Ripples in the Calm

Chapter One

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds come out to dance with the blushing sky.

'Ugh!' Jacob scribbled out the lines in frustration before ripping the sheet from his notebook and throwing the crumpled ball of paper over his shoulder.

'OK?' Paul's little face popped up beside Jacob's office chair. 'It bounce.'

'Oh! Buddy! Did I hit you with the paper?' He ran his fingers over Paul's soft fur. Tibies tended to have a limited vocabulary and even though he understood Paul better than anyone else, he still tended to check what he meant.

'Yes, yes.' Paul ducked his head in a bobbing nod.

'I’m sorry!' Jacob scratched behind his ears eliciting a purr from his companion.

'Ok?' Paul asked again.

Jacob sighed and pushed his book back across the desk top.

‘I just can’t make it work! The words won’t come to life. No matter what I try to do.' He returned to absently scratching Paul’s ears. 'I haven’t been able to make any of it work since my Talent Trial.'

For a moment, Jacob was lost in the past, remembering the day he turned seven. Every child was presented to the local government office on their seventh birthday for testing for magical Talents. Those who showed magical ability tested at a high level of Talent in one discipline, with some showing a minor secondary. Jacob had shown great talent with potions. His parents had been over the moon. An Alchemist, or potion maker, while not a prestigious occupation would never struggle to find work. Normally, after such a strong result, testing would go no further. For whatever reason, the official performing his test continued to the Conjurer Talent.

A successful Conjurer's Trial resulted in the child producing one of three Tibies, creatures made of pure magic.

A Stansha, a grey monkey-like creature which was the most commonly produced Tibi.

A Maili, a furry white lizard, commonly called a Wish Dragon. Mailies were less common than a Stansha and an indication of a strong talent.

And a Bylee, a red two-tailed fox with antlers, the most rare type Tibi and a sign of the most powerful Conjurer Talent.

To the immense shock of everyone present, Jacob had produced Paul. A three tailed Bylee which was completely unheard of. Jacob remembered hearing his father’s voice demanding, What does this mean?

Jacob had immediately been enrolled in Conjurer’s Academy, the most prestigious educational facility with their graduates filling roles in government and the highest positions in business. A truly sort-after Talent. All eyes were on him with great expectation.

His first week bought those high hopes crashing down.

Despite his hard work and effort he was never able to so much as manipulate the weather, the easiest Conjuring. It all just turned to mush. Even the private tutors his parents hired couldn’t help. He had been a failure.

His only consolation was his Alchemy Talent. And Paul, his constant companion.

He looked down at his Tibi who was scrambling to climb onto his lap. Jacob gently helped him pull his back legs up.

'I haven’t been able to make any of the words work since you.' He smiled at Paul.

'I sorry.' Paul’s fluffy little ears drooped. 'My fault.'

'Oh, Buddy! No! It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything. It’s me.'

The creature looked across the desktop at Jacob’s notebook. 'My fault.' He insisted sadly.

'Paul, look at me.' He waited for his friend to turn and look at him. The Tibi placed his front paws on Jacob’s chest, bringing them eye to eye, returning his intense stare. 'It’s not you. It’s me. It’s like there is something blocking the words from coming together. It is definitely not your fault. I’d be lost without you.'

Paul, his little expression serious, leaned in closer until their noses almost touched.

'I see.' He stated matter-of-factly, turning his face side to side, putting first one eye closer to Jacob’s left eye and then the other as if trying to see into his mind. 'There. Is there.'

Jacob laughed. 'I’m glad you believe me that it’s not you.'

Nose to nose again, Paul frowned. 'Is there.'

He pulled back a little and batted Jacob’s cheek firmly, as if trying to knock something loose.

'Hey!' Jacob pulled his head back out of reach. 'What was that for?'

Paul turned his head to the side and leaned in to look into his eye again, so close red fur tickled his cheek. 'Still there.'

He laughed and gently pushed him back down, away from his face.

