Therin's escape

That’s it, I am done, he thought. I need to get out of here. Therin had had enough. He had to leave home. Perhaps he could search out the Archwizard and beg for forgiveness. Yes, that could work, hopefully. If only he could stop crying… His mother had pushed him for the last time, hoping to completely break him. And he knew that if he didn’t leave home soon, he would be broken. His twin brother wasn’t ready to leave yet, even though he had to suffer the same wrath. And it wasn’t just the mother. No, if only. The sister… Ugh. His younger sister, Therial, was the worst. Not just in a sibling sort of way, either. She thought genocide was fun! Those poor swamp elves. Had any survived? The very thought of the previous afternoon sent Therin back to the privy to vomit again. He could feel through his link with Raithen that he was able to keep better control of his stomach. That foul mongrel, he thought with jealousy as he cleaned himself up.

Time to leave soon. Wait for the signal.

Therin froze. That thought did not belong to him. But with all the tricks and traps that his mother used, he was surprised that the thought even was able to get to him. Could this intruder hear his thoughts?

Yes.

Well alright then. That settled that. So. Wait for the signal. Therin would have laughed if he had the stomach for it. Instead, he chose to believe the intruder voice and hurriedly packed a small bag. I must be losing my mind, he thought, trusting a voice inside my own mind of someone that is somehow able to get around my mother’s magical traps. And yet, Therin continued packing as fast as he could. If it meant getting out from under the thumbs of his insane mother and maniacal sister, he was willing to trust practically anyone. He just wanted to be gone, and the sooner the better.

Once his bag was packed, Therin felt a strange calmness come over him. The decision was made. Soon, there would be no going back. He just had to wait. Hold on, what about my brother? Is he coming, too?

Not yet. Will explain later.

Therin hoped that the voice was truthful.

Three hours passed, and Therin watched the sun fall below the horizon with dread. There had been nothing else from the intruder voice, and he was getting worried. Had he been made a fool? He could sense his mother moving about the manor, doing her nightly checks. She effectively had all the men in the house locked in chains, be it literally or magically. Noble House of Corvus, indeed. Because of his mother, all the men were terrified to use their innate powers. At night, only his mother and sister were allowed to roam the grounds free. The men were powerless to stop her. Each of the men had a magical tracker sewn into their skin, so even if they had been able to break free from any chains, she could still find them. Therin’s heart sank with the sun, for he was truly hoping to be gone by moonrise.

As a tear slowly made its way down his cheek, Therin’s breath hitched. All the branches of the trees in front of his window froze. It was rather windy outside that evening, and yet all of the willows were frozen in mid-bend. Therin stared for a moment, trying to comprehend what was going on, when he noticed a squirrel hovering in the air while leaping from branch to branch. Was this the signal?

Go. Now.

Therin wasted no time. He turned and ran out of his room, snatching his bag and his staff as he passed them. He raced through the halls, nearly knocking over Therial in the dining hall. She was still as a statue with a goblet barely pressed to her lips. Therin nearly stopped to say something to her, but he noticed that she did not see him.

Rushing outside, Therin went to the stables and found his horse, frozen in time. The moment he touched his mount, she came to life and whinnied softly. Therin calmed the mare with a touch and quickly put saddle and tack on her before walking her out of the stall. But which way to go?

West.

Therin wasn’t one to argue, so he turned his mare to the west and quickly got her to a run. Time was still frozen around him, yet he was not complaining. He did not know of a single wizard that could control time this well, let alone one that would be willing to help him, but he did not care. Escaping his mother and sister was the priority, and if time was still frozen, they could not sense him leave. Hopefully, he would soon meet this master over time and thank him or her for the great service they were doing for him. This was going be a debt he would be glad to repay. He just had to get away, far away, before time started again.

Easy, Therin. Do not kill your horse.

The voice in his head startled him into slowing down. Paranoid, Therin looked around, believing that he was being watched by a spy for his mother. It was then that he realized that time had started again. He had no idea how long time had been running again, but he did know that he had made it to the outskirts of Lyra, the largest farming city of Karamasun. How long had he been riding? He angled north to skirt around the city; he did not want to be seen by anyone, even at this time of night.

