Light Caster

Soul Casters Book 1

 Chapter 1 Enter Julia

Julia gazed out of the carriage window, the vast fields were slowly being sprinkled with small patches of woods. This was her first trip to Manthenill, but she knew from her studies that these were signs that they were getting close to the Manthenill’s woodland border. The Maneater Forest, it was called.

She had matured reading stories of the great fighters and legendary parties that traveled here to fight the creatures that stalked the dark woods. Her time to undertake the journey finally arrived as part of her duties as a Matchmaker. Her years of rigid training behind the safety of the towering stone walls of the city of Orthenill had finally ended. Her personal level had reached fifteen, not exactly a milestone of the realms, but one well within the schooling of Matchmakers.  

She had been ordained to make the journey to the once frontier settlement of Mathenill, now a sprawling city, and be their annual Matchmaker. This assignment was considered dangerous by her peers, but the queen had long regarded Manthenill as a treasure and Julia was considered a prodigy. Julia of course had the option to turn down the assignment, as she was still young and at a relatively low level. Her matchmaking mentor, Miriam, however, had advised her to take the assignment as it would reflect well upon the novice  and provide her with much needed experience. 

“Favor with the queen,” Julia recalled aloud to herself, a delicate smile upon her face.

Julia longed for adventure. Life behind the cloistered walls of the convent in Orthenill could drive anyone insane; especially after hundreds of long nights reading by candlelight of the exciting adventures of others. The time had come for a quest of her own. Perhaps she would even end up writing her own great story, spurring bards to rouse taverns to boisterous songs in her name.

With fatigue-burdened eyes she examined her visual window which displayed the hour in the day, the characters within the translucent display indicated the 144th hour. Less than 23 hours left until the last sunlight before nightfall. They'd be there within 10. She closed her eyes, the monotonous rocking of the carriage eventually lulling her to sleep.

Julia awoke suddenly to the familiar chime of a notification. A new translucent window hovered in her view in stark contrast to the dimly lit carriage. She inspected the ornate script informing her that they had entered the boundaries of the infamous Maneater Forest. A single rap of gauntleted knuckles upon the carriage wall drew her attention.

"Journeyman Julia, we've entered The Maneater Forest," one of her guards announced, unknowingly parroting the notification she had received just moments prior. 

"Thank you." Julia responded as she stretched her legs a bit in the spacious carriage. The carriage interior wasn’t quite austere, yet neither was it opulent, it fell somewhere on the spectrum in between. Well padded seats upholstered with fine linen if not lightly worn, polished maple panels that still smelled faintly of citrus, and two round, symmetrical, and slightly opaque windows set in the doors at sitting height. Dainty gauze curtains above the glass portholes could be shuttered for privacy or to reject the sunlight and invite some shuteye. 

Several more miles the coterie had before them to travel. The road became narrower and dimmer as the forest grew denser and loomed overhead blocking the light of the sun. A subtle threat to interlopers that they may never see unobstructed skies again. After a few more hours passed with relative ease save for a lone fallen branch whose diameter was nearly a third the width of the carriage. A simple yet tedious obstacle but not one unexpected. Still, halting movement made the entire group wary as they were in the Maneater Forest after all.

The horses had to be undone from the carriage yoke and their harnesses reconfigured with ropes in order to haul away the debris from the road to clear the path once more. The coachman and guards worked swiftly in tandem, practiced hands unbuckling, adjusting girdles, and lashing rope to the fallen limb. Julia demanded a short detour out of carriage sight to reprieve herself, under the respectful supervision of two guards of course, eyes trained on the lush undergrowth of the ancient forest. Deep dancing shadows and dense swaying foliage caused an unsettling anxiety to creep within the guard’s minds. By the time Julia had finished her business, the task had been completed and the guards were eager to return to the relative comfort of the road and presence of the carriage and company.

The journey resumed with only a handful of hours of uneventful passage until the carriage finally came to a gradual stop and when Julia heard the guards outside talking to someone. She retracted the curtains to seek the source of the conversation. Dusk quickly approached, suffocating the dwindling sunlight cascading from across the towering trees of the forest they had just breached. Warm lamplight now illuminated the immediate area and she could see the polished steel armor of the guards glisten as they shifted past the window towards the front of the carriage.

"Hail and good evening! We're the escorts for Journeyman Julia of Orthenill," Guermat, the leader of her escort told someone out of sight.

There were some formal pleasantries exchanged, nothing more than greetings and she heard a rough but feminine voice call out for the gates to be opened. She heard the groan of creaking wood and then the carriage started forward once again. 

Julia pulled back the curtain from the carriage window to peek out again, catching sight of villagers working in pairs focused on powering ward stones along the length of the wooden palisades that encircled the town center. With the week’s last sun setting, she knew that they would be charging it to last for the entire month of Sethen'nu. A lot of that energy came via ley line from Orthenill, directed by the queen's orders. 

As they moved through the city gates Julia laid eyes on Manthenill for the first time. A quaint place, by comparison to the capital of Orthenill, but she could see the direct influences of Orthenill's architecture and city planning in the stone buildings and roads. Myriad market stalls encroached on the road proper. Tarps strung out on poles and rough wooden shingled roofs reaching out from the buildings to provide shade and shelter to the goods and merchants beneath. Some waved, some were caught up in closing shop for the night, but most were engaged in haggling with customers. Manthenill appeared to be quite bustling and lucrative in spite of its rustic appearance.

After the long journey from the city to here, she had learned to appreciate a well paved road.

