In that moment I lost my body. Sensation vanished; only my spirit remained, gazing out across a vast expanse. Endless starlight flowed like a river, circling around me. The river of stars shifted at my slightest gesture—now a raging blaze, now a quiet breeze, now cold ice. All of it was magic. Something that could never be reduced to one definition.
It was a rapturous feeling. Yet I knew it would not last. My free soul had to return to the small body of a girl. The open world collapsed; sensation flooded back into my limbs.
"Ceris. What is your magic?"
Rain's question reached me once more. I had found the thread. I understood that I could perceive mana—and that I could move it. Something tiny rested near my heart. A glittering star announcing its own existence. Carefully I stirred that star. I freed my hand from hers and lifted both palms. The little starlight lodged in my heart traveled the pathways of flesh and stretched toward my hands.
"This is..."
Something floated gently above my palms. A star forming a perfect circle, shining with clear light. Inside that tiny star my entire world was contained. And today, the world I could perceive had grown larger.
Paaht—!
With a sudden flash the star swelled. What had been no bigger than a snowflake filled the cave and still did not stop expanding. Yet the light faded almost at once. The total mana left in my body was far too faint.
That was the only answer I could give.
Rain's blue eyes sparkled. The light of the world I had shown her was reflected there. What had she felt? And what was her magic?
"What is your magic, Miss Rain?"
I wanted to hear the answer, but I never could. My consciousness sank into deep water. Had I drawn out every last scrap of mana? The sensations of my body began to blur and slip away.
Rain blinked blankly. The world this small girl had just revealed had shaken the very foundation of her magic.
Fire, wind, water, earth. Rain's magic was built upon the four basic elements. So was her master's. And her master's master had received the same teaching. Magic was an inherited power—a completed world passed down from the pioneers who first explored this one.
Rain closed her mouth. If any mage of the Magic Tower had asked her what magic was, she would have recited her lessons without a second's hesitation. But the Rain of this moment could not. She simply could not.
"Ah..."
A belated sigh escaped her lips.