Therin traveled through the night and found himself in the middle of the plains. Exhaustion told him he needed to stop, but fear kept him in the saddle. It was too open; if he stopped, his mother could scry for him with ease. His stomach was in knots. He wanted to cast a teleportation spell to get away faster, but that would activate the tracker in his skin. He kept riding at alternating speeds to save his horse but continued until dawn. As the sun rose at his back, Therin saw a place he could possibly find a place to rest a bit.

Therin’s anxiety over the entire situation peaked as he stopped at a seemingly abandoned farm. He was in the middle of a pear grove, and the trees were overripe with fruit, so it allowed some cover. Therin dismounted his horse, calmly tied the reins to a tree branch, then promptly ran behind another tree and vomited. Since he had eaten nothing in several hours, all that had come up was bile, which made him gag even more.

When he finally thought himself done, he plucked a pear from the tree above him and bit into it. He needed something to wash out the foul taste, and he was glad to have the pears nearby. He plucked a few more and made his way back to his horse, who had already snagged a pear from a low branch. He smirked to himself. Idly, he wondered why the farm was uninhabited, for no farmer would leave fruit to rot on the trees. If only they could have had his favorite, blood oranges… Oh well, another time. For now, though, he needed to formulate a plan. Therin knew that if he cast a spell, his mother could find him. So logically, he had to avoid casting magic. A groan escaped him. He was a Master Wizard; how could he avoid casting? And for how long? What he truly needed to do was find the Archwizard and have the trace removed. And yet, there was no way to contact him, for his mother put a curse on the Archwizard’s name and every variation. If any of the men tried to say the name of the Archwizard or write it down, it would cause unbearable pain. It certainly put him in a jam.

Despair was starting to form in Therin’s heart again. It did not matter how far away from home he was; he knew his mother could find him. Unless the mental intruder had other ways of helping, Therin feared he would have to go back home. Tears formed in his eyes. He knew he needed to leave home. He needed to find a way to rescue his twin brother and his father. He needed to find a way of restoring the reputation of the Noble House of Corvus. Therin knew all of this, but had no idea how it could be accomplished, or even where to start.

Therin’s sight was suddenly filled with a multitude of color, and he assumed he was under attack. Summoning his staff to his hands, he prepared to cast a spell to defend himself, and saw a rather odd-looking man. The man stood about the same height as him, with wheat-colored hair that fell to his hips, one blue eye and one red, clothing that did not fit any of the fashions of Karamasun, and bare feet. Therin backed up, suddenly unsure of himself and the man in front of him.

The man stopped just out of arm’s reach and looked him up and down. His eyes were glistening. Was he crying? No, it must be a trick of the light. Who…?

“Save your questions for later, Therin. If you ask them all now, you will only hurt yourself,” said the man, and Therin recognized the voice as the intruder in his mind. When the recognition showed on his face, the man smirked. “Yes, it was me that got you out of there. And when the time is right, my brother will get Raithen out as well. We must be careful, though, or we could upset the balance. But I think I can be allowed this one,” he said, and stuck his hand out in greeting. “I am Jake, and I’m your best friend.”

Therin’s confusion was apparent, but he wanted answers and went to shake the hand of his rescuer. When their skin touched, Therin was mentally bombarded with emotions and memories; Jake’s memories of another life, and with another wizard named Therin. But the lives were so different yet had a familiarity of home. Best friends, indeed. Jake was his best man when he got married in that other life. There was another memory as well, of forging swords with his brother and giving them to Jake and his twin brother, Delano. Jake and Delano, yes. Twins. Mages, over time and dimension, respectively. The memories of nights drinking in taverns and battling faceless enemies flooded Therin’s mind; some settling and becoming his own memories. Therin knew suddenly that he was facing his best friend and confidant.

“Jake,” Therin croaked, “man am I glad to see you”. With a rush of emotion, he gave Jake a hug. Tears once again threatened to fall, and he cleared his throat. Now was not the time for crying. For now, there were things to accomplish. Therin backed up. “How am I going to fully escape?”

Jake responded with a smile. His pinky finger twitched reflexively as he turned on his power over time and created two small bubbles that settled into Therin’s skin. One bubble surrounded the trace spell, and the other bubble surrounded the curse. “There. Now, she cannot find you, even if you cast magic. Also, you can speak his name without pain”.

Therin’s eyes widened, and a smile crept across his face. He nodded once to show he understood. He cleared his throat and spoke the words he had wanted to say for years. “Archwizard Al’truin Connor, this is Master Wizard Therin Corvus, the Black. I need your help”.