The carriage halted in front of a tavern, the sign above the door reading “The Morning Bell”. A nondescript three story building tucked between residences of similar scale. Stonework was common for first story structures with additional wooden construction resting above. The more meager neighborhoods incorporated wattle and daub walls framed by wood and polished with lame plaster. Wood may be available just outside of the city limits but the omnipresent danger of harvesting it remains. The risk demands the reward be adequate to compensate and not all can afford such luxuries.

One of the escorts opened the door for her and respectfully offered his gloved hand for assistance. She noticed her bags had already been hauled off the carriage and deposited neatly on the curbside.

"Here is your stop Journeyman Julia," the guards stated. "Make sure you stop by the city Waystone so you may quickly return to Orthenill after you've completed your duties. And please let the queen know about your experience with our escort services. We look forward to providing whatever we are able to in service of Orthenill's nobles.

"Thank you very much, sir," Julia said as she took his hand, allowing him to aid her. 

With a gentle nod to Julia he turned to shut the carriage door and gave a subsequent smack upon it with his palm accompanied with a sharp whistle to signal the coachman to carry on. The carriage continued down the emptying road and turned out of sight a block away. Julia straightened her clothing and took a moment to ensure her hair was properly groomed turning to enter the wooden door of the tavern.

Entering the tavern, the aroma of lavender hit her almost as quickly as the greeting from a small goblin woman. The goblin was of middling age for her kind, and garbed in common attire of servicefolk. Pants, a blouse, and a thick apron stained from hundreds of spilled drinks and meals.

"Welcome to The Morning Bell," the goblin pipped, guiding Julia in and closing the door behind her. "The Elder told me you'd be arriving. I've already prepared a meal and a room for you. We'll make sure your bags are brought to your room as well."

She made a clicking noise with her mouth in the direction of the bar. In response a young human male there jumped before hustling over, curtly grabbing Julia's bags, and rushing up stairs, his footfall rebounding off walls of the narrow stairway.

The goblin walked Julia over to a seat and table before seemingly vanishing behind the bar. Julia was used to being attended to, but had never seen a goblin in person. She knew that goblins were dungeon mobs, and that Manthenill was one of the first settlements that had goblins living amongst the human population. In fact, she couldn't think of any other place that had goblins living amongst the citizens. Manthenill was shaping up to be quite unique in it’s own right, however she had virtually no frame of reference save for Orthenill.

“What other quirks and exciting wonders existed across the realms?”  she mused.

She adjusted her seat to the table and patiently waited and let the goblin do her job. Her muscles and joints were still rather stiff from the long journey, a few moments more for a hot meal wasn’t too much to ask. Before long the goblin was back, delicately placing a brim-full bowl of steaming hot stew in front of her.

"This is special pork stew," she said, with a smile, as she set the spoon in front of Julia. "We also have the Blue Wizard Hat Morret."

Julia watched the goblin stand a goblet on the table and pour the drink for her before the goblin stepped back and looked up at her.

"Thank you miss..." Julia plied, hoping to get the goblin's name.

"Bel!" Bel shrieked, her round green face somehow turning red from blush. "Bel of Manthenill, daughter of Jak."

"Oh," Julia said, "Thee Jak, Master Trader?"

"The very same, ma'am."

Julia realized at that moment that she was technically addressing Manthenill nobility. 

"Well thank you for your hospitality, the food looks amazing and I just love a Blue Wizard Hat," Julia said as she turned in her seat and focused her attention to the meal

Bel smiled in response and quietly left her side as she started to eat.

Julia didn't know if cooking was a specialty of the goblin species, but the stew tasted better than anything she had ever had in the capital. Rich and salty, but not too much so, and the sweetness of the pork enhanced the notes from herbs and spices she couldn’t quite place.

Down the road, Du'Vel, the elder of Manthenill, made his way over to The Morning Bell. He had spent most of the day preparing the town hall for the Matchmakers Ritual, and was told by a runner from the guard that the matchmaker had arrived. He had received word that the matchmaker was the first Journeyman to be sent to Manthenill and he was excited to meet her. Although he had never been the adventuring type, Du'Vel loved the concept of something new. As he opened the door to the tavern he was Bel behind the bar, waving over at him. A young woman was sitting at the table nearest to the bar, her dark pink dress showing quality you could only see on nobility. She noticed him and immediately rose from her seat to greet him.

"Evening sir, I'm Journeyman Matchmaker Julia of Orthenill," she said with a low curtsy.

Du'Vel bowed back at her, a smile on his face. He knew the queen had a long history with Manthenill, but didn't think she'd send someone from a high ranking noble family to Manthenill. He couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Let's move over to the town hall, Journeyman Julia," Du'Vel said, gesturing to the door. "We've got families waiting to meet their new arrivals."

Julia gave a small bow to Bel, and then followed Du'Vel out of the tavern and out towards the town hall.

The town hall was at the center of the Manthenill, and the walk was quiet and quick. Julia nodded at the line of people outside of the hall as she entered the building. The town hall was beautifully decorated, the seats of the chamber were in a circle where Du'Vel motioned Julia to proceed to.

"Everything should be up to your specifications." Du'Vel said to her.

Julia walked to the center of the room, her attitude shifting into work mode.

She had a duty to perform and she was ready to show that she was more than worth of the trust she had been given by the queen herself.

Julia pulled the summoning stone from her bag of holding. The large stone fell heavily to the center of the room, the carvings giving off a slight glow in the dim lit space.

She had carved this circle herself, after years of learning as a novice and then an apprentice. Every line carved with her intention, every symbol with direct meaning and purpose. She had complete confidence in her ability as a caster and in her knowledge in Heart Magic. She turned to the Elder.

"Bring in the first," she said.