Jaques’ Tale
Jaques was a very precocious two year old gnome (1), full of highly energetic and inquisitive excitement. He seemed to be everywhere. He climbed, jumped and crawled into any partially open space. At one foot and one inch tall there was an unlimited expanse of world to explore and trouble to find.
He was the instant friend of every forest creature and acted as if they were his brothers. Squirrels and rabbits were his daily playmates. Damian and Noreen, his parents, were thankful that he was their only child. They loved him dearly and were very happy that he showed an affinity toward the natural creatures of the world.
When Jaques was five (in human years) his parents were not too concerned that he was apparently communicating with his animal playmates in their native languages, even though gnomes normally could not engage in this until they were much older (2).
Damian first became concerned when Jaques could not find his favorite rabbit playmate and instinctively utilized the saffron-orange gnome species spell Stone See (3), without any training, to track his friend. Jaques was only six years old. This spell was normally taught to teens. Jaques was utilizing the gnome species magic, naturally, at an unheard of early age.
Damian became distressed when Jaques, totally frustrated that his tiny hands could not free a fox tangled in a human net, used a wizard cantrip, untie, to free him (4). Cobalt Blue wizard magic required years of intense training, or so was commonly believed. Jaques was only seven.
Father and mother discussed Jaques’ abilities between themselves and with their gnome hierarchy.
Damian defended his son, “He is only a child. Very gifted. But, still a child”
Hansword, the head elder, feared for the other children, said, “Child or not, his power is greater than some adults and dangerous to himself and everyone around him until he is trained”
Noreen pleaded, “He is our only son and we love him. How can we help him without losing him?”
Most of the other elders were frightened that Jaques would accidently harm himself or someone near to him with his untrained use of the Cobalt Force.
After much discussion, Jaques, a very talented and inquisitive seven year old gnome, was sent to Meren beach to study under Master Han, a human wizard (5,6). Meren Beach was a large human town and natural gnome species magic was somewhat restricted within its borders. Jaques was being isolated in a manner intended to provide very much needed focus for his studies in the Cobalt Blue force.
Master Han, thankfully, was a very patient teacher. Jaques was his most gifted and challenging student. He mastered all of the Cantrips by the age of eight and most of the basic detection spells within the following year. Master Han had to be extremely careful of any magical manipulations he performed anywhere near Jaques, as the boy would fearlessly attempt everything that he observed. The wizard’s lab, tower and even their home had been blown up, burned out, smoke and gas filled many times!
Night and day for the last four weeks, he and Jaques—his former apprentice, now his most-trusted assistant and closest friend—had been scouring the ancient tomes and conducting intricate and dangerous experiments, seeking clues leading to the source of Master Han’s recent, terrifying nightmares.
Wizards must not dream! A wizard must always be in total control of his directed thoughts. Dreams are the manifestations of the subconscious and can be very intense. Such uncontrolled yet totally focused concentration in any wielder of the Cobalt Blue force could have unexpected, far-reaching and disastrous effects. In a master such as Han, even a tiny, insignificant nightmare could have devastating, unimaginable consequences!
Something was obviously disturbing the natural ebb and flow of the cobalt blue force. Driving themselves to the limits of their power and endurance, Han and Jaques had been experimenting with a complicated series of illusions (7). They were seeking anything magical that reacted abnormally as a clue to where to continue their investigations. At this time, their efforts had left them heavily drained in body and mind and had proven absolutely fruitless. Working together, they had created an eight-foot illusion of a human hand rotating in the air before them. As it slowly revolved, the baritone voice of a traveling bard gently penetrated their tower room.
Suddenly a brightly glowing, rune-covered, golden band appeared on the fourth finger of the floating phantasmal hand.
“Stand Back” firmly ordered Master Han.
The hand then, of its own accord, opened as if pleading. Then the hand and ring vanished in a blinding burst of intense cobalt-blue brilliance!
“Wow” whispered Jaques.
Jaques opened his light-hazel eyes wide in astonishment as he continued to stare at the now-normal room. Shaking his chestnut hair from his forehead, he came to a momentous decision. He rose to his full gnomic height of three feet three inches, and then he…
To continue Jaques’ story, please read “The Last Tale of T’Lar” by RJ Borton
Notes:
- Venturers of Airth® Species: Gnome
- Venturers of Airth® Gnome Species Spell: Animal Friend
- Venturers of Airth® Gnome Species Spell: Stone See
- Venturers of Airth® Wizard Cantrip: Untie
- Venturers of Airth® Species: Human
- Venturers of Airth® Class: Wizard
- Venturers of Airth® Wizard Spell: Illusion
by RJ Borton, 8/18/2014 last update 02/04/2017
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