'It’s not a real thing. There isn’t actually something in my head. It’s a metaphor. A way of describing a frame of mind that makes it easier to understand.' Paul tilted his head and watched him intently as Jacob tried to explain what a mental block was. ‘If it weren’t for the fact that I’m looking at you, Id say the Trial was wrong, I never had the Conjurer’s Talent to begin with.’

‘No.’ Paul wagged his head back and forth. ‘It there.’ He stretched his neck up to try and look into Jacob’s eyes again. He had never heard the Tibi sound so sure before.

‘What do you see?’

‘Eye shines.’

‘Is it the light reflecting off my eyes?’

Paul wagged his head again. ‘Back. Back eye.’

Jacob frowned. ‘The light is… inside my eyes?’

The Tibi's tails hit him in the face as the creature twirled happily on his lap. Spitting fur from his mouth, he laughed. ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

As much as he had only ever completed a few days of study with the Conjurer's Academy, one of the first lessons he had been taught was to put trust in his Tibi.

‘Ok. If there is something there, what is it?’ He smiled and stroked Paul’s fur, attempting to settle him. ‘I suppose it could be something normal. Have you seen it in anyone else's eyes before?’

Another head wag.

‘Hmm, that probably doesn’t tell us much. You hadn’t noticed it in me before either.’ A thought occurred to him. If it weren't for the unexplained way a strong Talent dried up seemingly overnight, he would have dismissed it. What if someone had put a Block on him?

Only a few people had the capability to Block someone’s Talent. They all had to be licenced and could only perform the spell under Government Sanction. A Block was an extreme punishment inflicted only on the worst criminals with Talent. To place an illegal Block of someone was an abhorrent notion.

But what if someone had risked everything to put a Block on him?

Jacob picked Paul up off his lap as he stood. ‘Come on, Buddy. We need to pay a visit to an old friend.’

…

The rain started before he left home.

By the time the underground train reached the Academic District, the downpour was so heavy the sound was deafening on his umbrella. With the new scholar year starting, the weather was erratic. An unfortunate side effect of the lessons taught to new Conjurer students in their first weeks.

Paul snuggled deep into the satchel hanging at Jacob’s side, both to keep him dry and to keep him out of sight. Wet Bylee smelled worse than wet dog.

The weather had driven most people indoors. A blessing in disguise as far as Jacob was concerned. He hadn’t walked these streets in years. They hadn’t changed much. And the store front of the Apothecary hadn’t changed at all.

Through the clear glass of the front windows, he could see Sonja bustling about cleaning and tidying. Despite the years, she still looked like the same old Sonja he had always known. Beautiful tan skin, chestnut coloured hair and a way of moving that conveyed confidence. Sonja had been his sister’s best friend until life had led them in different directions. And Jacob’s first crush. He had been heartbroken the day he found out that she was far more likely to date his sister than to see him in any romantic way.

Not that it mattered. She was always a true friend. And one he had neglected in more recent years.

He sighed and crossed the dark street to the shining beacon of her store.

The tinkling bell alerted her to a customer.

‘Just a second! I’ll be right with you.’ Her voice drifted in from the storeroom. ‘I'm really sorry, I'm about to close. If this isn’t quick I'll have to ask you to come –‘ stopping dead in her tracks, she eyed Jacob up and down. ‘Well, I'll be damned. Look at you!’

She placed a box on the cashier’s counter and stood facing him at a distance. ‘What brings you to this neck of the woods? This is the last place I’d expect to run into you.’ She barely got her greeting out before adding, ‘Where’s Paul?’

As if his name was his que, the Tibi popped his head out of the satchel.

‘You! Treats!’ He scrambled madly to get out of his hiding place.

Grinning, Jacob crouched to reduce the distance Paul had to jump, or fall as was the case, once he untangled himself. His paws skittered on the polished floor as he struggled to get traction in his excitement. Once he did, Paul took off like a shot, covering the distance in seconds. Sonja flopped on the floor and reached out to catch the red blur before he could overshoot his mark. Laughing, she bundled him into her lap.

‘Hey little guy. I missed you, too!’

