“I think manual labor isn’t your thing,” Gabriel remarked the next morning, “so I think I’ll send you on an errand today instead.”
He handed Era a small pouch of gold and copper coins. “Just run to the vegetable peddler’s and pick up some apples and carrots for dinner tonight, alright? You know the way?”
Era nodded eagerly. “Yes, I remember it. Red or green apples?”
“Red. Good luck, then.” Gabriel waved him off, half-grinning his way.
“Right. I’ll be back soon.” He smiled, heading out the door and tying the pouch securely to his belt. He trusts me, Era thought. That is another happy feeling.
The town, Sarmanna, was half an hour’s walk away. It was a large city that fed off of the travelling mercantile wagons venturing to the castle, famous for its large market and exclusive goods and infamous for its supposed nest of thievery. Having travelled there with Gabriel several times, he felt confident striding down the street on his own amidst the sea of people. He also, having taken a tip from Gabriel, kept his hand firmly on his purse at all times.
Era arrived at the apple cart and proceeded to pick out the ripest fruits he could find. As he was holding one up, he saw a girl with long brown hair staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to her, making eye contact, and she smiled sheepishly. He returned the grin, and she moved closer to him.
“Hey, have we met?” she asked. “You look kind of familiar.”
Era perked up at this. “Really? I look familiar to you?”
“Yeah, sort of. I can’t remember where I’ve seen you, but… sorry, this probably sounds so random.” She smiled despite her mild embarrassment.
“No, it’s fine,” he replied with a smile, refocusing on his apple hunting. The girl, who looked to be in her late teens, remained, studying his face from the side. He glanced over to her. “Something wrong?”
“Nope, just still trying to place your face,” she replied. “I swear I know you from somewhere.”
“Well, if you figure it out, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’m curious myself.”
She giggled. “I’ll do that. What’s your name, stranger?”
“Ah… Era. Dalgard. Era Dalgard.” As excited as he was to finally be able to use his name, he was also unused to giving it out.
“Cool. I’m Crisilla Baines.” She smiled up at him. “Anyway, I need to go, so I’ll see you later, maybe.”
At that, she turned on her heels and melted into the crowd, her dainty white-and-tan dress fluttering as she trotted off. She was too quick for Era even to say farewell.
“I’ve met someone else now,” he said to himself, and the realization pleased him. He paid for his apples and left to seek out the carrot peddler.
“Wow, so you know a grand total of two people and a skeleton,” Gabriel said sarcastically. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Era replied, missing the sarcasm altogether, “I’m certainly happy about it.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Well, yeah, I’m happy for you and all. And she said she recognized you, right? Maybe you really are from around here and you just don’t remember it.”
“Well, she did say she wasn’t sure,” Era replied cautiously.
“True. But still, you’re hard to miss in a crowd, you know?”
He was grinding dried herbs together with a mortar and pestle as Era washed the dishes. Once they had been ground into a fine powder, he emptied them into a small vial and corked it shut. He opened a large cabinet near the back door, placing the vial on a rack that held many similar containers.
“So you said you’re going to sell those at the next big market day?” Era inquired.
“Yeah. Supplements and potions are always in high demand. No one wants to be sick, and I’ve got stuff to remedy all the major ailments out there.” He gestured towards the back door, which led to his field. “It’s hard work, but it pays well enough.”
“And you seem to enjoy it,” Era stated amiably.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do enjoy it,” Gabriel said, returning his smile. “It’s satisfying. And it’s better than being a hedge wizard any day.”
“Hedge wizard?”
“Mage who never got certified by the State. Homegrown sorcerer. Usually the magic equivalent of a mercenary. Mages are in high demand, but that doesn’t mean they’re paid or treated well.”
“So you’re a hedge wizard?”
He shrugged. “Technically. But I don’t use magic much anymore. I kind of lost my knack for it.” Gabriel’s eyes were far away, gazing into memories long gone.
Era was leaning on his elbows, listening to Gabriel with the eagerness and starry eyes of a child. “What’s it like, magic?” he asked.
“You should know, mister certified-mage,” Gabriel quipped with a chuckle. His tone then grew more serious. “It’s like… dreaming while you’re still awake. You imagine what you want to happen, and it happens.” He shut his eyes. “Only that makes it sound easy. It’s one of the hardest fucking things imaginable.”
Concern furrowed Era’s forehead. “Why’s that?”
“Think of something right now. A tree. Imagine a tree.”
He shut his eyes. “Alright, I see it.”
“Good, but do you see each individual leaf? Can you see the patterns on the bark, or the sap dripping from the branches? How about the ants crawling along its surface?”
“Ah… I do, in short bursts.”
“And that’s why magic’s so hard. You have to see every single detail of what you want to happen in your mind, uninterrupted, while you’re simultaneously concentrating on summoning the mana to make it even happen.”
“That’s nearly impossible!” Era exclaimed.
“To do magic is, by definition, to do the impossible. And humans – flawed, short-attention-spanned humans – are generally very, very bad at doing the impossible.”
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