‘Yes, yes!’ Paul leaned back on his hind legs and pushed his face up to butt against her cheek. He dropped back down and twirled so he could butt her cheek again. Sonja laughed and stroked his fur.

‘It's probably a good thing his antlers never really came in if this is his way of showing affection.’

Jacob chuckled and watched as Paul moved on to searching Sonja’s pockets for his favourite treats, murmuring yum as he searched.

Jacob had missed this. It was like coming home.

Sonja’s smile as she fed strips of dried mango to the Tibi was something he hadn’t realised he had been missing.

She looked up and fixed him with a level stare. ‘As much as I'm glad to see you guys, I never expected you set foot in this neighbourhood again after graduation. I don’t think this is a social call.’

Jacob sighed. ‘I wish it was.’ He looked down at the floor and scuffed his shoe on the floor. ‘I'm sorry I haven’t kept in touch. I feel awful about it. I just… couldn’t.’

Sonja waved her hand dismissively. ‘It's ok, I understand. The way they treated you around here. Brutal is not a strong enough word.’ She fell silent for the first time since he had arrived. He was lost in memories for a moment, then shook it off.

‘Anyway, I've come because I wanted to ask a favour. I didn’t know who else to go to.’ He trailed off, unsure of how to ask for what he wanted.

‘Go on.’

‘Its about my Talent. I have a theory. And it sounds, just, crazy! But, I think I may have a Block.’

She frowned. ‘I thought business was going well. I heard you were making an excellent living selling potions to the Commons. I suppose such a high turn over could lead to Talent burnout and a temporary block. It happens. I have a recipe for a tonic I can give you. But ultimately rest is the best thing…’

Jacob shook his head. ‘Not block. I mean a Block, with a capital B.’

She stopped and stared at him for a moment in confusion. ‘You don’t mean your Alchemy Talent. You mean Conjurer.’

He blushed a little. ‘I know. Ridiculous right? Who would want to Block me? I'm a nobody, a potions Talent with no influence.’

‘Jacob, I don’t think you understand. You were a massive Talent. You were so young, I guess you don’t remember. There were people who accused you of cheating the Trial, that Paul was a fake. When that was proved wrong, they moved on to saying Paul couldn't have been yours. The tests came back time and again proving he is your magic. They moved on to wanting to take him away from you.' Paul whimpered from her lap and she ran a hand from ears to tails. ‘There was a lawyer and a Talent psychologist who took it to the highest court. They argued that Paul’s magic cant be used by anyone else, so removing him would do nothing more than cause you both pain and set a dangerous legal precedent.’

Jacob listened in stunned silence. He had either never known what she was telling him or he had forgotten it.

‘There are people who felt it was in their best interests that a Talent like the one you and Paul promised never made it to maturity.’

He swallowed hard. In the back of his mind he had been hoping Sonja would laugh off his crazy idea. Her validation made his mind jump to a scary thought. He shifted his feet nervously.

‘The thought occurred to me today.’ He paused not wanting to say it out aloud. ‘Paul said he saw something in my eyes.’ He finished, feeling lame.

Sonja picked Paul up and placed him on the floor. ‘If Paul says there is something there, there is something there. I can't do much about a releasing a Block though.’

‘I know. But you were the only person I could trust. I know you deal in magical items through the business and you have to have a way to check the items are genuine. I know you would have a Lens.’

She nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, kinda sucks sometimes being a Common working in a magical industry. I suppose you are right. If you’d turned up to a physician’s office with a story like this, you’d have been laughed off. I’m a little surprised no one tested you for magical interference in that initial week in the school.’

‘My guess is, if it is there, it could be hidden. Or maybe its such an extreme idea they just dismissed it if it even occurred to anyone. It's highly illegal. What Talented with the ability would risk putting a Block on a child with that amount of attention on them?’ He shrugged. ‘I don't know what to think. Besides, wouldn’t a Block usually stop all Talents and not just one?’

‘Mm, it would have to be strong magic…’ Sonja turned to her private reference library behind the cashier’s desk and selected a book, hefting herself up onto the countertop to lean far enough over to reach the slim tome.

Jacob caught himself staring at her backside before blushing furiously and looking off in the opposite direction. She beckoned him closer. He recognised the illustrations. The book contained childhood tales and fables his grandmother used to read to him before his Trial.

He snorted. ‘How are fairy tales going to help us?’

She gave him a withering look, making him blush again. ‘These may be referred to as Fairy Tales these days, but this collection are the legends of our culture.’ She turned the page so he could see it. ‘Know this one?’

‘Yeah, Adair's Mind. The hero’s Talent is stolen and he has to go find it. Its about teaching kids to cooperate.’

‘Not quite. Part of the lesson is about cooperation, sure. He has to find a team to help him. But your synopsis is watered down. What you are missing is that the villain didn’t actually remove his Talent. She uses a type of Block no one ever talks about anymore. The full moral of the story is that to really find your Talent, you must know yourself. Blocks today are a generalised magic that act like a walled box around the mind to prevent magic use. The type of Block in Adair’s is called a Binding and only limits a particular Talent type. Binding fell out of use generations ago. They are difficult to perform.’

‘Ok. So, how do we do this?’

She slipped a small leather case out of her pocket. ‘It’s easy. I simply look in your eye through the Lens which will show any traces of magic.’

‘Won't it just show you my Alchemy Talent?'

‘Not just, no. Your Talent will be evident, but if there is a foreign magic there, it will look different. Magic from mixed sources fluoresce differently under the Lens. Anything not your own will look distinctly different.’

He nodded. ‘Alright. Let’s do this.’

Running her fingers over the seam on the case, Sonja gave him a level look. ‘Are you sure you want to do this? If your talent is still there…’ She shrugged. ‘It changes a lot of things. It would pose some uncomfortable questions. You can't undo this. You can't take it back.’

He bit his lip. It had occurred to him that if his theory was right it would turn his life upside down. It just sounded different to have Sonja deliver the warning. ‘I want to know.’

She nodded. ‘Sit on the stool facing the light.’

While he got comfortable, she locked the door and pulled the shades on the windows.

‘Up?’ Paul reached his paws up as far as he could. Jacob leaned down and picked him up, placing him in the elevated position on the counter.

‘I don’t normally allow animals on my counter, but you don’t really count, do you?’ She ruffled his fur and turned to Jacob. ‘Alright. Ready?’

Nodding, he turned his face towards the light. Holding the Lens between her thumb and forefinger, she held it up to his right eye. Moving it in and out like a magnifying lens, her head moved back and forth like a bird eyeing prey. Lowering the lens, she shook her head.

‘There is nothing there.’

His shoulders dropped. It was strange. He hadn’t expected to feel so disappointed.

Paul chittered, sounding frustrated. ‘No no no! There. There!’

Jacob looked at the Tibi, his fur bristling. ‘Buddy, it’s ok. It’s a good thing!’

Paul emitted a persistent growl from deep in his in his chest. ‘NO! There! LOOK!’

‘Ok, ok! I’ll look again.’ Sonja held her hands up. ‘I’ve never seen him so upset before.’ She lifted the lens to his right eye again and shook her head after a moment. Paul growled again, staying her hand. To stall having to confront the bristling Tibi, Sonja moved across to look in his left eye.

‘Holy crap!’ She jumped back in shock, sending Paul skittering backwards and Jacob jerked, almost falling off his stool.

‘What? What is it?!’

Sonja lifted the Lens and looked into his left eye again. ‘It's there. Right there. And so bright! By the Gods!’ She stared in fascination. Absently, her free hand moved up to touch what she could see.

‘Ouch! That’s your finger in my eye!’ Jacob hit her hand away and slapped his palm over his eye.

‘Sorry, sorry!’ Lowering the Lens, she looked at Paul. ‘I'm so sorry I doubted you.’

Paul’s tails thumped out an excited beat.

‘Well, our theory is not a theory any more. Your Conjurer Talent has been bound.’ She fixed Jacob with a look that sent a chill down his spine. ‘The question is, by who?’